Swatow 1895-1937

Very few people in Taiwan know of the adventures of teachers from Taiwan who worked in Swatow (汕頭, Shantou or Suátao) for a time. This is now reported by 曾齡儀 Tseng Lin-yi in her PhD dissertation, "A Cross-boundary People: The Commercial Activities, Social Networks, and Travel Writings of Japanese and Taiwanese Sekimin in the Shantou Treaty Port (1895-1937)" (2014). Dissertations and Theses, 2014-Present. Paper 119 (here).

And the Abstract in part: "This dissertation explores Japanese imperial history in East Asia and focuses on a group of “cross-boundary people”—Taiwanese sekimin ([台灣籍民] Taiwanese who registered as Japanese subjects) and Japanese—who went to the treaty port of Shantou in southern China during the period between 1895 and 1937. The starting time point (i.e., 1895) corresponds to the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which Japan acquired Taiwan as a colony and informal privileges in Chinese treaty ports. The ending time point (i.e., 1937) corresponds to the decline that Shantou’s Japanese community experienced owing to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937."

Wedding photo of 鄭嘉昌 and 潘瑾, courtesy of the Cheng Fanily

One of the Taiwanese teachers at Swatow’s Tōē (東瀛) School was Mr 鄭嘉昌 (Jia-chang Zheng) who later married his fellow teacher Miss 潘瑾, and together, they raised 3 children during the family's stay in Swatow from late 1920s to early 1930s before returning to Taiwan. In June, 1939, Swatow was occupied by the Japanese and in July 1941, the Zheng family moved to Swatow again with Mr 鄭 appointed by the Taiwan General Gov't as a linguist. He later joined the Yoshimura Trading Co and became a successful businessman.

The recall of life in Swatow by the eldest daughter Miss 鄭美華 (Mei-hua Zheng) is astoundingly complete and vivid, readers are encouraged to have a close look (pp 178-185).

The Zheng/Cheng Family was from Tamsui. After the war, Mr 鄭嘉昌 became the Principal of WenHua (文化,1945-61) and Tamsui (淡水, 1961-69) Elementary Schools, educating Tamsui children for nearly a quarter of a century.

Parade announcement

To celebrate MaZu's birthday, the annual parade will be held on May 8 (Friday). No automobile or motorbike traffic will be allowed between 9AM to 9PM, from HuanNan Bank to Mackay sculpture (i.e., this stretch of Chung Cheng Road). Temporary parking along the Golden Coast is available before 12 noon. Your cooperation is much appreciated.

1950s Part 9: Santa

Dec 17, 1958, was when Santa Claus made his first appearance in the subtropical Taiwan:

The lone Santa in a pedicab attracted so much attention that a new group of Christmas shoppers suddenly emerged. No one knew who let loose this Santa sans reindeers. Regardless, he would soon become part of Taiwan pop culture, despite the fact that most houses were not equipped with a fireplace, let alone a chimney. Cut-out cardboard pictures of Santa together with poinsettia plants would proliferate, popped up everywhere in December. And of course, no one knew why poinsettia was part of Christmas celebration.

Eventually, the Gov't in 1963, resurrected a disused holiday, National Constitution Day行憲紀念日, so that Dec 25 became a day off for all. That is until the year 2001 when public servants started enjoying a 5-day workweek and the extra holiday was called off, reserved only for Christians and private businesses.

[Photos from Taipeimarc]

1950s Part 8: Rare friends

In the entire history of US-Taiwan inter-relations, Gen Dwight Eisenhower remains the only US President that had ever officially visited Taiwan (1960). Less noted were tours by US VPs, among them, Richard Nixon (1953), Hubert Humphrey (1966), and Spiro Agnew (1970, 1971). To the common folks, pomp and circumstances always trump diplomatic intrigues. After spending hours waiting in the sun, just to catch a glimpse of and enthusiastically cheer for the visiting heads of state, life is good, afterwards.

