Curator Chang, Curator Liu, Director Hurst, Distinguished Guests, Journalists, Ladies and Gentlemen: Good Morning!
First of all, on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, I would like to welcome all of you and thank you for visiting the Presidential Office today. I extend my welcome to you with heartfelt sincerity and the highest respect. Among our distinguished guests today are former prisoners of war incarcerated in Taiwan many decades ago and their family members. You went through severe trials during the war. Today, you are in Taiwan again. From the prisoner of war camps many years ago to today's meeting in the Presidential Office in a now peaceful Taiwan, you have gone through a journey characterized by great suffering and admirable courage. The people of Taiwan will always remember what you have gone through.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Throughout the world, people have been holding activities in remembrance of war victims and to reflect upon atrocities of the war. Our government and many private organizations in Taiwan also held memorial services to remember the war dead and console their families. This year is of special historical significance and this weekend is the annual Remembrance Weekend in honor of those veterans and prisoners of war who suffered so much here in Taiwan. The timing of our meeting today, therefore, is of particular importance and gives us all reason to pause for thought.
Taiwan's geographical location is special. Since the maritime era began, Taiwan has played a part in world history and has often been one of the hot spots that major powers contended for. During World War II, Taiwan, then a Japanese colony, was used by the Japanese as a base for the invasion of Southeast Asian countries. It also became a place where military conflicts between foreign countries took place. The people of Taiwan were forced to join the conflicts that deeply afflicted them. Meanwhile, many personnel from the warring parties perished in Taiwan, leaving behind them numerous untold heartrending stories.
Between 1942 and 1945, as World War II was drawing to an end, coalition forces, including troops from Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, continued to fight in Southeast Asia. Some of their soldiers were captured by the Japanese army and sent to Taiwan, where days of ordeals awaited them.
The Japanese army set up about 15 prisoner of war camps in Taiwan. Living conditions in these camps were horrid. Not only did prisoners of war lose their freedom, but they were also forced into slave labor and used as a means of production. Some were brutally tortured. Many prisoners of war suffered malnutrition as a result of severe shortage of food, medicine and insanitary conditions. Malnutrition, infectious diseases such as cholera and malaria and harsh labor resulted in numerous deaths. Many prisoners of war died before the days of freedom and peace dawned. Words cannot describe the extent of their suffering.
After the war, Allied prisoners of war were liberated and sent home. They regained their freedom and began their lives again. But some former prisoners of war and their families could not forget those days of suffering in this land. Meanwhile, Taiwanese society has gone through rapid changes. The prisoner of war camps were deserted and documents about the camps left unattended. People almost forgot that these prisoner of war camps had ever existed.
Fortunately, a group of people has determined not to leave the prisoner of war stories forgotten. They established the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society and diligently carried out field investigations to collect related POWs information. Their efforts eventually led to the discovery of many prisoner of war stories. In 1997, director Michael Hurst and his co-workers held the first service of remembrance of prisoners of war near the site of a POW camp at Chinguashi. At the end of the year, a memorial was dedicated to prisoners of war at the same location. The memorial reminds people that Taiwan was involved in the war waged across the continents. It has also become a vital piece of history as the world reflects upon post-war development. Last year, the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society erected another memorial in Lin-Lo, Pingtung County. The memorials, I believe, will prompt people to think more deeply about history and stimulate their desire to pursue freedom and peace.
In today's Taiwan, everyone enjoys the universal value of democracy, freedom and peace. But we shall never forget that we are facing the growing military power of China, which refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan. If we do not stand up to defend our nation, our hard-earned democracy, freedom and peace may be jeopardized. Our distinguished guests here know the terror of war and how precious freedom and peace are. Taiwan is willing to be a responsible contributor to world freedom and peace. I would like to take this opportunity to call on the international community again to pay attention to the threat China poses to Taiwan's national security and right to existence.
Since the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society was established nearly ten years ago, it has been committed to searching for stories of the Allied prisoners of war and the sites of the POW camps. It invites former prisoners of war and their family members to join memorial services in Taiwan. Members of the society have traveled to many countries to collect documents and official files related to the POWs in Taiwan. It has also set up a Web site and publishes a journal, providing a service to many people in foreign countries. The government and people of Taiwan highly appreciate what the Society has done. I thank director Hurst for his commitment and would like to express my deepest condolences to family members of those who perished in the POW camps in Taiwan.
I believe that the activities you are going to take part in this weekend will broaden the people of Taiwan's historical vision and kindle their love for peace. I sincerely hope that people can learn from lessons of history and that the suffering prisoners of war endured will not happen again. In closing, I would like to wish all of you health, happiness and every success. May there be everlasting peace and an end to war. I pray that you will have permanent peace in your hearts. Thank you!