CHAPTER 2: Literature Review
2.3. The Japanese Occupation of Taiwan
Umbrella: Voices from Colonial Korea, 1910 – 1945.‖ (Hildi, 2005)
I have traced the depths of this extremely sensitive issue by examining a sociological scholarly journal article by Pyong Gap Min. Titled ―Korean Comfort Women: The Intersection of Colonial Power, Gender, and Class‖, it delves in the details of not only the grossly large numbers of sexual slaves, but also the psychological effects that took place on the victims and their society. This article is crucial for understanding the background of a hot contemporary issue that drives much of the anti-Japan sentiment throughout South Korea.
Unfortunately, the issue of comfort women is something that is going to have to be discussed a lot in this research paper. It is not only of grave importance to recognize the pain and suffering of so many forced, trafficked women (Min, 2003), but, as I will argue, a main reason for the soured relationship of Japan and Korea 70 years later (Toosi, 2015). It was just this past summer, after all, that an 80-year old Korean man set himself on fire at a Seoul rally for justice in the name of comfort women (NA, 2015). The heartbreak of Japanese colonial history in Korea is extremely poignant to the present public opinions that ROK citizens have toward Japan, as well as the underlying arguments to this research paper.
2.3. The Japanese Occupation of Taiwan
One of the most important lessons to be learned during this research paper is that both Korea and Taiwan experienced decades of bloodshed under Japanese rule. It is for this reason that I was so curious in the first place why one former colony despises Japan, and the other enjoys her proximity. To get a very thorough view of Japanese rule over Taiwan, I will be using the book put together by Liao Ping-hui and David Wang.
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Titled ―Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895 – 1945: History, Culture, Memory.‖ It examines the hardships that Taiwanese, like Koreans, faced under Japanese rule. On the contrary, it uncovers some more positive factors of the colonial rule; these are positive factors that I may or may not be able to find during the Japanese rule of Korea. Nonetheless, the negatives that took place because of Imperial Japan are more than studied as well.
What makes this literature different, though, is that it covers all aspects of the Japanese process. While it delves into the effects of agricultural expertise, like Ka does, it also highlights the specifics such as land surveys and the census. In addition to land management under the Japanese, this book takes a deep look into the realm of education. This is an invaluable topic, as, much like agricultural and economy, it is almost always brought up as a discussion point to why many Taiwanese might feel favorable to the period of Japanese rule. When discussing key alleged benefits of Japanese colonial days, it is extremely important to use historical and contemporary findings of educational improvements that Taiwan can thank Japan for.
The economic and educational changes brought under colonialism are not researched in these articles without an emphasis on the inequalities of the Taiwanese, Japanese, lower class and elites. While it is often argued that Japanese gave the Taiwanese much more opportunity and freedom than they did in say, Korea, many authors of the articles in ―Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule‖ are very careful to also include the realities of segregation and limitations to certain groups of native Taiwanese when it came to employment or education. Such disadvantages still faced by the Taiwanese may seem to impede my argument that benefits gained under Japanese rule may contribute to a more positive Taiwanese opinion to it, but it is more useful to me while trying to reveal the real reason the
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sentiment exists. If anything, such findings help eliminate any exaggerated or false connections between the history of Japanese rule and contemporary Taiwanese public opinion towards the country. As will be mentioned in my methodology section, it is important to note that I am further confirming such feeling that Taiwanese have towards the advantages or disadvantages of Japanese rule through my own self-conducted surveys.
Additionally important is this book‘s scholarly research on the ethnic and national identity cleavage that was formed after the Japanese had to leave. While this particular topic would fit better into this literature reviews next category of 2/28 and White Terror KMT, it does an excellent job to set the tone of what came after from the Chinese, and how it may very well have lead many Taiwanese to think less about any violence or inequalities inflicted on them by the Japanese. At this point, of course, the question as to why Taiwanese favor Japanese is if anything stronger than any explanation. Because of that, this text alone is not sufficient, to say the least.
To continue to look for answers through the exploration of Japanese occupation in Taiwan and how it compares with Korea, I will be heavily referencing the book titled ―Japanese Colonialism in Taiwan: Land Tenure, Development, and Dependency, 1895 – 1945.‖ This book surely covers aggressive measures taken by the Imperial Japanese, but focuses more instead on the positives that they contributed to Taiwan at that time and, as many argue, that still exist in contemporary Taiwanese economy and society.
Written by Chi-ming Ka, a research fellowship at Academia Sinica in Taipei, the text researches and confirms such positives of Japanese colonialism on Taiwan.
