Afternoon in March

This shot showed up on my social media last month. According to FB, I took this photograph in March 2012, over 14 years ago. I remember taking this shot, representing apartment buildings and businesses, with Taipei 101 (Taipei's tallest building at the time) at the end of the hall. I was on Chungshiao East Road (忠孝東路) in the afternoon, outside the door of my daughter's preschool. I took Afternoon in March on a smartphone, an iPhone, I think. 

POW Taiwan

My wife and I have been scouting on Mondays, our day off from The Hammer. The plan is to first realize a place of historical significance. Then we go there and look at it. 

Shufang and I went to "Municipal Historic Site -- Remains of Taipei Prison Wall." In 1899, the Taipei Prison was constructed in the vicinity of what is now the Guting MRT Station by Taiwanese labor under the guidance of a Japanese colonial government. All that remains in 2026 is part of a wall (above). There are some markers, such as the following, planted under the advisement of a POW Taiwan group, I suppose: 

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On June 19, 1945, 14 Americans captured from a downed plane were executed in Taipei at this location. These soldiers were blamed for fighting Japan. Japan and the US were fighting WWII at the moment, and Taiwan was a colony of Japan and fighting alongside. In fact, 200,000 Taiwanese individuals served in the Imperial Japanese army with 30,000 losing their lives. I do not know what the civilian numbers were. My wife's great aunt died age 19 when the market she was in was hit from the air. Shufang's grandma, who lived to 100, told me about it.

How we behave toward each other during war has been a matter of concern for some time. From 70 to 85 million people were killed during WWII, but the general idea is there should be a vein of decency running through the murder and mayhem. We have established the Geneva Convention, reminding the world there are rules. Poisonous gases on the battlefield are prohibited. Killing with bullets and bombs are not. When an enemy surrenders, he/she needs to be fed, sheltered and protected. The execution of 14 American POWs at this prison in Taipei, Taiwan defies that spirit.

The Geneva Convention dates back to the 19th century. Japan, which provided Taiwan's government up until 1945, signed the Geneva Convention in 1929, more than a decade before her attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941). So, Japan agreed to this point regarding executing POWs: "The Geneva Convention prohibits the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples." Japan did not ratify the Geneva Convention until 1949. I looked up "what is the difference between sign and ratify." I discovered:

"Signing a document expresses intent to agree, while ratification makes the agreement legally binding." For the latter, we are talking about it getting approved by a board, congress, parliament and so forth. I was talking about this with my history professor at NCCU in Taipei a long time ago. He figured Japan did not even read the Geneva Convention fully or at least with any sincerity. He figured Japan just wanted to sit at the table with what she perceived were the big boys -- the West.

The code of the warrior in Japan, the Bushido, stresses a samurai should not be taken alive. A warrior should fight to the death, as surrender means dishonor to oneself and one's family. This has turned into another excuse for not honoring one's word (see signing the Geneva Convention but ignoring it). Samurai law? Some three to four percent of American POWs taken by the Germans perished. Make that 40% taken by the Japanese (and the Taiwanese, who served in Japan's colonial system). One common line of defense for acting dishonorably while espousing honor is this: we did not regard them worthy of life, these POWs who did not fight to the death. 

Looking at atrocities committed on POWs around Taiwan during WWII, other things besides the Bushido way of the warrior crap could be considered. Taiwanese men often wanted to get into the Imperial Army as the pay was around three times the average. Taiwanese men could get in from 1931 and applicants were regularly rejected on merit. As Japan's numbers thinned, conscription came about. Even then, a meritocracy existed. The most useless, the stupidest and the least manageable could not make the regular ranks. They were often assigned as guards in jails around Taiwan instead.  

The Bushido was a concept of the elite. The people in power in Japan understood what it meant, had memorized the precepts. Maybe they truly understood its power and could make a case. Maybe they were brainwashed. Maybe they used the Bushido as a tactic to control the poor and uneducated who did the fighting and dying. One can liken option three to the "I Ain't no Senator's Son" complex of America, thank you for your service manipulation. Surrendered Japanese enlisted men normally ended up in POW camps in Australia and New Zealand. They probably could have cared less about the way of the warrior. They were drafted. They were the sons of farmers and fishermen. They could happily wait out a war learning how to make sandals, going to class and farming, getting out of the humidity, away from malaria. 

