Taiwanese Are Easy to Deceive Series: The Historical Truth about the Taipei Air Raid

This article aims to clarify misconceptions about the 'Taipei Air Raid' (May 31, 1945). The author argues that it is absurd for Taiwan independence advocates to use the air raid to criticize the KMT as the enemy of the Taiwanese people. The piece points out that Taipei's population density was low and buildings were scattered at the time, and the raid primarily targeted the political center of the Japanese colonial government. By comparing bombing maps with actual Allied aerial photos, the author claims the hits were concentrated and precise, not a dense carpet-bombing of civilian areas. Furthermore, since an early warning system existed and the Japanese military had already fled, civilian casualties were far lower than claimed; those remaining in Taipei were mostly 'elite Japanese subjects' who could have taken cover in advance.