Survey of the Australian archival records further finds that the arrest and the subsequent internment of the Taiwanese were carried out without consideration of age or gender; as the war broke out, Taiwanese living in the Dutch East Indies—young and old, men women and children—were detained without distinction, sent to Australia, and interned there until the war ended. At least 16 Taiwanese were at the age of sixty or above, born in
73 For studies of Japanese internment of the Allied civilians, see Bernice Archer, The Internment of Western Civilians under the Japanese, 1941-45, A Patchwork of Internment (London：RoutledgeCurzon, 2004)；
Frances B. Cogan, Captured：The Japanese Internment of American Civilians in the Philippines, 1941-45 (Athens and London：University of Georgia Press, 2000)；Greg Leck, Captives of Empire：The Japanese Internment of Allied Civilians in China, 1941-1945 (Bangor, PA：Shandy Press, 2006). For the studies of civilian internment in Southeast Asia under Japan’s occupation, see Kevin Blackburn and Karl Hack, eds., Forgotten Captives in Japanese-Occupied Asia (London：Routledge, 2007).
74 For further studies, see Brian Masaru Hayashi, Democratizing the Enemy：The Japanese American Internment (Princeton：Princeton University Press, 2004); Tetsuden Kashima, Judgment without Trial： Japanese American Imprisonment during World War II (Seattle：University of Washington Press, 2004)；
Peter H. Irons, Justice at war (New York：Oxford University Press, 1983)；Bill Hosokawa, Nisei：the quiet Americans：the Story of a People (Niwot, Colo.：University Press of Colorado, 1992)；Gary Y.
Okihiro, Whispered silences：Japanese Americans and World War II (Seattle：University of
Washington Press, 1996)；Mich Weglyn, Years of infamy：the Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps (Seattle：University of Washington Press, 1996).
75 For further studies, see Margaret Bevege, Behind Barbed Wire (St. Lucia, Queensland：University of Queensland Press, 1993); Yuriko Nagata, Unwanted Aliens: Japanese Internment in Australia (St. Lucia, Queensland：University of Queensland Press, 1996).
1882 or before, when they were interned in 1942; another 50 were between the age of fifty and fifty-nine (born between 1883 and 1892). One of the eldest Taiwanese internees in Australia was Mr. TAN Tiong Sing, who was born in the city of Tainan in 1862; he was first detained in Djokjakarta,76 where his son TAN Ting Swie lived.77 Other senior Taiwanese interned in Australia include OH Po Sing, who was born in Taipei in 1869 and detained in the “Netherland’s East Indies”;78 CHO Si Rai Djoen, born in Amoy in 1874 and detained in Serang;79 ANG Shi Chin, a widow born in Tainan in 1874 and detained in Djokjakarta;80 KWEE Sie Swan, born in Tainan in 1879 and detained in Makassar on the island of Celebes;81 TEI Ryo Shi Kyo, born in Tainan in 1880 and detained in
Djokjakarta;82 and SHU Sian Kim, born in the city of Takao (the present-day Kaohsiung) in 1881 and detained in Solo.83 Some of these senior Taiwanese didn’t live to leave the internment; for example, the aforementioned widow ANG Shi Chin was aged sixty-eight when she was sent to the Tatura camp in February 1942, and she died in the camp before the war ended.84
It is also worth noting that among the Taiwanese internees, there were a
significant number of children. Survey shows that at the time of internment in 1942, at least 55 Taiwanese children were at the age of six or below (born in and after 1936). And between 1942 and 1946, at least 18 Taiwanese were born in internment camps. These numbers indicate that a good number of Taiwanese families with young children were interned in Australia.
Among these interned Taiwanese “families”, the largest was probably the ANG family, which consisted of ten members.85 The father of the family, ANG, Ie Siong, was born in 1907 in Taipei,86 and was engaged in sugar trade in Java. Together with his wife,
76 “Djokjakarta” is commonly spelled as “Yogyakarta” today.
77 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：TAN, Tiong Sing；Date of birth - 12 September 1862；Nationality – Formosan
78 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Oh, Po Sing；Date of birth - 9 July 1869；
Nationality – Formosan
79 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Cho, Si Rai Djoen；Date of birth – 18 January 1874；Nationality – Formosan
80 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Ang, Shi Chin；Date of birth - 26 August 1874；Nationality – Formosan, MP1103/1, IJF50381 and MP1103/2, IJF50381
81 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Kwee, Sie Swan；Date of birth – 28 June 1879；Nationality – Formosan。The location of detention was stated as “Makasar Celebes” on the record;
Celebes is known as Sulawesi today.
82 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tei, Ryo Shi Kyo；Date of birth 26 June 1880- ；Nationality – Formosan
83 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Shu, Sian Kim；Date of birth - 3 May 1881；
Nationality – Formosan. Solo is the city of Surakarta in central Java.
84 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Ang, Shi Chin；Date of birth - 26 August 1874；Nationality – Formosan, MP1103/1, IJF50381 and MP1103/2, IJF50381.
85 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；ANG, Ie Siong；Year of birth - 1907；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJ50315 and MP1103/1, IJ50315.
86 His place of birth was recorded as “Taihacho Taihoku”; it was probably misspelled from “Taihecho”, which was a district in Taipei.
ANG (maiden name LIE) Oen Tong Nio,87 and their eight children—three boys and five girls, all born in Djokjakarta—had lived in Beskalan No.1 in Djokjakarta. The eldest was a son, ANG Toen Hong, born in 1928,88 and the youngest was a daughter, ANG Bing Kiem, born in March 1940.89 On December 8th, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the ANG family was detained by the Dutch authorities, and later was put on board Australian naval ship S. S. Cremer on January 27, 1942; on the same day, the Australian military issued a Detention Order to each member of the ANG family,
including all children. At the time of the internment, father ANG Ie Siong was at the age of thirty-four, mother was thirty-six, the eldest son ANG Toen Hong just turned thirteen, and the youngest daughter ANG Bing Kiem was less than two. The ANG family reached Melbourne on February 1, 1942, and was transferred the following day to the Tatura No.4 camp.
