Formosa Displayed, Formosa Betrayed: Taiwan's 228 Museum Rewriting History?

Taipei 228 exhibits spark controversy

GLOSSING OVER: Critics said the government had demonstrated arrogance with its interpretation of history and had disrespected the incident’s victims and their families 

From The Taipei Times, Feb. 20, 2011

The Taipei 228 Memorial Museum is reopening its doors to the public this morning after a 10-month renovation, but its efforts to reveal the truth of the 228 Incident met with challenges as pro-independence activists and family members of the incident’s victims yesterday accused the museum of glorifying the acts of the then-government and distorting the truth with its selection of documents.  

Full story:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/02/20/2003496332/1

The Way It Was...

The Well of Souls: Taipei 2-28 Memorial Museum

By Stephen A. Nelson

(from The Brandon Sun, May 1, 2010)

A stone’s throw from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, there is another museum; different in every way from the shrine dedicated to Chiang. This is the Taipei 2-28 Memorial Museum.

Everything about the 2-28 museum stands in stark contrast to the Chiang memorial. Instead of a great monument in the midst of a vast parade square, the 2-28 museum is a small building in quiet corner of a downtown park. If Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, this is the Well

of Lost Souls.

The museum stands in the shadows of the other great edifices erected by the Japanese: The presidential palace, the parliament buildings, the National Taiwan University Hospital.

And like those public buildings, this place was designed in the Asian Glory style — simple lines incorporating Western elements — that was favoured by the Japanese when they ruled Taiwan in the first half of the 20th Century.

Originally, this building was home to the Taipei Broadcasting Bureau — the model radio network set up by the Japanese for their model colony. When the Japanese were forced to surrender Taiwan at the end of the Second World War, the KMT government took over the radio network and renamed it the Taiwan Broadcasting Company. 

The network played a central role in the events of the 2-28 Incident, as both sides commandeered the radio station to broadcast their messages. From here, the Taiwanese sent out their SOS to the world.

So what is the 2-28 Incident? And why should people want to remember it? My Taiwanese friends describe it as Taiwan’s own Tiananmen Square Massacre, the central event that is at the heart of the story told in Formosa Betrayed: a military crackdown — carried out by Chiang’s troops on February 28, 1947 — that marked the beginning of Taiwan’s martial-law era. Tens of thousands “disappeared” during what became known as The White Terror.

The history books always said that the crackdown was necessary to put down an insurrection, weed out communist agents and protect Taiwan. But if history is written by the winners, this 2-28 museum tells the story of the losers. Here, the faces of those lost souls look you in the eye and silently plead with you to make sure that their stories are not forgotten...

UNTIL NOW!

Further reading:

Return to Taiwan's Dark Days

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KA17Ad01.html

Devils and Angels in Taiwan
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JD11Ad04.html

Photos from the Old 228 Museum, before the renovations, revisions and rewrites.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=164636&id=234843808294&fbid=389160738294

Find links to my other Taiwan and travel stories:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Stephen-A-Nelson-Writer-Editor-Traveller-and-More/374226352256

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve or So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt?

 In a follow up to yesterday's post, Michael Turton summarizes his criticism of Jerome Cohen this way:

"You can't support democracy and the KMT/CCP ECFA sellout talks at the same time, since the ultimate success of the latter entails the loss of the former."

Turton also says, "these two positions are inherently contradictory: the KMT and CCP can only kiss and make up over the dead body of Taiwan's democracy."

http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2010/08/jerome-cohen-neither-green-nor-blue.html

Which is funny, because the KMT/CPP talks have always reminded me of the political cartoon of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin meeting over the dead body of Poland. (above)

Turton also notes that Cohen's attempt to stake out the high middle ground has made him a target for both sides: supporters of democracy in Taiwan and supporters of annexation/unification in China.

"The reason they are both shouting at Cohen is not because he has found some lofty perch in the Moderate Middle but because his position is incoherent and self-defeating."

This makes me wonder about the Via Media that KMT Leader Ma Ying-jeou promised when he was running for president - and continues to promote as a "way forward" for Taiwan to get out of the political and diplomatic wilderness that the KMT put it in.