An embroiderer in a shack, refugee from China, pinning his hope of
returning home on Eisenhower and CKS 

In the 1950s, trips to Taiwan taken by heads of state were, however, rare. And among the most prominent were two monarchs from far far away, the Shah of Iran Pahlavi (1919-1980) and the Lion King of Jordan Hussein (1935-1999).

Shah of Iran 伊朗國王巴勒維陛下 and CKS, May 14, 1958

The history of the ancient Persian Empire is familiar to most school children in Taiwan. The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BC) was often regarded as the equivalent to Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) in both scope and grandeur. A visit paid by the Emperor reigning from the Peacock Throne therefore had generated a huge buzz. We were also all fascinated by tales of the Shah's coronation and reception, and the romance between the Shah and his queen(s). The fact that the Shah was actually meeting Taiwan's need for international support further endeared him to the people of Taiwan.

The Shah's itinerary in Taiwan was quite extensive. Arriving at SongShan Airport greeted with military honor, His Majesty met with dignitaries in Taipei on the first day (May 14). The next day, he went to Taoyuan to tour the Shihmen Dam, to HsinChuang to chat with a farming family, then attend a banquet in his honor at the Presidential Palace. Next day, a review of military exercise followed by visits to military bases in southern Taiwan before retiring to Kaohsiung Grand Hotel. The whole May 17 was scheduled for tours of industry and the National Palace Museum in Taichung. Then off to SunMoon Lake to spend the night at 涵碧樓 with dinner and a special Peking opera show, hosted by VP Chen-chen. The Shah returned to Taipei on May 18 and gave a reciprocal banquet honoring CKS and Mme Chiang. He left for Japan on May 19 and was sent off with military honor again at SongShan Airport.

King Hussein 胡笙國王 with CKS, March 9，1959

Almost a year later, an Arab king came calling. Tales of the Arabian Nights were also well-known to the children of Taiwan - even though most if not all had ever met an Arab before. King Hussein's tour of Taiwan set off unbounded imagination very quickly. And the title, the Lion of Jordan, instantaneously conjured up an image of a fearless fighter. That was exactly what the respect shown King Hussein by the people of Taiwan. His Majesty arrived in SongShan Airport to great fanfare before arriving at the Grand Hotel for a brief rest prior to starting the itinerary, which was as busy as that for the Shah of Iran. Most notable was that at the time, the first Islamic mosque was being built in Taipei (清真寺 on HsinSheng S Road) and King Hussein actually paid homage to the mosque, albeit still under construction, much to the delight of all Muslims in Taiwan.

People in the know always condescendingly told us that it was really all quid-pro-quo. That would not be surprising in the cynical world of international diplomacy. Nonetheless, even six decades later, we still remember this, "A friend in need is a friend indeed".

[Photos courtesy of Taipeimarc]

1950s Part 7: New minorities

Courtesy:Taipeimarc

The caption of this rare photo dated March 29 (1961) tells a powerful story: after 10 years of fighting the PLA, KMT stragglers relocated to Taiwan. It shows a queue of unarmed men in uniform with backpacks and canteens waiting at 王田 train station (now known as 成功 station gateway to the main military boot camp in Taiwan, 成功嶺) in Taichung. And indeed they were Nationalist stragglers, some had retreated to Burma-Laos-Thai borders and fought on as guerrillas since March 9, 1950. They were led at different times by KMT generals, 李彌, 李國輝, 朱心一, 段希文, and 柳元麟 with reinforcements dispatched from Taiwan, for example, 700 men in 1952, and at one point in 1953, even up to 18,500 men. Most were, however, withdrawn in 1953-54. And 1961 marked a coordinated attack by PLA and Burmese army; this was when the final withdrawal took place.

On March 24, 1961, 253 individuals, consisting of 77 guerrilla-fighters and the rest their family followers, were airlifted to Pintung and arrived in 成功嶺 on the next day (above). After 100 days of re-training, they were sent to Nantou to settle in 清境農場 (ChingJing Plantation), their final destination. This area is high in the mountains (elevation: 1,750m), about 8 km to the north of WuShe (霧社) famous for the 1930 Aboriginal rebellion against the colonial Japanese.

