The novel Orphan of Asia (亞細亞的孤兒) by Taiwanese novelist Wu Chuo-liu (吳濁流) is a classic portrayal of what happened to Taiwanese who longed for the Chinese “motherland” following World War II, and it continues to mirror Taiwan’s predicament decades later.
Once a Japanese colony, Taiwan was later colonized by the so-called “motherland” (China) and was caught up in the conflict between the rival Chinese political parties: the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party. In more recent years, Taiwan has undergone a process of democratization that offers opportunities for national resurrection and social transformation, but it is still shrouded in a dark cloud of unaccounted history.
Have the experience and environment described in Orphan of Asia nurtured historical awareness in the hearts of Taiwanese? Have they entered the souls of those who dwell on this island nation (and its outlying islands) and prompted them to reflect? Or are Taiwanese still deluded by the ideology of “Chinese do not fight Chinese” or the mythical image of China as the world’s workshop and an immense market for goods?
The People’s Republic of China is a bad neighbor that uses every means available to repress Taiwan. Taiwan enjoys greater freedom, democracy and human rights than China. Why, then, does Taiwan have people who still blame and threaten themselves and want to beg for mercy? Where people once took to the streets for justice, today’s protesters are sometimes driven only by their self interest.
Some Taiwanese still cannot escape the illusion of “China” or the bewitching predicament of the Orphan of Asia. It is just like the bewildering fate of those Taiwanese at the end of World War II who saw China as their motherland, but suffered injustice and even death at the hands of China.
In Taichung on Saturday musical pieces by the late Taiwanese composer Chiang Wen-ye (江文也) were played in a concert. The concert marked 80 years since Chiang — representing Japan and using his Japanese name, Bunya Koh — was honorably mentioned for his orchestral work Formosan Dance (台灣舞曲) in the art competition at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
In 1938, Chiang moved from Japan to China to teach at a college in Beijing, which was then under Japanese rule. Following the end of World War II, Chiang was accused of being a traitor to China — the original sin of Taiwanese. During the 1960s Cultural Revolution, he came under attack again, just for being Taiwanese. If Chiang were still alive, would he still be bewitched by the illusion of China?
Chiang expressed his yearning for China in a poetry book, titled Beijing Engravings (北京銘). The contrast between his artistic achievements and political suffering mirrors the knots that have bound Taiwan throughout its modern history. While Taiwan dreams of making a name for itself, its dreams have often ended in disaster.
Chiang’s original name was Chiang Wen-pin (江文彬).
Formosan Dance describes scenes of water buffaloes, egrets and bamboo groves. As well as showcasing the high standard of Taiwan’s musical arts, it is also a microcosm of Taiwan’s historical experience and environment.
Chiang was born in Taipei’s Dadaocheng area (大稻埕), the scene of Hsieh Li-fa’s (謝里法) novel La Grande Chaumiere Violette (紫色大稻埕), recently adapted into a TV series.
Chiang’s story parallels Wu’s Orphan of Asia, but, in the words of my own poem Our Island (我們的島): “We are not orphans — we are walking the elegant gait of Ilha Formosa, humming a song of lightly rocking boats and thinking of our sea-bound homeland.”
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of