He also emphasizes how Taiwan was not a typical colony, not just in comparison to Korea, but to others all over the world.
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A key reason, as Ka explains, that Taiwan was an exception in the history of countries victimized by colonization is because of how much she thrived under Japan in sugar production. Because the island reached such great agricultural and economic heights in sugar, there is much progress to be attributed to the period of Japanese colonization, despite how ugly some social factors may have been.
The main goal of Ka is to explore, uncover, and invigorate the feelings of agricultural and economic achievement that Taiwan gained during the fifty-year period of colonization. Such a reality, with empirical data to not only confirm how the island thrived during Japanese rule, but also decades later in capitalism, and even into its fresh years of democracy, surely help point to my dissertation‘s emphasis on the fact that Korea and Taiwan had very different periods of Japanese rule, which may affect the difference in opinion toward the country. What Ka does not do, contrary to the goal of my thesis paper, is further contrast Taiwan‘s agricultural benefits of the colonial era to those of Korea. Because Ka‘s text lacks such an angle, it still makes it impossible to see why Koreans tend to hate Japan.
What Ka‘s text does show is why it is plausible that so many Taiwanese favor Japan‘s colonial history, but it can say nothing to the reader about why Koreans usually do the opposite.
Equally confusing as the contrasting views of South Korean and Taiwanese opinions is the fact that comfort women are not mentioned nearly as much in the majority of literature about Japanese colonization of Taiwan. Such a vacancy of information is astonishing, as it is extremely important when researching a topic such as mine. It is for this reason that I have included the very recent publication from The Diplomat article titled ―China, Taiwan Apply Pressure to Japan Over
‗Comfort Women‘ Issue‖.
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2016) While it is roughly 10% the size of the estimated Korean comfort women population, it is a key reminder of a horrible part of history that is seemingly contradictory to a large percentage of ROC citizens‘ opinions toward Japan.2.4. The Korean War and Martial Law
Since I am spending a significant portion of this thesis paper harping on the cruelty and oppression of the Taiwanese period of martial law and how it may affect the topic at hand, I also have to recognize the fact that South Korea faced a very similar situation at pretty much the same exact time. The ROK faced her fair share of ―tanks and soldiers guard[ing] the entrances to most government buildings and many universities and newspaper offices.‖ (Tharp, 1981)
A very challenging question of this thesis topic regard the fact that through such political unrest as military coups and the assassination of a president, the evils of Korean domestic governance still did not outweigh any hatred towards Japan like it did in Taiwan. A large part of this difference might have to do with the fact that Park Chung-hee, the dictator of South Korea for nearly two decades until his assassination, is still regarded by many Koreans as having been a positive leader. (Yi, 2013) His reign over the ROK is arguably the longest and most harsh period of Korean martial law, yet the overall opinion of him is still up for debate.
Nonetheless, Chun Doo-hwan continued a very similar trend of authoritarianism and violence when he replaced the late Park. He wasted barely any time at all quashing his people with an iron fist like Park, and the ROC‘s very own Chiang Kai-shek; he instilled martial law in the spring of 1980. When student protests swarmed the peninsula in response, hundreds were slain by the troops that
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Chun sent in. (Breen, 2011) Known as the Kwangju Massacre, others argue that as many as 2,000 were murdered by South Korean troops. (Gonzalez, 2005) Once again, it becomes hard to believe that Koreans of today do not view this period of authoritarianism as badly as Taiwanese view their own. Where the dictators were from may prove to be the reason for such stark differences.
For instance, unlike Chiang Kai Shek or his son Ching Kuo, both Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo Hwan were from the country over which they reigned.
The fact that the Kuomintang and White Terror policies came from Mainland China to Taiwan may be the reason why Taiwanese express more ill will towards their martial law period than Koreans. The 2/28 Incident of 1947 was and is viewed by many Taiwanese not just as a massacre, but one committed through a foreign invasion. (Chen, 2015) This could be parallel, say, to how Koreans view the Japanese occupation.