Their family members were composed of an astounding assortment of minority tribes found in the YunNan border areas, including 擺夷族(傣族), 裸黑(拉祐族), 栗栗族, 阿佧(哈尼族), 佧佤(佧族), 傜家(瑤族), 紅苗(苗族), and 蒲曼(布朗族), perhaps adding a bit more to the multi-culturalism in Taiwan as the new minorities.

Starting out from essentially a primitive living environment with no running water or electricity, the newly arrived have over the past 5 decades turned the Plantation into a tourist attraction, well-known for its European-like landscapes, not to mention the rich crops of pears, peaches, plums, kiwi fruits and other bounties, with wooly sheep everywhere.

European castle, one of the resorts in ChingJing Plantation

Not everyone joined the group in Taiwan in 1961. The remnants of the guerrilla army continued fighting on, now known commonly and unofficially as the 93rd Army, commanded by Gen 段希文. That is until 1964 when all causes were lost. Although, for survival, they had already become drug lords and/or enforcers in the famed Golden Triangle.

1950s Part 6: Stability

Taiwan menaced by Red China (illustration dated Mar 26, 1955)

It was an era of fight-to-the-death anti-communism, absolutely for real. Rhetorically, the slogan was "反共抗俄Repel the CCP and Resist the Soviet" supplemented with "Long live ROC", "Long Live CKS", and "Counter Attack Recover Mainland". Undeniably, however, it was also a time of prosperity. Taipeimarc has done a superb job organizing a series of photos showing a wide range of the 1950s economic development in Taiwan (here). Photo below is just an example: a 3,600-ton oil tanker, the SS Faith, that was being built in 1959 in Keelung:

Military and financial aids from the US were both timely and generous. And with increasing number of college graduates preparing/departing for overseas study for advanced degrees in the US, the influence of American pop culture, through music, novels and especially movies, was quite far reaching. All kids knew Hollywood movie stars by heart and learned indirectly the American way of life from the films. The gov't even banned the "West Side Story" to avoid gang-banging copycats (didn't work, BTW, movie plot, songs and sleek photos went around anyway).
 

Two movies both starring Rock Hudson, Giant (1956) and Something of Value (1957) were shown in Taipei. People queued up to buy admission tickets. Those in military uniforms were actually high school students. 

In the real world, there was little or no interaction between the Americans and the locals, however. Most US families stayed in the exclusive TianMu and YangMingShan suburbs enjoying a colonial life style, complete with servants, and kept to themselves. Some US servicemen frequented bars and night clubs on Chung Shan N Road that did not cater to the locals anyway. It was therefore surprising that on May 24, 1957, the US Embassy in Taipei was sacked by a "mob" (below). Almost no one expected anti-Americanism in Taiwan at that time. More likely, it was a protest against diplomatic immunity, which was confused with the unequal treaties forced upon the Qing by western powers. In many ways, the riot was a nationalism education in schools of all levels that had backfired. In fact, the youths were active participants, even children could be spotted in the crowd:

The riot

The incident was ignited by the acquittal of an American sergeant attached to the US Embassy, who had shot and killed 劉自然Liu Zi-ran, a citizen of Taiwan, claiming that Liu was a prowling peeping Tom. Even if the allegation was true, the use of deadly force was clearly unjustified. ROC security force nevertheless quickly took action and 3 rioters were shot dead, 111 arrested. Students who took part in the riot were later denied visa application, in effect barred from entering the US for life.

In the meantime, military preparedness continued unabated, just in case the Reds decided to attack, even high school girls were required to participate in drill sessions (below) and in target practice shooting with M1 rifles.

