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 the following, planted under the advisement of a POW Taiwan group, I suppose:
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 Taipeil 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.
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