Remembering those who died for our future

The Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society will be holding its annual Remembrance Weekend Ceremony at the site of the notorious Kinkaseki camp in Jinguashih (金瓜石) in Taipei County this Sunday. While it is a solemn event, at which surviving ex-POWs and family members of those who perished at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army in Taiwan will be in attendance, the memorial service is open to anyone who wishes to pay their respects.

Jointly organized by the British Trade and Cultural Office and the POW Society, the event, which is now in its eighth year has an extra special meaning this anniversary. As well as being the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II the park in which the memorial sits has recently been renovated and is to be officially renamed "The Prisoner of War Memorial Park" this weekend.

"The [local] government decided to reconstruct the park as part of the Gold Ecological Museum park complex. After talking with us and the architect [the government] decided to make it a memorial park for the POWs," said Michael Hurst, director of the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.

While Hurst and fellow society members are understandably pleased by the local government's decision to officially commemorate and honor the plight of the allied POWs, reconstruction of the park sadly destroyed much of what little remained of the infamous POW camp. According to Hurst, the camp's surviving foundations and walls were demolished during renovation and now the camp's gatepost, which was left undisturbed, remains the sole surviving remnant of the Kinkaseki camp.

To ensure that as many people as possible be made aware of what took place in Jinguashih during the war years, local authorities have installed several plaques in the park, with explanations in both Chinese and English.

More than 4,300 allied prisoners of war were held in 15 camps in Taiwan from August 1942 until September 1945. Undernourished and forced to work in the mines or construct military and civilian installations for the Japanese occupation forces, many hundreds of POWs perished during their internment in Taiwan. The aim of the society, which was founded in 1997, is to ensure that the story of both the men who died in captivity in Taiwan and those who returned home at the end of the war after the surrender of Japan is not forgotten.

The park dedication ceremony will take place at 10:15am and the memorial service will begin at 11am. Organizers of the event would like to advise those interested in attending to take public transport as parking at the site is limited. After the ceremonies there will be a picnic at which visitors will be able to talk with the ex-POWs.

The memorial can be reached from Taipei in roughly an hour by first taking a train to Ruifang (瑞芳) and then transferring to a local bus for the remainder of the journey to Jinguashih. Buses also leave from Keelung train station for Jinguashih at approximately 20 minute intervals.