May 8 of 2011 marked the 69th anniversary of the passing of Japanese civil engineer Yoichi Hatta, and was also the day selected to formally inaugurate the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park located at the Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan City. President Ma Ying-jeou joined early in the morning with jogging enthusiasts in the Tainan area to participate in a run around the reservoir. President Ma fired the starting gun together with Tainan City Mayor Lai Ching Te and Siraya National Scenic Area headquarters director Chen Yu-hung, and completed the five-kilometer race in less than 23 minutes.
Prior to the run, President Ma said that he felt four years ago that something more should be done to commemorate the achievements of Mr. Hatta in Taiwan. Over the course of a 10-year period, Mr. Hatta oversaw the construction of the Wushantou Reservoir, which the president said turned the previously unirrigated land of the Jianan region into fertile farmland. Most of the rice grown in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation (1895-1945) was transported to Japan, but after the recovery of Taiwan from Japan 15 years later, it was the Taiwanese people and following generations that benefited from this infrastructure, he said.
The president stated that at this important historical moment, we need to be objective and recognize not just the negative side of Japanese colonial rule, but also the positives. The Japanese government, he remarked, at one point had decided to abandon construction of the Wushantou Reservoir due to a construction accident. However, Mr. Hatta was adamant that the project was not only for the benefit of the Japanese people, but also for the people of Taiwan. Ultimately, the project helped to resolve irrigation problems in the Jianan region, and the people of Taiwan will always remember the selfless contribution of Mr. Hatta with deep gratitude.
President Ma also said he hopes that the Wushantou Reservoir and the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park will become an important place for interaction between Taiwan and Japan. The president pointed out that Kanazawa High School from Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture plans to make a visit to the park the focus of graduation trips for its seniors. In addition, with the signing of a youth working holiday agreement between the two countries, the president expressed his hope that students from Japan will take working holidays in the area. These students could serve as guides to explain to Japanese visitors the contributions that Mr. Hatta made to Taiwan, as well as the deep gratitude that the people of Taiwan have toward Mr. Hatta.
Shortly thereafter, the president joined former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, members of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, and a delegation from the Hokkoku Shimbun in a ceremony formally marking the opening of the park. The president and the guests from Japan also toured Mr. Hatta's old residence in the area.
The president stated that this marks the fourth time over the past four years that he has attended activities commemorating the passing of Mr. Hatta, and that this year brings him the most satisfaction. Four years ago, he remarked, he toured the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Museum for the first time to learn more about Mr. Hatta. He said he felt that Mr. Hatta made an enormous contribution to Taiwan and that we should do something more to commemorate him. Consequently, the president recommended three years ago that a memorial park be created to faithfully show the process of the hydro project's construction in the Jianan Plain. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications subsequently spent NT$120 million in less than a two-year period to complete the park, which further demonstrates the Taiwanese people's appreciation of Mr. Hatta, he said.
President Ma stated that a map of the world shows the Tropic of Cancer running through 16 nations and territories, most of which are deserts, barren land, or swampland. Taiwan at that time was no different, he said. Irrigation in the Jianan Plain 100 years ago was extremely inconvenient, he pointed out, and the highly saline land there limited the types of crops that could be grown. However, Mr. Hatta, who at the time was a young graduate from the University of Tokyo's Department of Civil Engineering showed courage, good will, and determination in turning the Jianan Plain, which previously had been difficult to farm, into Taiwan's granary, the president said.
President Ma explained that Mr. Hatta was only in his 20s when he arrived in Taiwan, but that he served here for 32 years. All of his eight children were born in Taiwan, and his entire career was spent in Taiwan, the president said. Mr. Hatta worked a total of 10 years planning and overseeing construction of the Jianan irrigation waterways and the Wushantou Reservoir, completing 16,000 kilometers of irrigation canals in the region. The upstream source of the irrigation waterways was the Wushantou Reservoir, which at the time was not only the largest reservoir in Taiwan, but also the world's third largest hydro engineering project, which did wonders for some 150,000 hectares of land in the Jianan Plain.
The president stated that in the wake of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. This was misfortunate and painful, and resulted in quite a few historical disputes between the two. However, the president said that we also cannot deny that during its 50-year period of colonial rule over Taiwan, Japan contributed greatly to the development of infrastructure here. In response to criticism by some who believe praising Mr. Hatta might be a deliberate attempt to put a better spin on colonial history, President Ma reiterated that this is historical reality, and we need to be objective and recognize not just the negative side of Japanese colonial rule, but also the positives. Only by adopting this attitude can Taiwan and Japan work together and support each other, he said.
The president expressed his belief that the respect displayed for Mr. Hatta is not only due to his contributions to the Wushantou Reservoir, but more importantly for his character and his work style. For instance, Mr. Hatta looked upon Japanese and Taiwanese as his colleagues and did not differentiate between them, the president said, which created a special fondness for him among the people of the area. Secondly, Mr. Hatta placed enormous emphasis on the quality of construction. He castigated people for substandard work regardless whether they were Taiwanese or Japanese, and demanded that improvements be made. As a result, he was considered a workaholic, but he made sure that all of his employees were cared for. Besides providing housing for his employees, he also established recreational facilities, such as a club and tennis courts, which was extremely rare in that era.
President Ma said that regrettably Mr. Hatta's death was a tragedy of war. At the time when he was summoned back to Japan, he had been preparing to go to the Philippines to carry out an infrastructure project there, but the ferry that he boarded for the Philippines was sunk by an American submarine. His remains, however, floated to shore and he was laid to rest in Taiwan. Meanwhile, in 1945 Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China. Mr. Hatta's wife Toyoki, who bore him eight children while living in Taiwan, took the children to Keelung Harbor, from where they returned to Japan with other Japanese compatriots. She then returned to the Wushantou Reservoir and jumped into the water, drowning herself.
President Ma stressed that Mr. Hatta's life highlighted the values of integrity, kindheartedness, diligence, honesty, enterprising spirit, and tolerance, all of which are the core values of the Taiwanese people. This is the reason that this Japanese friend, who made such an enormous contribution to Taiwan, should be treated just like one of us, the president stated.
The Japanese guests attending the event thanked the government and people of Taiwan for their assistance in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. President Ma responded by saying that in years previous, Japan lent a helping hand to Taiwan after the September 21, 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan and the August 2009 landslides and flooding in southern Taiwan, so the people of Taiwan remember those gestures and intend to do their utmost to help people in Japan. Lastly, the president stressed that he is one of Japan's best friends and that he hopes that establishment of the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park marks the beginning of a new era in ties between the ROC and Japan, so that relations between the two countries can continue to move forward.