1949-1992年間,臺灣有數以萬計的人民,遭統治當局以叛亂或匪諜罪嫌加以拘捕、審問和處罰,導致白色恐怖氛圍長期籠罩全臺。該時期之所以出現眾多政治案件,實有其複雜的因素;其中,「強人威權黨國體制」是核心因素,而「強人」(蔣介石與蔣經國)與「黨」(國民黨)是了解該體制的重點,在這當中,蔣介石、蔣經國、國民黨三者皆扮演重要的角色。考究該體制發展的歷程,有訓政時期黨國體制與文化的移植,也有戰後動員戡亂體制與戒嚴體制的建構,以及「改造」後威權體制的強化等面向。當時國民黨當局以此背離民主人權要求的體制作為發動機,於是出現眾多不當與不法處置的白色恐怖政治案件。
Between 1949 and 1992, tens of thousands of people in Taiwan were arrested, interrogated, and punished by the authorities based on suspicion that they were either seditious or in collusion with Communist agents. This was the time of the ”White Terror.” The appearance of numerous political cases during this era were the result of several complex factors, foremost of which was the ”strongman authoritarian party-state system.” The ”strongmen” (Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo) and ”party” (Kuomintang) were critical elements to understanding this system as Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo, and the Kuomintang all played important roles. In the course of this system's development there was a party-state system and cultural transplantation in the period of political tutelage, promotion of mobilization for suppression of Communist rebellion and martial law after World War II, and a strengthening of the authoritarian system after ”reformation.” At that time, the Kuomintang used as its engine an organization that departed from democracy and human rights. The consequence was the appearance of a multitude of improper and unlawfully managed White Terror political cases.