We had a walking tour of Taipei this morning and, with such a late check in at some unearthly hour of the morning meaning we only had a short sleep, we were a little less organised than usual.
Left early to walk the 2km down to the start of the tour, pausing to grab a coffee and pastry on the way.
There were about 30 in the tour group, which we were told is fairly normal, so we were split into two smaller groups and set off.
But first, to make much sense of it all, you’ll have to endure a potted history of the island. Like many places, there was an indigenous culture dating back many thousands of years that was displaced by groups who came after them. The first to come in any great numbers were the Han Chinese in the early 17th century, who displaced the indigenous population, as well as traders from Portugal and the Netherlands. The Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan in 1683, and for the next couple of hundred years Taiwan grew in population and stature as an outpost of China. However, our good friends the Japanese were flexing their imperial muscle as they opened up to the world, leading to a tussle with China over Korea and the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895.
The Qing were no match for the burgeoning Japanese, were roundly thrashed, and ceded Taiwan to the Japanese without a fight. And so Taiwan was the first Japanese colony of their imperial era, and that was the status-quo for the next 50 years until Japan got greedy and tried to take over the whole of the Pacific, ending with two big bangs in 1945.
Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China by the Allies in the carve up after the war. At first the ROC were hailed as heroes who were going to bring a Chinese style democracy to the island, however the ROC under Chiang Kai-shek were embroiled in a civil war against the communists on the mainland, and Taiwanese aspirations took a back seat.
In 1949, after losing control of mainland China, the ROC government withdrew to Taiwan where Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law in an effort to maintain what was left of his empire. His government ruled Taiwan as a single-party state for forty years until democratic reforms in the 1980s. The first-ever direct presidential election was held in 1996, leading to the first government headed by a centrist candidate, President Lee Teng-hui, and provided the impetus for the far-reaching political reforms.
So there are three sets of views to any question you ask. There is the mainland China’s PRC view on one end of the spectrum, the Taiwanese ROC view at the other end, and the centrist view of aiming for a vibrant, self-governing democracy called Taiwan in the middle. We were told that people’s politics is not based on communist/non-communist, but rather what view you hold about reunification/self-governance.
The tour started off at the Longshan Temple which was originally constructed in 1738 by Han Chinese during the Qing dynasty to give them some place to worship at. It’s still viewed as the central temple of the city today.
Then into the areas with Japanese influence. Bopiliao Old Street is the only original bit of the old city that remains from the Qing dynasty period, and stands next to an equivalent Japanese shopping street from a later period.
Past several Japanese shrines to the Red House Theatre constructed by the Japanese as a market building and department store, which was a revelation for the Chinese population.
Onto the current Presidential Office Building, which was previously the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan during the Japanese period, and the seat of Japan’s political power until 1945.
Moving into the era of modern Taiwanese self-governance, we visited the 228 Peace Memorial Park which was built as a memorial to the February 28 incident of 1947, in which more than 10,000 Taiwan residents were killed by Chiang Kai-shek’s forces during an uprising against the government that got out of control, and led to a subsequent, more severe crackdown by the Nationalist government ushering in Taiwan’s 40 year period of white terror where authorities and the secret police ruthlessly crushed any dissent. It is estimated that about 3,000 to 4,000 civilians were executed by the government during this period.
Past the Taipei Guest House, used by the government for hosting state guests and special events, to Liberty Square. On one side of the square is the National Concert Hall, on another is the National Theatre, both grand buildings, and in the middle sits the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall built on his orders by his son on his death. He sits on a pedestal surveying his citizens, very reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial. His legacy has undergone quite a radical shift in the minds of Taiwanese since 1996 when stories of his rule could finally be told, and the name of the park and hall have changed several times.
At the conclusion of the tour, we headed down to the main Taipei train station, and purchased all of our train tickets for the next few days, before a late lunch and heading home to rest and recover.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Longshan Temple
Red House Theatre
228 Peace Memorial Park
Presidential Office Building
Liberty Square