May 24 Incident

May 24 Incident (Chinese: 五二四事件), also called Liu Zi-ran Incident (Chinese: 劉自然事件) was an international incident between the United States and the Republic of China started from a murder case conducted by US military personnel stationed in Taiwan, 1957, resulting in a mob attack on the US Embassy in Taipei.

Background

On March 20, 1957, Liu Ziran, a Republic of China Army Major and staff member at the Institute of Revolutionary Practice in Taiwan, was confronted by an American soldier, Sgt. Robert G. Reynolds, near the grounds of the Yangmingshan American Military Housing. Reynolds shot and killed Liu in unclear circumstances.

Riot

Two months, on May 24, 1957, an American military court acquitted Reynolds of unlawful killing. At 10 am, a group of protesters appeared. Acts of violence started at 1 pm, and by 2:30 pm the crowd had grown to 6,000 people, chanting anti-American slogans and demanding justice for Liu. The crowd threw rocks and bricks at the American Embassy and smashed vehicles and furniture with wooden clubs. Protesters tore up American flags. The Taipei police were called in, and dispersed the riot. 3 people died, 38 were injured and 111 were arrested.^[1]

Aftermath

The US government complained to the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of China about the incident. President Chiang Kai-shek met with Karl L. Rankin, then US Ambassador. Of those arrested, 71 were released without charge and the rest were sentenced to prison terms of 6 months to 1 year.^[2]

References

1. 鄭懿瀛. "劉自然事件" (in Chinese). 中央社. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
2. 包括唐德剛、劉宜良都認為，劉自然事件是蔣經國“俄式領導”的初試啼聲。也代表著台灣即將進入“蔣經國時代”。

See also

• Attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities

External links

• 鄭懿瀛. "劉自然事件". 行政院文化建設委員會國家文化資料庫知識管理系統. Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
• 鄭懿瀛. "劉自然事件". 網路文化建設發展計畫. Retrieved 2014-11-15.