It's not widely known that Taiwan was on the side of the Japanese and Nazis, in WWII. This is because at that time Japan owned and occupied Taiwan. Taiwanese were offered Japanese citizenship if they joined the Japanese military, as such many Taiwanese fought in the Asian front in WWII.
This also made Taiwan a target of the allied forces. As such, it was bombed by the Chinese, Soviets, and Americans. Pictured above is the President's office building (the building from yesterday) after it was bombed by American forces. Bombings took place all over Taipei city, as well as smaller towns that had factories. Many political buildings in Taipei were hit, but many civilian buildings were hit as well. There is a girls' high school across the street from the president's building which was hit (this school is still in use now and is the number 1 girls' high school in the country).
The war in Taiwan was not so one sided however. Taiwan had sixteen POW work camps around the island, including four in Taipei. There was never any land battle in Taiwan, so all the war prisoners were brought in from the other battlegrounds in Asia. The prisoners were mostly British and American soldiers.
Any student of history will know that Japanese POW camps were horrible places, where the death rate was 35%, compared to the Nazi POW camps where the death rate was only 2%. In Japanese camps, the prisoners were beaten, humiliated, and used as slave labor until they fell ill and died. Prisoners were given no medical treatment, or medicine. In fact there is one amazing story about a fellow medic prisoner who fixed up the men using what was around. Even conducting life saving surgeries using only a razor blade and no anesthetic.
The worst of the camps was actually at that abandoned copper mine that i visited a month ago (pictures and stories are in past blog entries). There are terrible stories about the prisoner's lives, and how they were abused by the Japanese and Taiwanese guards. Also stories of cave ins, being stranded because the lamp went out, and other horrors.
However this is also the place where the previously mentioned doctor was, and where some Taiwanese miners risked their lives to sneak food to the soldiers. But as whole they would try to stay away from the prisoners for fear of being beaten with a mining hammer by the guards.
After the war, Japan had to hand over Taiwan back to China. And since the Chinese government at that time was very pro-American, they quickly suppressed all records of the allied bombings and the Japanese pow camps. During the war trails, many of the Japanese guards were found guilty of crimes against humanity, and executed, however none of the Taiwanese soldiers or guards were ever put on trial, and some are still alive today.
About seventeen years ago, former POWs came back to Taiwan in an effort to face the past, and remember those that they lost. They went around the island speaking with locals, who would show them where the old camps were, or where the burial grounds were for those that died. Since that time, the group has been making memorials at a few of the camps, and holding ceremonies once a year. In fact the biggest memorial is on the sight of the old camp at the abandoned copper mine. I remember when I explored the area there was a trail sign that said "POW memorial" but at the time I didn't go because I didn't know exactly what POWs it was talking about. I hope to go back in November when they have their annual memorial ceremonies.
I know I can't really do justice to such a dark and for the most part, suppressed part of Taiwanese and American/British history. And there are so many stories to tell. If you'd like to know more about this I highly suggest going to www.powtaiwan.org This is the website for the group which has been bringing these stories to light over the past seventeen years. There are some amazing stories, and a great audio interview with one of the former prisoners. It's a highly informative listen.
