Several student protests occurred in the 1920s, two of which took place at the Taihakou Normal School in 1922 and 1924. The first incident started as a conflict regarding traffic rules between a student and the police, which resulted in the police enforcing measures within the school campus. The officials believed the students were influenced by the Taiwan Cultural Association, and 205 students were forced to withdraw their membership. The incident in 1924 started with the field trip and led to the Taiwanese students showing their disgruntlement at being treated unequally compared with their Japanese counterparts. In the end, 36 students were expelled from the school. Based on the student registration books, several students who later became prominent painters were involved with the incident. Chen Chih-chi was expelled, and other students who were expelled include Chen Shih-chang and Chen Ho-kuei. During the protests, the two students deliberately spoke in Taiwanese, which showed that the Taiwanese language was a symbol of resistance at the time. (Elanor Hsinho Wang)
Student registration pages of Tēnn Thài-tshong (Cheng Tai-tsung), Tân Hô-kuì (Chen He-kuei), Tân Sè-tshiong (Chen Shih-chang), Lîm Bo̍k-sūn (Lin Mu-shun) in volume 2 of Registration of Dropout Students from Taisho 8 to 13 (1918-1924), 1924, digital print. Collection of National Taipei University of Education Alumni Center
Report of “The Sorrow of Students and the Painstaking Efforts of Tsiúnn Ūi-súi (Chiang Wei-shui)”
The Taiwan Minpao, January 1, 1925, digital print
