Today let’s talk a little about

Taiwanese who fought as soldiers in the name of Empire of Japan

Ahem

Here we go

In 1937

Because of Lugouqiao Incident

China and Japan went head-to-head

Japan began the Army Special Volunteers Act in the next year

enlisting Koreans to join Armed Forces of the Empire of Janpan

But, Japan hesitated on performing the same act on those Taiwanese

who belong to the same ethnic group as Chinese

So Japan only enlisted some servicemen in Taiwan at the beginning

who were banned from serving in the military

they only served as farmers to grow food in Shanghai

Under the impact of Japanese rule for decades and Kominka Movement

many Taiwanese had craved for the opportunity to prove that

they were not second-class citizens

that even though Taiwanese and Japanese don't share the same ethnicity

Taiwanese were still loyal to Japan

and thus can devote their heart and soul for the Empire

Therefore Taiwanese were demanding to join the military

You can go back to episode four to see more details about this phenomenon

Until 1942

Japan finally began the Army Special Volunteers Act in Taiwan

Taiwanese therefore can be soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army

Beating other countries up with Japan

Or be beaten

There were four hundred twenty thousand people

fighting for one thousand posts in the military at that time which was quite amazing

But before launching the Army Special Volunteers Act

Japanese already knew how good Taiwan Indigenous Peoples are

They were more physically capable of operating in the tropical and sub-tropical regions

and coming from a hunter-gatherer culture, would be able to operate with minimal logistics support

So there came The Takasago Volunteer Army

Attun Palalin was a Taiwanese Imperial Japan Serviceman

He was enlisted into the Takasago Volunteer Army and sent to Indonesia at the age of 23

Also, he changed his name into Teruo Nakamura due to Kominka Movement

After losing contact with the army

he hid himself in the jungle and led a life like Robinson Crusoe

Not until 1974 did the local villagers found him

The whole world was shocked by the fact that Nakamura not only survived

But also lived alone in the jungle of Indonesia for thirty years

Nakamura didn’t even know that WWII was over

Since a lost Japanese Imperial soldier for so many years was found

Japanese Government should have been proud and happy for him

and publish a Japanese version of Robinson Crusoe of Nakamura’s survival in Indonesia

A series for 20 books and publish a Japanese version of Robinson Crusoe of Nakamura’s survival in Indonesia

A series for 20 books

and DVD for free

However, Japanese Government was quite behind the eight ball

Cause even though Nakamura was a Japanese Imperial soldier, he is not a Japanese

but a Taiwan indigenous people

The young man who was enlisted into the Takasago Volunteer Army

Should he be sent back to his birthplace Taiwan, but is no longer under Japanese rule

Or, should he be sent back to Japan, the country he fought for but not his birthplace

Where should he be

In 1975

Attun Palalin decided to go back to his own homeland, Taiwan

He received nationwide welcoming for his returning

but his wife was remarried and his child had already become a parent

And the R.O.C. government of Taiwan

gave another name for him, which is

Lee Guang-Hui

After the chatty talk

those veterans who had sacrificed themselves for the Empire of Japan

were put to face a brand new R.O.C. government

The place once under Japanese rule no longer existed

They once fought against the R.O.C.

but now they are part of the R.O.C.

Switching identity is difficult for them

Just like Attun Palalin

who once survived in a jungle alone for thirty years

who had overcame all sort of injures and diseases

After he was sent back to Taiwan

he was not happy at all

Attun Palalin, Teruo Nakamura or Lee Guang-Hui

he had no idea what one was his true self

Shortly in four years

he dead in the land where he was born but not familiar with anymore

Taiwanese Imperial Japan veterans

Abandoned in the gray zone

Are they capable of letting go the past

And are they capable of accepting the new identity?

Okay, the story for today ends here

bye Okay, the story for today ends here

bye