[1] The Japanese rule saw Taiwan take large strides towards modernization, as they oversaw improvements to the island's infrastructure, economy, and health and education systems.

[6] The town of Beipu was predominantly made up of members of the Hakka subgroup of Han Chinese, while people of the Saisiyat indigenous ethnic group also lived in the area.

[7] As Taiwanese aborigines, rather than Han Chinese, these groups were viewed as barbarians and were particularly likely to face oppression from Japanese rule,[8] especially under Sakuma Samata's term as governor-general.

The group, consisting mainly of Hakka with the support of the local Saisiyat aboriginal tribes, seized a collection of weapons in Beipu Township on 14 November.

As retribution, Japanese authorities killed more than 100 Hakka over the following days, the majority of whom were young males from Neitaping (內大坪), a small village in the area.