But whenever Ma (a.k.a. the Telflon President) talks about the Via Media, it always reminds me of the politician who says he has found the Golden Mean between honesty and dishonesty. And this way "out of the wilderness" leads straight back to Egypt.

When will the Taiwanese wake up a see that there can be no Via Media between Annexation and Independence? No Golden Mean between tyranny and freedom?

Surely what has happened in Hong Kong is a lesson written in Chinese characters (socialism with Chinese characteristics?) big enough to see across the Taiwan Strait? "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong people" doesn't mean autonomy or democracy.

Yet it seems everyone in Taiwan clings to the myth of status quo and repeats the mantra that Hong Kong tour guides have learned so well: "Nothing has changed."

The Golden Path they have chosen is paved with Fool's Gold and is, in fact, Via Dolorosa

The way I see it, the Children of Taiwan have to choose: either they cross over into the Promised Land of democracy and independence or go back to China - back to the house of bondage.

But they think they can continue to wander in the wilderness, worshipping their Golden Calves - Chiang Kai-shek and the God of Fortune.

Rule of Law: Neither "Green" nor "Blue" but maybe Turquoise when you take off the rose-coloured glasses

In Taiwan's colour-coded politics, being "Blue" means being pro-Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party), defending their dictators and supporting their one-China policies. 

On the other hand, being "Green" means being pro-democracy, pro-Taiwan independence and supporting the parties that have spearheaded the movement, chiefly the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Most expat businessmen I met in Taiwan supported the KMT (either implicitly or explicitly) because, basically, "they make the trains run on time." 

Diplomats were divided, but I found that (privately, at least) the more they actually knew about Taiwan, the more they were pro-Taiwan and pro-Green.

Most real journalists I knew supported the goals of Taiwan Independence and democracy, even if they didn't necessarily support the DPP or its political allies.

When I worked in Taiwan, I was accused of being Green (by the aforementioned expat businessmen) - and therefore supporting the DPP - because I supported real democracy. And because I insisted that Taiwan was a real country - no matter what Beijing or Washington said.

And when I was critical of the KMT or its dictators (from Chiang Kai-shek to Ma Ying-jeou), I was told, "You are not Chinese, so you do not understand." 

I confess I am no expert on Taiwan or China; merely a scribe who tries to learn and understand - and then explain to others. 

But apparently, I am in good company. Professor Jerome A. Cohen is co-director of NYU School of Law’s US-Asia Law Institute and adjunct senior fellow for Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

In an op-ed that first appeared in the South China Morning Post, Cohen argues that he is neither "Green" nor "Blue". But Cohen  says he has been accused of being "Green" because does support rule of law, accountability in government and an independent judiciary that is not merely the tool of an autocratic party that hungers for the old days of martial law. 

And, of course, Cohen has been told that he does not understand and appreciate the "one-China" principle because he is not Chinese.

http://www.usasialaw.org/?p=4024 

My friend, Michael Turton, who makes no bones about being Green (pro-Taiwan, pro-democracy) responds by saying that Cohen is so busy correcting other people's colour blindness that he forgot to take off his rose-coloured glasses.

http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2010/08/jerome-cohen-neither-green-nor-blue.html

First - Kill All the Lawyers: Premier Legal Advice for Becoming a World-Class Business

By Stephen A. Nelson

 Renowned Taipei lawyer C.V. Chen has some advice for anyone doing business in Taiwan and China: "Get good legal advice" and make it an integral part of your decision-making process.
 

Chen is a managing partner at Lee and Li, one of Taiwan's premier law firms. He gave his free advice while speaking at a joint meeting of the British, American and French chambers of commerce in Taipei.

Chen warmed up the crowd by telling a couple of jokes at his own expense. He first cited William Shakespeare's best-known legal advice, "First, kill all the lawyers!"

Then he asked, "How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?"

This reporter was the only one who dared speak aloud the correct answer,"How can you tell when a lawyer is lying? His lips move."  

"That's right," Chen concurred.

All kidding aside, Chen engaged his audience with true stories and cautionary tales underlining the importance of being honest. Well, at least legal. That means paying attention to:

• the law in your home country
• the law in those countries where you do business
• international law

Those who fail to obey the law do so at their own peril, Chen says. And this holds true whether you're a foreign business operating in Taiwan or a Taiwanese business operating in another country.