For the rest of the population, it was hustle and bustle:

The beginning of the motorbike age - the whole family on a Suzuki 50cc

Leg-powered traffic at the railroad crossing near North Gate in Taipei

The old Chung Hua Road where price haggling was an art (and a must)

The tranquility was occasionally disturbed by sporadic fighting in Kinmen and Matsu. The biggest event was the visit by Gen Dwight Eisenhower on June 18, 1960, the only US President that has ever endorsed Taiwan in such an open manner. He arrived in Songshan Airport greeted by CKS and the enthusiastic welcome of the people of Taiwan. We the students were among the cheering crowd lining both sides of the streets when the motorcade passed though.

This period lasted until Oct 25, 1971 when the UN passed a resolution ousting Taiwan. Earlier on July 15, Richard Nixon announced his planned visit to PRC, the first blow of the one-two punch. From this point on, Taiwan was on its own, struggled to maintain diplomatic relation with mostly third-world nations, and at the same time, to remain free from a forced takeover by the PRC. Even today.

Many who grew up in this 1950s era still recall a stable time for most ordinary citizens even though the stability was possible only because Taiwan was ruled under martial law. Not the least, though, the prosperity was brought about by dedicated workers and professionals of all walks in a time for survival.

1950s Part 5: Land reform

 Land reform, more like robbing Peter to pay Paul
Paul now owned a brick house with stone pillars and a water buffalo
and Peter, worthless stocks of unprofitable nationalized corporations

Source: http://taipics.com/mediapubs_development.php

In 1953, 耕者有其田條例 was enacted. Many, to this day, still believe that this was a governmental benevolent policy (德政). Indeed, 300,000 tenant-farmer families had reaped the benefits; even though it came at a hefty price to others that had been haplessly classified as landlords.

Taiwan land reform working manual, Feb 1953

The definition of Landlord in China had evolved with time:
(1) In 1928, a small landlord was one who owned around 3.07 hectares of land. By this standard, only 6.77% of Taiwan's peasant households in the early 1950s qualified.
(2) In 1933, the threshold was changed to 5.12 hectares. And 2.88% of Taiwan's landowners would have qualified.
(3) In 1941, the definition again changed to an ownership of 18.41 hectares, only 0.9% of Taiwan's farming households would have qualified.
In other words, unlike China, there were very few mega-landlords in Taiwan.

Land reform was a policy of the utmost import in China. Whoever won the hearts and minds of the peasants would rule China. The slogan 耕者有其田 (land solely for tillers) was actually shared by both CCP and KMT. This photo was taken in the "liberated areas" in China in 1947:

土地法大纲公布后，解放区农民行动起来，为实现“耕者有其田”而斗争

The CCP mode was a bloody one, with the "evil" mega-landlords totally eliminated in the 50s. When the KMT carried out the land reform in Taiwan, a landlord is now defined as anyone who rented out land regardless of the acreage. With this, 106,049 households with more than 2 million people were affected, and many became destitute from the loss of their major even the only income.

Was there such a need for land reform as that in Communist China? Political, sociological, and economical analyses and debates abound these days. The simple fact remains that there was not much of a difference in wealth between the land owners and the hired farmers by the 1950s. Starting in the 1920s, through education, many owners had become white collar workers and moved away. And for a multitude of reasons, there were also households with no menfolks to work the fields. These owners leased out often their inherited family plots to those farming neighbors. Changes in the employment structure in 1946 and the monetary system in 1949 had ensured financial ruin of Taiwanese "landlords". Worse, under the robbing Peter to pay Paul land grab, Peter was compensated with stocks worth 1/10 of their face values, issued by nationalized corporations that never turned a profit. At least only livelihood, not lives, was lost.

This land reform was in fact the biggest property transfer in modern Taiwan history. Also neglected was what would happen to the land if the tenant-farmer-turned-land-owners decided to get out of farming. In the past 60 years, they had been selling off the land for industrial or residential development, first a trickle, increasingly, to a torrent in recent years, and a crop of nouveau riche is born.

[For more, see Taipei Times 2/1/2007]