A solemn ceremony in Taipei during yesterday's Retrocession Day marked the unveiling of a monument dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Anti-Japanese War (1937-45). The event -- like many in Taiwan -- did not escape controversy.
Political infighting had impeded the establishment of the first memorial in Taiwan to commemorate the struggle against Japan during World War II and to celebrate the end of Taiwan's status as a Japanese colony in 1945. But as veterans who fought in the war finally saw the inauguration of the memorial yesterday, the day marking the 54th anniversary of Taiwan's return to Chinese control, many expressed joy over what they claimed as delayed justice.
Craning his neck to look at the newly-erected memorial in front of the Chungshan Hall (???s堂), 75-year-old veteran Peng Kuei-chun (彭貴-x) was nearly reduced to tears.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMESN
"We veterans were rejoiced to see the completion of the memorial. After all, many of us left home to join the war at a very young age. Many families were thus ruined," Peng said, who joined the army at 21 following the footsteps of his brother Peng Kuei-chin (
"My elder brother joined the army in 1939, but to this day, nobody knows whether he is dead or alive," he added.
Pulling up his trousers to show the wounds to his left leg suffered on a battlefield more than fifty-four years ago, Peng soon drew the attention of flocks of photographers who eagerly snapped shots of the aged veteran against the background of the memorial set up to commemorate people like him.
Over the years, veterans like Peng have taken to the streets to demand the government set up such a memorial. In 1995, the Executive Yuan decided to set up a committee to pave the way for the construction of a memorial.
Presiding over the inauguration of the monument, Vice President Lien Chan (
Lien said although Taiwan has experienced various kinds of natural as well as man-made disasters during the past one hundred years, "it is a pity that people tend to forget our shared history and life experiences so easily."
"The purpose (of such a memorial) is to evoke shared memories about the land among citizens, who arrived in Taiwan at various periods," Lien added.
However, construction work on the memorial did not start until last April -- two years later than the original schedule -- partly because of deep divisions among politicians and scholars over the appropriateness of such a memorial for Taiwan, and over the chosen location in front of Chungshan Hall.
Insiders say former mayor Chen Shui-bian (3?糮? hindered the construction in 1997 due to pressures from several DPP city councilors as well as historians who had lobbied Chen to block the plan.
Taiwan historian Chang Yen-hsien (
Citing two major reasons behind his opposition, Chen said there was no struggle against the Japanese in Taiwan during WWII since the island was a Japanese colony at the time. He also said the area in front of the hall was the site of events that touched off the 228 Incident, which made it ridiculous to build the memorial there.
But proponents of the plan had a different view regarding the choice of site. "The memorial sat at the very place where the Japanese returned this land back to us fifty-four years ago," Lien said.
When Ma Ying-jeou (
Not all of the hundreds of veterans who joined yesterday's opening celebration were happy with the final product. Some said there should at least be a simple inscription on the tablet.
Showing his medal to Ma, Chen Tung-shu (
But Huang Cheng-ling (
"So I decided to create a set of landscapes (including fountains and man-made waterfalls) to allow visitors room to interpret history themselves," Huang said.
But Huang did express regrets over cancellation of his initial idea to incorporate an engraving into the memorial of comments from veterans about the war.
"They (the memorial committee members) said it would take a long time to hold such a competition, and it would ignite arguments over which historians should judge the work of competitors," Huang said.
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