Luodong Forestry Culture Garden

My wife and I took the train from Taipei to Luodong last Monday. The Luodong Forestry Culture Garden ( 羅東林業文化園區) is about a ten-minute walk from the station. A logging community at the base of Taiping Mountain (太平山) was established, according to a guide, 31 years before 1945. 

There is a traditional home on exhibit, with a kitchen, bedroom, cooking utensils and information. The employees normally ate yams with a dash of rice -- rice was considered a treat. Once a month, fish and sake were distributed by the Japanese bosses. The Luodong Forestry Culture Garden opened up during the Japanese colonial era (1895 - 1945). A train station opened in 1926 for tourists. There used to be a gondola. I am not sure it still exists. 

I got a kick out of this exhibit. I imagine they were running out of stuff to display. Then a museum organizer noticed this yellow truck parked on the road. "Hey!" he shouted. "Drive that thing over here." They slapped a plaque at the front of it (below).

There is a night market within walking distance of the Luodong Forestry Garden. Google Maps has the open time at 15.00 daily. Not exactly. 

Taiwan August 5, 1884: The Langston Affair

 When I am interested in looking into Taiwan’s history, I might refer to the Political and Economic reports, written and sent to London or embassies by the British consuls stationed in Tamsui, Taiwan from 1861 to 1960. These letters were originally confidential, so their content could end up being quite candid. Consuls did not have to worry about politics or accidentally frenzying the public, being accused of being a bunch of foreigners meddling or whatever. The following is an account from 1884. The letter was sent to Beijing, to Sir Harry S. Parkes, and dated August 5, 1884. The sender’s surname might have been surnamed Gregory. The cursive is beautiful but at times hard to read.  I cannot make out the first name:

“Sir,” the consul writes after supposedly rushing back to Tamsui: “The state of affairs here is quiet, thus far. The distressing news of the Langston affair and consequent alarms, reached me at Takow on the 18^th Ultimo.” Takow is the old name for Kaohsiung. This is the first time I have heard of Langston. Gregory had come north overland. On the way, he met soldiers from Hunan in an inn he stayed at. Enquires were made to whether coastal defenses were in place and could hold. For what these coastal defenses were needed is not explained.

Gregory was told General Yang (楊在元) was on his way out. Imperial Commissioner Lew (留銘傳) was “expected to arrive here from the north of the island but has not come.” This is where the letter gets confusing. The consul wrote on the previous page: “I came up from Takow hither overland, sleeping in an inn.” Now he is meeting an “ordinary official” that afternoon in Anping on business relating to land. Gregory informs Beijing that Lew has ordered the discontinuance of train-bands. The arsenal steamer Fuk-po steamed into port July 21, 1884 from Amoy.

This letter was sent one day after the French Far East Fleet attacked Taiwan at Keelung. Another thing that gets my attention is the mention of Imperial Commissioner Lew (留銘傳). I suppose this explains the confusion. Gregory may have even been purposely vague on his whereabouts, just in case the letter fell into the wrong hands. He still had not gotten the lay of the land.

Some see Lew (normally spelled Liu now) as an important figure in Taiwan’s history. In 1885, Lew became Taiwan’s first provincial governor when the government in Beijing

separated the island from Fujian. He was the first locally based governor in Taiwan since the end of the Koxinga era which ended in 1683. Local politicians have likened themselves to Liu, see Ma Ying-jeou. He was appreciated for his modernity and honesty. He came over from China, so he was like a waishengren (外省人).  

I will put a picture of the handwriting. I should come back to Liu. I will later.