Yes, even in China. And even though Chen admits that "rule of law is a foreign concept in Chinese society."

From April, 2005

Look Through Your Window: A Room With A View

A view of Taipei's RenAi Road, from the RenAi traffic circle, looking east towards city hall and Taipei 101.
Taipei 101 is no longer the world's tallest skyscraper - but it is impressive at night.

Around this traffic circle are a 24-hour bookstore (with a 24-hour coffee shop) and a 24-hour Cantonese restaurant.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Taiwan

Teaching in Taiwan:
When I quit my job to become an English teacher,
many people started asking me “Why?”

A Story by Stephen A. Nelson (Originally published in Maple Leaf,
the magazine of the Canadian Society in Taiwan)  Not long ago, I started my life as a teacher in Taiwan. Now, 20 years after graduating from journalism school at Ryerson, it seems a long way from what I started out to do.

So, if a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, when did I take that single step?

Let's say that this journey began in the early 1970s when I first saw David Carradine in the original Kung-Fu TV series and persuaded and my mum to sign me up at a martial arts school. Ever since then, I've wanted to go to China. I guess I just always thought that it would be Hunan province, home of the Shaolin Temple. I never thought it would be Taiwan.

Before coming to Taiwan, I took another step. I quit my job with the Thomson Newspaper chain after more than 10 years as a working journalist — the last eight and a half at the Brandon Sun. At the time, many people asked me “Why?”

The truth is, the chance to teach English in Taiwan couldn't have come at a better time. Now is not a good time to be a journalist in Canada.

For those of you who don't actually work in the business — or at least know somebody who does — you need to know only one thing about journalism. The business of journalism isn't about journalism any more. It's about business.

Want proof? Just look at media magnate Conrad Black, sometime owner and publisher of The Times of London as well as the National Post. Conrad Black's hero is Napoleon. His workers are his armies and his henchmen are his generals.

When Conrad Black used his armies at Hollinger Publishing to conquer Canada's largest newspaper chain, Southam, Black told reporters that he was “the best friend a working journalist had in Canada.”

To prove it, he immediately laid off hundreds of journalists at the newspapers he'd just acquired. Apparently, if you didn't think Conrad Black was your best friend, you weren't a working journalist any more.

But, perhaps not surprisingly, many ex-journalists found out that this was not actually a bad thing. A lot of people, like me, felt trapped in their jobs. It wasn’t fun any more. They may still have liked their work. But they hated the job. They felt overworked, overstressed, underpaid, unappreciated, depressed and in debt. But they, like me, stay in the job because of their commitments — a family, a mortgage, and a credit card.

The Brandon Sun was once considered “the Cadillac of small newspapers in Canada.” But for my last two years at the Sun, my mantra was “I just want my life back.” I said this at least as often as I said, “I hate my job.”

When I decided to take a chance on Taiwan and become a teacher, I took the most important steps. I sold my house, cashed out my retirement savings funds, and paid off some debts. What I couldn’t give away, I put in storage. And then, on a wing and a prayer, I came to Taiwan.

In Taiwan, I have found that teaching children can bring redemption for jaded souls, and life to weary bodies that have spent too long in jobs they can't stand.

Perhaps that's because children are life. Did not a very wise man once say “Allow the little children to come to me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.”?

That same wise man (those who knew him called him "Teacher") also said, “Whoever would save his life must lose it. And whoever loses his life... will gain it.”

When I became a teacher, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had my life back. All I had to do was take that one child-like step.

All I had to do was give up everything I had.

Formosa Displayed: The Magnificent Monuments of 'Chinese Taipei'

By Stephen A Nelson

The Brandon Sun

May 1, 2010

There is a new movie playing in Canada that's been drawing unexpectedly large audiences. There are no flying dragons or warring gods; but there is a story about Paradise Lost and the battle between good and evil.

The film is Formosa Betrayed, a story about Taiwan's dark days of martial law under the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) of the late Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his successor, Chiang Ching-kuo.

Visit Taiwan today and you can’t help asking questions that are at the heart of Formosa Betrayed.