In the large park near my home is the National Taiwan Library. It is the oldest public library in Taiwan. Amazingly it's story seems to incorporate a few common threads from my blog.
It was opened in 1914 by the Japanese during their rule of Taiwan. It's first location was bombed by America during the WWII bombing. After China took over Taiwan, they moved the library to another location in the city. Eventually it got so big that in 2004 it was moved to it's current location. A huge modern building situated in a large public park.
On top of having all the books and facilities you would associate with any modern library, it also houses a large collection of historical documents about Taiwan. These date back to the dynasty era of China, through the Japanese colonial rule, and the fascist inspired rule of the KMT.
These documents are a motivation of mine. The longer I am here and the more I learn about Taiwan, the more I am interested in it's secret stories. Those stories which were suppressed after every successive regime change. I have become so fascinated that I am considering writing a book about the secret, hidden, and forgotten stories of Taiwan's history. I both hope that one day I can read the documents in this library for research, and perhaps my book will be in the library itself.