 

Taiwan's Secret Pyramids

My friend Alain has a YouTube channel focusing on conspiracy theories, reptilians, UFOs, secret doors plus portals, sunken doors and so forth. He travels to places in Eastern Europe or the South Pacific to investigate, film and pin things down: Unveiling the Secrets of Mount Kailash Part 2    

In this video, he takes viewers to Yangming Mountain to see a pyramid and Japanese graves from the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). 

Taiwan's Secret Pyramid

Constance Collier, Osoyoos, B.C.

I looked up Constance Collier (1878-1955). Born in Windsor, England, Collier was "known to be very tall with a big personality." She was a dancer and actress of the stage. Later Collier migrated to Hollywood to become an acting coach. She collaborated with Ivor Novello to write plays and film. Novello starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock: The Lodger and Downhill (both 1927). The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians writes of Novello he was until "the advent of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the 20 century's most consistently successful composer of British musicals." He was a trailblazer for other reasons. Hilda Hammerton postcards can be bought online.

My daughter found this postcard of Constance postcard (above) in a secondhand store in Osoyoos, British Columbia. There are a couple of lakes with nice beaches in Osoyoos, which is tourist destination in wine country on the US border. The store is a couple blocks away from the lake and owned by a man who migrated from Ontario a decade ago. We bought some cassettes from the eighties for 25 cents apiece (Whitney Houston, K-Mart Hits of the Year, etc.) for my daughter's Walkman II. I found some Beatles' fan papers as well. They cost $2.50 per. 

The postcard was sent from Newport, Wales to Brittle Cottage, Shatterford, misspelled as Shaterford, on September 10, 1909. How the postcard ended up in a little store in Western Canada for my daughter to buy July 20, 2024 is anyone's guess. Maybe Nell and Will immigrated to Ontario and were related to the proprietor. The postcard reads:

"Dear Nell and Will, [I] hope you are both quite well[.] I don't feel as though I have had any holiday now can suc friends name the I mean with much, love from Mark."

What Have You Done for Country, Enderby, B.C., Canada?

We drove up into the Okanagan region from Vancouver this summer. The Okanagan, set east of Vancouver, is the warmest area of Canada. Cache Creek, Canada's only desert, sits on the northern fringe. There are wineries throughout, winding, steep roads with speed limits that dip down to 20 km/hr. leading up into the Rocky Mountains. When I was a kid, I used to go down to the Okanagan from Prince George to play sports. I was impressed by the heat even then. Now it is similar to California. Scorching hot. Zero humidity. 

This is a record of men from Princeton, B.C. who died during WWII. This war took place in Europe, not Canada. Canada was a colony of Great Britain, so youngsters were dragged into war, half a world away. 

Enderby, B.C. The museums are so expensive in Canada now. I walk around the downtown Main Streets and hit the parks nearby to get a lesson. Who is going to pay $30 to go into a museum? 

The population of Enderby, B.C. is 2,947. The town runs between a ridge to the north and a river, for around twenty blocks. I bet Enderby was smaller eighty years ago. Fourteen guys died from Enderby in World War One. 

Here is the memorial for the men that fell in World War One from Richmond, B.C., Canada. Notice at the base of the memorial two people with Japanese surnames who died: Kazuo Harada and Hikotara Koyanagi. "They died for you," the memorial reminds us. This was a war that took place in Europe, not North America. I am not really sure why these two immigrants fought. To uphold inbred monarchs or stop Germany who was late to imperialism from achieving colonies of her own? They were not defending their homes or way life at all. In World War Two, 22,000 Canadians with Japanese last names, some undoubtedly related to Harada and Koyangi, would be interned in prisoner camps. Old people, kids, women. They were forced out of their homes. The businesses they had created and operated were smashed by mobs. Pretty much all they worked for was stolen from them and not compensated until 1988. In 1988, PM Mulroney signed a bill to compensate the survivors of the prisoner camps and Canadian mob rule $22,000 per.

Around 5,000 people of Ukrainian descent were interned in similar camps during World War One. This was another case of the Canadian government invoking the War Measures Act and detaining (not arresting as habeas corpus was not upheld) any one not looking right.