Another interned Taiwanese family that was worth discussing is the KWEE family. The father of the family, KWEE Thiam Ting, was born in 1905 in Taiwan; he went to Wadjah Malang in the Dutch East Indies and conducted business there;90 he and his wife, KWEE (maiden name Tio) Bek Gwat, raised five children.91 On December 8th, 1941, the parents and four of their children were detained by the Dutch authorities; and like the ANG family, the KWEE family was put on board Australian naval ship S. S.
Cremer on January 27, 1942, reached Melbourne on February 1, 1942, and was
transferred to the Tatura No.4 camp. At the time, the eldest daughter KWEE Sioe Lan was eight year-old,92 the second daughter KWEE Kim Ing was seven,93 and the third daughter KWEE Sioe Tien just turned two,94 and the youngest son KWEE Tjiauw Kwan was less than one. 95 And during their internment in the Tatura camp, the KWEE family had their fifth child and youngest daughter KWEE Sioe Kim, who was born on December 28, 1942.96 All seven members of the KWEE family were interned in Australia until March 1946, when they were repatriated via the ship Yoizuki, which would be further discussed in the next section.
87 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；ANG, Oen Tong Nio；Year of birth - 1905；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IFJ50316 and MP1103/1, IFJ50316.
88 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；ANG, Toen Hong；Year of birth - 1928；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJ50324 and MP1103/1, IJ50324.
89 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Ang, Bing Kiem；Year of birth - 1940；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJF50323 and MP1103/1, IJF50323
90 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Thiam Ting；Year of birth - 1905；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJ50447 and MP1103/1, IJ50447
91 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee Tio Bek Gwat；Year of birth - 1915；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJF50448 and MP1103/1, IJF50448
92 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Sioe Lan；Year of birth - 1933；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJF50449 and MP1103/1, IJF50449
93 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Kim Ing；Year of birth - 1934；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJF50451 and MP1103/1, IJF50451
94 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Sioe Tien；Year of birth - 1939；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJF50452 and MP1103/1, IJF50452
95 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Tjiauw Kwan；Year of birth - 1941；
Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/2, IJ50453 and MP1103/1, IJ50453
96 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee；Kwee, Sioe Kim；Date of birth – 28 December 1942；Nationality - Formosan, MP1103/1, IJF50448A
It is interesting to note that by the time their youngest daughter KWEE Sioe Kim was born, the KWEE family had been interned in Tatura for more than 10 months;
therefore it was reasonable to say that the mother KWEE Bek Gwat got pregnant in the internment camp. Similar situation, in which the mother was pregnant during the internment, were also found in the cases of TAN Sin Eng97 and SHU Siok Hwa,98 both born in Tatura in December 1942; KANG Soei Lian99 and TAN Poet An, both born in 1943;100 THE Tsukiko,101 KWIK Tjiauw Wan,102 SHU Chin Seng,103 and TAN Szi Hsing,104 all born in 1944; NIO Tjien Bie,105 SIA Peng Lin,106 TAN Sien An,107 all born in 1945; and three others born in internment camps after the war ended: SO Grey Kie (September 14, 1945）,108 TAN Tjiauw Koen（December 25, 1945）,109 and LIANG Pai Fung (January 22, 1946).110 The birth of these Taiwanese internee “babies”
demonstrated that some Taiwanese internee families had rather normal family life in the internment camps.
It should also be pointed out that there were Taiwanese internee families in which three generations were all put into internment in Australia. For example, the
aforementioned sixty-two year-old KWEE Sie Swan, was an interned widow born in
97 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tan, Sin Eng；Date of birth – 29 December 1942；Nationality – Formosan
98 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Shu, Siok Hwa；Date of birth – 17 December 1942；Nationality – Formosan
99 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Kang, Soei Lian；Date of birth – 3 May 1943；
Nationality – Formosan
100 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tan, Poet An；Date of birth – 6 February 1943；Nationality – Formosan
101 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：The, Tsukiko；Date of birth - 10 November 1944；Nationality – Formosan, MP1103/1, IJF50537A.
102 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Kwik, Tjiauw Wan；Date of birth – 11 April 1944；Nationality – Formosan. He was also recorded with a Christian name, Emile Ferdinand
103 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Shu, Chin Seng；Date of birth – 21 March 1944；Nationality – Formosan
104 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tan, Szi Hsing；Date of birth – 3 November 1944；Nationality – Formosan
105 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Nio, Tjien Bie；Date of birth – 31 March 1945；Nationality – Formosan
106 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Sia, Peng Lin；Date of birth – 8 March 1945；
Nationality – Formosan
107 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tan, Sien An；Date of birth – 27 April 1945；
Nationality – Formosan
108 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：So, Grey Kie；Date of birth – 14 September 1945；Nationality – Formosan
109 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Tan, Tjiauw Koen；Date of birth – 25 December 1945；Nationality – Formosan
110 National Archives of Australia, Prisoner of War/Internee：Liang, Pai Fung；Date of birth – 21 January 1946；Nationality – Formosan
Tainan in 1879 and first detained in Makassar on the island of Celebes;111 her son ONG Tjho Hong, a businessman, was also detained in Makassar,112 together with her grandson ONG Siong Djien on December 8, 1941 and sent to Tatura in January 1942.113
Map 1 Internment Camps in Australia during the Second World War
Source: National Archives of Australia