The exhibit "From a Foreign Soil to Our Home -- a cultural exhibit about `mainlanders'" (從異鄉到家鄉 -- "外省人"影像文物展) at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum has great significance.
The public's general impression of the museum has always been that it is a museum to commemorate a specific incident, namely the 228 Incident. It is therefore usually associated with an awareness of ethnic differentiation and of oppression. However, the exhibit proves that the museum is a genuinely tolerant institution.
"Mainlanders" (weishengren, a well-known term that refers to those who immigrated from China with the KMT after 1949, and their descendents), is actually a word worthy of in-depth discussion. This is because enormous differences exist among the group that the term is supposed to encompass.
Illustration: Yu Sha
It refers to around 1.2 billion people and more than 10,000 different regions, languages, cultures, beliefs and ethnic groups all pigeonholed as one entity.
The term also sets the group that it encompasses apart from the early immigrants of Taiwan. It is a dividing line that exposes the narrowness of native egoism.
As a result of Taiwan's unique history and geographical location, the word "mainlander" is simply a technical term valid only for a specific time period -- the evolution of the nation of Taiwan.
Circumstances surrounding Taiwan in the 20th century contrasted highly with the island's early isolation. Taiwan, the beautiful -- "Ihla Formosa" -- located in a corner of the southwest Pacific, is not only an important component of the world's economy, transportation and defense strategy, but also a tolerant, critical, and powerful link to the mutual survival of Southeast Asia. The people of this nation are, by nature, dynamic and challenging.
The museum exhibit introduces the public to half a century of struggle in the lives of immigrants since the 1950s. It is also a faithful documentary of the journey of various groups from China -- a journey from drifting, to peaceful settlement. A journey of successes and defeats. A journey of prosperity and decline.
The exhibit not only helps us look back, but also forces us to look forward. It helps the citizens of this nation to gain a deeper understanding of their history. It unquestionably represents a lesson for all of us as a new century unfolds.
A-san and A-hai
The first part of the exhibit is titled "A-san and A-hai -- the war and the immigration." [Editor's note: the former is a nickname for the mainlanders, while the latter is a nickname for the Taiwanese.]
The Chiang Kai-shek (
We must admit and recognize the statement as true. Otherwise, we would have inevitably suffered the fate of the Chinese and been subjected to ruthless communist rule. However, Taiwan also salvaged the Chiang government which was on the verge of destruction at the time. Taiwan is not only critical to the survival and continuation of Chinese culture, but is in fact the last fortress of that culture.
Without Taiwan, we have no today, let alone any tomorrow.
The taro and the yam
The second part of the exhibit is titled "The taro and and the yam -- the building of a new home amidst anti-communist and anti-Russia slogans." [Editor's note: the former is a nickname for the mainlanders, while the latter is a nickname for the Taiwanese.]
In the 1950s, the Chiang government articulated the slogan "one year to get ready, two years to counter-attack, three years to drive out (the enemies), and five years to total victory" (
The establishment of special "villages for the families of servicemen and veterans" (
The peanuts that fell to the ground
The third part of the exhibit is titled "The peanuts that fell onto the ground (
No matter who they were, all mainlanders in Taiwan had the mindset of drifters. When the early immigrants first arrived in Taiwan, they did not bring their wives with them. When they died, they refused ground burials, and asked to have their remains returned to their hometowns in China. Most immigrants expected a return to the mainland within five years "in total victory."
Under the circumstances, they didn't have a great attachment to a land they considered a temporary resting place. But in the end, most drifters, irrespective of when he or she came here, make a place in their heart for his or her home -- even if it is deemed to be temporary -- and respect and thank the hosts who received, welcomed, and took care of them.
We often extend our arms to welcome people who come back to settle in Taiwan from overseas, because they did not "forget their root." But, ask yourself just how many mainlanders have we extended our arms to because they continue to stay with us, and because their love for Taiwan has been deep-rooted.
Impact on mainlanders
The fourth part of the exhibit is titled "The impact of the 228 Incident on the mainlanders."
The 228 Incident was basically a cultural conflict. In the 1950s, the KMT military brought with them many aspects of a corrupt culture from the mainland. They believed, and took it for granted, that soldiers did not need to purchase train tickets or movie tickets. Unfortunately, the strict discipline of the Japanese military left a deep impression on the people of Taiwan. They naturally felt disappointed and wondered why the soldiers of the "motherland" which had defeated the Japanese were as barbaric and ruthless as a group of bandits?
How could the humble, law-abiding, orderly, and simple spirit of the Taiwanese tolerate a degenerative, corrupt and uncivilized rule?
The 228 Incident was the product of a totalitarian regime, rather than the repulsion of a particular group. This calamity was shouldered by both the mainlanders and the Taiwanese, not just any particular ethnic group. Fortunately, time performs miracles. The scars left by the 228 Incident have been gradually erased, and Taiwan society has become increasingly wholesome as a result.
Rich cultural assets
Whether duirng pre-historic migrations or the first wave of immigration to Taiwan 400 years ago -- or the immigration in the 1650s (the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Ching dynasty) or the more recent second wave of immigration in the 1950s -- Taiwan has always been an island of immigrants.
The differences between early and subsequent arrivers and the difficult struggles experienced by these groups has left us with a heartening and praiseworthy chapter in human history. A history of Taiwan that encompasses the Aborigines, the Hakka (
Bo Yang (
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2