There is a stone monument from the Qing Dynasty in Nantou’s Jiji Township (集集) inscribed with the phrase “Enlightening the savage.”
It was recently found to have been turned into a door post by local farmers. They made it part of an enclosing wall of their private property by affixing a door to it.
The Nantou County Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs said it has reported the case to the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage, which is to inspect the place and ascertain whether the appropriation was illegal.
The monument was built to mark the completion of the Batongguan Historic Trail (八通關古道), an important milestone for the development of Nantou.
The text on the monument reads: “His majesty the emperor has ordered that Taiwan Ministry of Defense Circuit Intendant Chen Fang-po suppress the Aborigines and develop the area.”
At the end of it is a signature by Chen Shi-lie (陳世烈), then-committee head of the bureau of development and Aboriginal affairs in Yunlin (雲林), together with the date it was inscribed: the spring of the 13th year of the Guangxu Period (1887).
For Aborigines, both the language of the inscription and the history it invokes are reminders of their suffering oppression and racism.
This notwithstanding, the monument remains historically significant, and should continue to be valued and protected as part of Taiwan’s historical heritage and as an important testimony to the collective memory of the local area.
However, there is a problem, and that is how Taiwanese, and future generations — Aboriginal or Han — view that history and bring closure for those still affected. In today’s Taiwan, where democracy is celebrated and the general public have a strong voice, the next big step is reviewing and debunking any discourse or system that objectify Taiwanese, and working toward shaping a new Taiwanese identity that is inclusive and empowering for every one of the 23.5 million people living in the nation.
Taiwanese, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, must work together toward reconciliation.
A while ago, a group of Aboriginal rights activists poured red ink over the pedestal of a statue of Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), better known in the West as Koxinga, near Tainan Station, demanding that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) prioritize the review of a draft amendment to an act on Aboriginal transitional justice and provide a timeframe for implementing concrete measures to promote it — including removing the statues of Koxinga.
The activists made it clear that without taking such steps, simply making apologies falls far short of what is required.
Before that, an Aboriginal Tainan city councilor strongly criticized the hegemony of the Han culture, saying that history written by the Han people should not be the only version of history available to the public.
She also blamed Koxinga for the killing of Aborigines, demanding that the government abolish the annual festival celebrating Koxinga’s arrival in Taiwan. When dealing with such issues, it is important to be understanding and sympathetic.
From the Dutch, the Spanish, Koxinga, the Qing Chinese and the Japanese to late presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), various powers have ruled Taiwan. If the idea of transitional justice, as advocated by the city councilor and the Aboriginal group, is to be strictly implemented on a national level, then obviously all statues of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo must be removed and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall should be transformed.
In addition, the Presidential Office Building, originally the office of the governor-general of Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, must no longer serve as the Presidential Office.
Furthermore, the Kavalan tribe, led by Wu Sha (吳沙), that explored and developed Yilan County, and the Chinkuangfu clan (金廣福集團), who built some of the first Han settlements in Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, must be re-evaluated.
Such a drastic redefinition of history would almost certainly tread on many toes. A more viable option to bring about reconciliation is to uncover more historical facts through academic research and objectively evaluate their ethical implications.
This would help unsettle the century-long cultural hegemony and historical discourses favoring the Han and in turn create a new historical outlook based on mutual understanding and sympathy.
No historical account of Taiwan would be complete without the history of the Aboriginal peoples being truthfully represented and fully recognized as an integral part of the nation’s history.
The history of Taiwan is complex in that its oppressors sometimes become victims within a lifetime — and sometimes make contributions that are undeniably benevolent. Examples of such rulers include the Japanese colonial government, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo.
While it is important to discover more historical facts and hold people responsible for committing atrocities, the victims must also recognize the contributions of their oppressors, if any, and be willing to show acceptance when they sincerely repent.
When history has already moved on, promoting transitional justice helps heal social divides by exposing truths long concealed. Transitional justice cannot reverse history, but it can change how people interpret history; its goal is to create a way to realize justice in the future and protect the victims from being further hurt by a false representation of history.
On Monday, Tsai made an official apology to the Aboriginal peoples in Taiwan, promising to promote transitional justice for them. Hopefully, the Tsai administration will be open-minded and willing to make a difference in Taiwan by reforming the system that allows injustice to exist.
Aborigines should no longer feel they are being unfairly treated because of their ethnicity. Every Taiwanese should feel accepted for who they are, have the basic means to live with dignity and raise their children with hope. A democratic nation must ensure that everyone is equal and has a voice. Taiwanese should work together to develop a partnership based on mutual respect and make their shared home a better place. Transitional justice should be uniting, not divisive.
Aboriginal self-rule remains an unrealized goal. Nonetheless, there are quite a few Aborigines who have been elected as representatives or appointed officials in local and central governments, with many of them involved in amending the Constitution or local government acts.
However, do many of them actively advocate transitional justice? Or do most of them promote only their own interests? If more Aborigines had better exercised their democratic rights, many problems might not have deteriorated to the current situation. This is perhaps something Aborigines should also ponder in addition to promoting transitional justice.
Although history is irreversible, new history can be written by realizing transitional justice; and to better do so, Aborigines might have to work on protecting their tribal traditions while making them compatible with the modern world.
Translated by Tu Yu-an
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