The term White Terror, in contexts of various revolutions, refers to acts of violence carried out as part of a counter-revolution by reactionary (usually monarchist or conservative) groups. In particular, during the 20th century, in several countries the term White Terror was applied to acts of violence against real or suspected socialists and communists.

Historical origin

The original White Terror took place in 1794, during the turbulent times surrounding the French Revolution. It was organized by reactionary "Chouan" royalist forces in the aftermath of the Reign of Terror, and was targeted at the radical Jacobins and anyone suspected of supporting them.^[1]

White Terror after the Russian Revolution

Violent activities of the White Movement and other counter-revolutionary forces after the October Revolution and during the Russian Civil War were dubbed "White Terror".^[2][3]

Chinese White Terror

"White Terror" () in relation to modern Chinese history is associated with the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek.

April 12 Incident

The April 12 Incident took place during the Chinese Civil War. It was an attempted suppression of Communists, leftists, labour union members and Communist sympathisers by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang regime. Beginning in April 1927, the White Terror spread through many major Chinese cities, most notably Shanghai.

Also known as Chiang's "Bloody Double Cross", this White Terror saw his armies turn against their former Communist allies. Death squads patrolled the cities, on order to shoot anyone suspected of Communist leanings.

The formal name for the "Bloody Double Cross" is the Shanghai massacre. The Communist Party regime of the People's Republic of China refers to it as the "April 12 Counterrevolutionary Coup".

The "White Terror" continued throughout the Chinese civil war, and also resulted in the assassination of a number of prominent Communists, leftists and democrats such as Wen Yiduo.

Taiwanese White Terror

Rooted in the anti-Communist White Terror in mainland China and the 228 Incident (or 228 Massacre) on Taiwan in 1947, the "White Terror" describes the suppression of political dissidents and public discussion of the 228 Incident under the martial law period from May 19 1949 to July 15 1987.

During the White Terror, around 140,000 ethnic Chinese,^[4] mostly Taiwanese (known as Formosans at the time), were imprisoned or executed for their real or perceived opposition to the Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Chiang Kai-shek, according to a recent report by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. Most of those prosecuted were labeled by the Kuomintang as "bandit spies" (??), meaning spies for Chinese communists, and punished as such. Among the White Terror's victims were indeed many Taiwanese and mainland Chinese Communist agitators, but with time the White Terror permitted countless abuses. The "White Terror" left many native Taiwanese with a deep-seated bitterness towards the KMT, Chiang Kai-shek, and sometimes the Chinese. It should be noted that a large number of the White Terror's victims were mainland Chinese who usually owed their evacuation to the island to the KMT, and often having come unaccompanied to Taiwan were considered more disposable than local Taiwanese. Many of the mainland Chinese who survived the White Terror in Taiwan, like Bo Yang and Li Ao moved on promote Taiwan's democratization and the reform of the KMT. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the mainland Chinese victims of the White Terror since most did not have family members on the island and no political capital can be exploited from their deaths.

Fear of discussing the White Terror and the 228 Incident gradually decreased with the lifting of martial law in 1987, culminating in the establishment of an official public memorial and an apology by President Lee Teng-hui in 1995, and later by Ma Ying-jeou.^[5]

Spanish White Terror

During and after the civil war in Spain the Nationalist side murdered an estimated 200,000 people.

Notes

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