Tokyo rocks to Taiwan's beat

Rock `n' roll as a vehicle for a political movement isn't an entirely new concept, even in Taiwan where the Taiwan Rock Alliance (TRA) has organized annual Say Yes to Taiwan festivals since 2000 to commemorate the 228 Incident. But this year the annual 228 Incident memorial event is getting a special boost from Einstein Records in Japan, which is organizing its own Say Yes to Taiwan show in Tokyo on Feb. 21.

The event will mark the first time a rock concert has been held in a foreign country in support of a declaration of Taiwanese

sovereignty.

For the event, Einstein Records invited Taiwanese black metal band Chthonic (閃靈) and indie rock band Nipples as special guests to play alongside a handful of local Japanese bands, several members of which have played at past Say Yes to Taiwan concerts and have developed an affinity for Taiwan.

"[Japanese punk band] Softball was here and at first they didn't know anything about Taiwan, but after they got to look around they started to get to know the place and eventually wanted to help," said Freddy Lin, head of TRA and lead singer of Chthonic.

Reached in Japan, Nakamura Kaziya of the band Akiakane, whose members have been the driving force behind the Tokyo gig, said the issue of Taiwan's struggle against Chinese regional dominance is one that bears special resonance in Japan, where, he said, people have been alarmed at the rise of an un-democratic China.

The Japanese public only recently has woken up to the potential threat that China, and particularly a war across the Taiwan Strait, would pose to Japan, Nakamura said. So, in response they've signed on a growing army of university student volunteers and a lineup of bands to play under the pro-Taiwan theme.

This, of course, is great news for TRA, who sees the Tokyo show as the potential first step in taking the Say Yes to Taiwan concert to audiences outside Taiwan, who may have little or no understanding of the 228 Incident or cross-Strait tensions.

The 228 Incident, according to Freddy, cuts to the core of these tensions, as it highlights the fraught relations between Taiwan and China and explains why many Taiwanese feel deep apprehension toward China, which has made annexing Taiwan its highest ambition.

In the 1947 228 Incident, Taiwan's educated class was systematically liquidated with up to 10,000 people reportedly killed by the Chinese Nationalist Party army, which had only two years previously assumed sovereignty over Taiwan following Japan's defeat in World War II. Public discussion of the events was a strict taboo until only about 15 years ago, but even now the incident more often than not is swept under the rug.

"Any talk of the 228 Incident was very taboo under the KMT during the White Terror period. Now, we're starting to talk about it and are even taking the issue abroad to raise awareness of Taiwan's history and to state our case against any form of unification with China," said Mika Wu (吳逸駿), guitarist for Nipples and head of White Wabbit Records.

The TRA tries to adopt a dovish, more inclusive approach when stating its theme, which Freddy describes as pro-Taiwan, instead of anti-China. This isn't to avoid offending people's sensibilities, he says, but rather is in recognition of the fact that Taiwan is an independent country and doesn't need to constantly assert itself as anti-China in order to affirm itself as a sovereign nation.