Oct 26, 2023·edited Oct 26, 2023Liked by Broad and Ample Road, Michelle Kuo
I was once told by a Taiwanese person who lived through the Japanese occupation that the arrival of the nationalist army was a shocking experience.
He didn't idealize the Japanese occupation, but said that the main negative aspects he remembered were one or two local cases of police brutality and the fact that Taiwanese weren't allowed to eat rice during the war, instead subsisting on taro. Even late into the war, the Japanese soldiers he regularly saw were well-kempt and professional in appearance, owing to the specific role that Taiwan played in the Japanese war effort. He spoke fluent Japanese and Taiwanese, and passing Mandarin.
When the KMT army arrived, they had spent a decade fighting, and were at that time in the process of losing a civil war. They were, he said, haggard, hungry, and dressed in irregular clothing, sometimes close to rags. The contrast between the Japanese soldiers that had lost the war and the Chinese soldiers that had "won" was mind-boggling to the people in his town.
I could imagine the Taiwanese memory of the Japanese colonial era is heavily colored by what came after. I think it would be hard to maintain an accurate memory of the hardships of Japanese colonial rule during the 30-40 years of what was essentially a period of even more brutal Chinese colonial rule, complete with cultural assimilation methods and government posts primarily reserved for non-natives.
Oct 28, 2023Liked by Broad and Ample Road, Michelle Kuo
Thank you. Fascinating essay. Do you think that the women in the great hall at Baitou were being nostalgic for Japan rule or simply admiring their kimonos? As an American, I admire classic Japanese architcture (as for example in your photo) and at the same time detest what their government did. My parents could not hold these two views because WWII. Separating arts and crafts from government actions seems reasonable (just as we don't blame citizens for the crimes of their states). But to do so, you need to have some distance. Your essay suggests that Taiwanese people have acquired that distance faster than Koreans. This doesn't mean necessarily that the occupation was any less severe; responses differ. Of course, enjoying kimonos could reflect ignorance of history or some kind of actual nostalgia (Stockholm syndrome??); those are obviously less salutary. Maybe a combination...
Oct 29, 2023Liked by Broad and Ample Road, Michelle Kuo
I agree with Tobias that the women in the great hall at Baitou were not necessarily being nostalgic for Japan rule although it could. The author seemed to jump into these kind of conclusions throughout her article. She also did not understand how Taiwanese' great suffer under KMT rules. My mother told us how Taiwanese whole-hearted welcomed the KMT army thinking they were saved from the Japanese rule only to face more persecution, oppression, and discrimination. The KMT took most resources from Taiwan thus resulted in hyperinflation. The currency plummeted overnight. 40,000 old dollar became 1 new dollar. My parents were not naive that things were not right under Japan rule, but it was much worse when the "fellow country men" arrived. You can't blame them for siding with Japan.
Oct 25, 2023·edited Oct 25, 2023Liked by Broad and Ample Road, Michelle Kuo
Thank you for this piece! As a native of China, I find Taiwan and Korea's differing relationships with Japan and their colonial past very interesting, and it was great to hear a Korean-American perspective on Taiwan.
Really enjoyed this piece by Esther. I learned so much! As someone who spent many years growing up in Taiwan, I honestly don’t even realize what is Japanese or what isn’t, so I appreciated the essay pointing out all these daily details of Taiwan I did not even realize (fish in water situation). I have some close Korean friends and through those friendships learned of our contrasting experiences and relationships to Japan. Also just traveling through China, well... that was a big thing. I think it’s interesting to think about how nationalism is upheld and reinforced in the context of how nation-states today use colonial history as a reminder to todays people to be more nationalistic, but often it results in creating an oppressive and xenophobic society. Taiwans positionality is especially interesting given its history being colonized by different empires and the way its stuck in between global powers today...how does one preserve and acknowledge ones past as colonial victims without romanticizing and comparing empires to each other, picking sides, and projecting it onto modern times ? Felt like Esther’s piece shared a really valuable perspective and was also really informative !
I was once told by a Taiwanese person who lived through the Japanese occupation that the arrival of the nationalist army was a shocking experience.
He didn't idealize the Japanese occupation, but said that the main negative aspects he remembered were one or two local cases of police brutality and the fact that Taiwanese weren't allowed to eat rice during the war, instead subsisting on taro. Even late into the war, the Japanese soldiers he regularly saw were well-kempt and professional in appearance, owing to the specific role that Taiwan played in the Japanese war effort. He spoke fluent Japanese and Taiwanese, and passing Mandarin.
When the KMT army arrived, they had spent a decade fighting, and were at that time in the process of losing a civil war. They were, he said, haggard, hungry, and dressed in irregular clothing, sometimes close to rags. The contrast between the Japanese soldiers that had lost the war and the Chinese soldiers that had "won" was mind-boggling to the people in his town.
I could imagine the Taiwanese memory of the Japanese colonial era is heavily colored by what came after. I think it would be hard to maintain an accurate memory of the hardships of Japanese colonial rule during the 30-40 years of what was essentially a period of even more brutal Chinese colonial rule, complete with cultural assimilation methods and government posts primarily reserved for non-natives.
Thank you. Fascinating essay. Do you think that the women in the great hall at Baitou were being nostalgic for Japan rule or simply admiring their kimonos? As an American, I admire classic Japanese architcture (as for example in your photo) and at the same time detest what their government did. My parents could not hold these two views because WWII. Separating arts and crafts from government actions seems reasonable (just as we don't blame citizens for the crimes of their states). But to do so, you need to have some distance. Your essay suggests that Taiwanese people have acquired that distance faster than Koreans. This doesn't mean necessarily that the occupation was any less severe; responses differ. Of course, enjoying kimonos could reflect ignorance of history or some kind of actual nostalgia (Stockholm syndrome??); those are obviously less salutary. Maybe a combination...
I agree with Tobias that the women in the great hall at Baitou were not necessarily being nostalgic for Japan rule although it could. The author seemed to jump into these kind of conclusions throughout her article. She also did not understand how Taiwanese' great suffer under KMT rules. My mother told us how Taiwanese whole-hearted welcomed the KMT army thinking they were saved from the Japanese rule only to face more persecution, oppression, and discrimination. The KMT took most resources from Taiwan thus resulted in hyperinflation. The currency plummeted overnight. 40,000 old dollar became 1 new dollar. My parents were not naive that things were not right under Japan rule, but it was much worse when the "fellow country men" arrived. You can't blame them for siding with Japan.
Thank you for this piece! As a native of China, I find Taiwan and Korea's differing relationships with Japan and their colonial past very interesting, and it was great to hear a Korean-American perspective on Taiwan.
Really enjoyed this piece by Esther. I learned so much! As someone who spent many years growing up in Taiwan, I honestly don’t even realize what is Japanese or what isn’t, so I appreciated the essay pointing out all these daily details of Taiwan I did not even realize (fish in water situation). I have some close Korean friends and through those friendships learned of our contrasting experiences and relationships to Japan. Also just traveling through China, well... that was a big thing. I think it’s interesting to think about how nationalism is upheld and reinforced in the context of how nation-states today use colonial history as a reminder to todays people to be more nationalistic, but often it results in creating an oppressive and xenophobic society. Taiwans positionality is especially interesting given its history being colonized by different empires and the way its stuck in between global powers today...how does one preserve and acknowledge ones past as colonial victims without romanticizing and comparing empires to each other, picking sides, and projecting it onto modern times ? Felt like Esther’s piece shared a really valuable perspective and was also really informative !