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Letter: New shrine needed

As Retrocession Day approaches, it will no doubt warm the cockles of many a pan-blue supporter to recall the old days when China was expanding.

For left-leaning pan-greens, there will be denial that the surrender of Japanese troops to ROC General Chen Yi (陳儀) on October 25, 1945 represented the surrender of Taiwan to the ROC (or any other China). This argument will certainly continue for as long as there is disagreement on the definition of the cross-strait status quo.

As a Canadian, I think of Retrocession Day as the Taiwanese equivalent of Remembrance Day. Therefore I normally avoid thinking of contentious issues. Instead I think of the plight of ordinary soldiers.

However, the recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine introduces a grain of controversy. Much is made of the fact that war criminals are buried at the Yasukuni Shrine, but many fail to appreciate that more than 30,000 Taiwanese soldiers who fought for the Japanese -- the vast majority under compulsion -- are also honored there.

These soldiers should be honored, and it is long overdue for Taiwan to establish its own shrine that will provide a home to the spirits of these weary and listless soldiers. Therefore I propose a constructive solution that could help relieve some of the anguish associated with Koizumi's annual treks to the Yasukuni Shrine: Let the Japanese and Taiwanese governments coordinate on the establishment of a shrine in Taiwan to honor Taiwanese soldiers that died while serving their Japanese colonial masters.

The next time Japan's prime minister visits the Yasukuni Shrine (as he surely will), let him symbolically lead the Taiwanese spirits from the shrine to a waiting jet, where they can join the prime minister on a voyage that will take them to Taiwan's newly constructed shrine.

While this gesture would not erase the memory of atrocities committed by the Japanese against countless Chinese during WWII, it will certainly be a comfort to the families of the fallen Taiwanese colonial soldiers, who will no longer have to visit a shrine that also honors war criminals when they want to honor their ancestors.

I realize the probability of this happening is low. But as long as I am dreaming, let me also suggest the while the Japanese prime minister helps consecrate the Taiwan shrine, he also apologize for the treatment of Taiwanese comfort women during WWII.

Thor McGillacuddy
Taipei

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