This year marks the 120th anniversary of the Yi Wei Incident of 1895, the beginning of anti-Japanese movements in Taiwan. President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of September 26 visited Beipu Township in Hsinchu County to view a special exhibition of images of Chiang Shao-tsu (姜紹祖), a leader in the guerrilla fight against the Japanese. The president also toured Chiang's former residence, the Tienshui Hall in Beipu.
After a tour of the photo exhibit, the president visited Tienshui Hall where he interacted with members of the Chiang family clan. He then delivered remarks, saying that for a long time he did not understand this period in history. It was only when he served as Taipei City mayor in 2004 and activities were held to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Taipei City that he gradually learned the history of Taiwan's occupation following the Japanese invasion starting in late May of 1895.
The president stated that at that time, the most active and fierce anti-Japanese forces were in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli areas, and that the Hakka people of that region embraced the spirit of "dying a glorious death" in the fight against the Japanese. Initially, the Hakkas had some degree of success, which caused the Japanese to counter by continuously increasing their number of troops. And due to brave leaders like Chiang, Wu Tang-hsing (吳湯興), and Hsu Hsiang (徐驤), the fight against the Japanese in the Hsinchu area was especially fierce, he said.
Recalling Chiang's exploits, the president stated that the scholarly Chiang family of Beipu made considerable contributions to the community. At the time, Chiang Shao-tsu was only 19 years old. He disposed of the family's assets and recruited young rebels to fight against the Japanese. Although the rebel forces led by Mr. Chiang were no match for the Japanese in terms of manpower or equipment, the rebels fought valiantly, and the Japanese suffered their biggest defeat since their invasion of Taiwan, the president said.
The president noted that some people have recently said that Taiwan neither took part in the War of Resistance nor actively opposed the Japanese. He emphasized that Taiwanese began armed resistance and opposition to Japanese aggression some 30 years before mainland China. "Here in Taiwan, it started in 1895," he said, which was 42 years before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in Beijing in 1937. In addition, Taiwanese resistance resulted in heavy casualties. Goto Shinpei (後藤新平), who was in charge of civil affairs at the Taiwan Governor's Office between 1898 and 1906, admitted in his 1921 book that by using the Statute for the Punishment of "Bandits" issued by his own office, some 11,900 heroes in the resistance against Japan were lured out into the open, and then massacred. Taiwan's resistance against the Japanese continued until the Tapani Incident (aka the Xilai Temple Incident) in Tainan in 1915. Thereafter, Taiwanese engaged in unarmed resistance, led by Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂), Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), Weng Chun-ming (翁俊明), Tu Tsung-ming (杜聰明), and Liao Chin-ping (廖進平).
President Ma stressed that the aforementioned exploits are historical facts that cannot be denied. He said that in commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and Taiwan's retrocession, the ROC is not singing the praises of war, but condemning aggression and promoting peace, since "there are no victors in war, and no losers in peace." The president remarked that at that time Chiang Shao-tsu was a 19-year-old youth, but he was selfless and fought for his country and home. President Ma said that this visit was an expression of gratitude and admiration, adding that "history must clearly depict the Chiang family's contributions to Taiwan."