2.5. Post-war Taiwan and Martial Law
As I turn to another section of theories, I will focus on the push for the possibility of KMT and White Terror overshadowing a Taiwanese hatred for Imperial Japan. This is a very fair angle to take to explain why Taiwanese, whether having been alive during Japan‘s colonial era, or being part of the new generation, do not resent the Japanese. It can be very possible that there is a higher level of anger towards the more recent, and in the eyes of many Taiwanese, more horrifying rule of the Kuomintang during the White Terror Era (Chen, 2008, 187 – 190). An academic work that will point towards this theory is ―Disciplining Taiwan: The Kuomintang‘s Methods of Control during the White Terror Era (1947 – 1987)‖. This article, written by Ketty W. Chen, can certainly help mold the argument that Taiwanese forget about Japan‘s methods in light of the tragic
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authoritative ROC government that replaced it is alive and well, similarly to how the situation is portrayed in the famous 1989 film A City of Sadness. When I first watched this film, I began to understand the picture of how many Taiwanese felt in 1945 after the Japan left. While excited and proud to no longer be a colony, they expressed apprehension at the arrival of the Chinese (Chu and Wu, film, 1989). This apprehension soon turned into hatred, and through the 2/28 incident and other atrocities that followed, there is forever a greater scar that seems to be left by the invading ROC than by its colonial predecessor. Chen‘s article digs deeper into such a story that can explain contemporary Taiwanese political views of Japan and the KMT. Nonetheless, he fails to make this connection. It is my duty throughout this section of my thesis paper, to do so. This will help dig to the bottom of whether or not it is the most convincing argument about why Taiwanese favor the Japanese when the Koreans do not.Reasons that Taiwanese may have positive opinions of colonial and present-day Japan due to a bigger hatred for Nationalist China are further prevalent in Chuang Ya-Chung‘s book titled Democracy on Trial: Social Movements and Cultural Politics in Postauthoritarian Taiwan. While this book‘s primary focus is to cover the democratization of Taiwan, rather than any historically differences which lead to a split in South Korean and Taiwanese public opinions of Japan, it does further cement some arguments that Chen made.
Chuang explicitly states that ―Formosans [he] met, however, regardless of age, social classes, of other differences, all cited the comparative virtues of Japanese
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rule…not because they were pro-Japanese, but to emphasize their dislike for the Nationalists.‖ (Chuang, 2013)
This particular quote, a microcosm of a large argument that he makes in the book to explain the power necessitated to fight against the Kuomintang majority in post-war to Taiwan and all through martial law to one day attain democracy, is well suited for one of the reasons that I believe Taiwanese tend to have a more favorable opinion of Japanese than Koreans do: the horrors of Imperial Japan being cancelled out by those of the KMT White Terror Period. The connection between the two is more clearly connected than in Chen‘s collection of scholarly articles.
2.6. Contemporary Political Issues
After looking at the aforementioned historical factors, it will then be time to consider the contemporary political issues that both Taiwan and Korea have with Japan and even China. Such present-day situations will, nonetheless, still relate to historical issues, but the question that I will ask in this section is how relevant the current issues are to the current public opinions of Japan. The research in importance of these affairs will undoubtedly point to a large relation to the polls.
2.61. Japan - Korea: Dokdo/Takeshima Islands
For this reason of questioning, I will first look at a heated political issue that has been and continues to be one of the first topics that scholars or the general public think of when Japan and Korea are mentioned – territorial disputes over the Dokdo/Takeshima islands. This is historical in itself, as the debate began over six decades ago after the Second World War, but it is alive more than ever right now.
(Bowman, 2013, 434) A fairly recent scholarly journal articlewhich examines the
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2.62. Japan – Taiwan: Diaoyutai Islands
While I have used my empirical data about Taiwanese people‘s opinions, and an expert interview on the Diaoyutai Islands Dispute, I felt that it was very important to reference an article in The Washington Times that was written last summer by former ROC President Ma Ying-jeou. Why these islands are often seen to be fought over by the PRC and Japan, it would be irrevocably irresponsible of me as an Asia – Pacific Studies scholar to condone the role that Taiwan plays in this triangular conflict over these very valuable islets.
I will directly refer to Ma‘s written statement concerning Taiwan‘s right to the Diaoyutai islands, as well as his rebuttal to other former ROC President Lee Teng-hui‘s statement that they in fact belong to Japan. This article serves as an excellent counter to any misleading popular belief that many observers have that most Taiwanese are content with the Diaoyutai islands belonging to Japan, and it will illustrate how varied the opinions are when the words are shown in combination with my survey results.
2.63. China – Taiwan: Cross-strait Relations& Unification
Since I looked at contemporary political issues and how they affect Koreans‘
negative attitudes towards Japan, I also must then look at the same for how they affect such opinions of the Taiwanese. In relation to politics, the opposite occurs for Formosa. In the chapter titled ―Japan‖ for Susan L. Shirk‘s book titled China:
Fragile Superpower, the cross strait relations issue is viewed as an indirect reason
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for Taiwanese to view Japan so positively. This issue, of course, pits the PRC and ROC against each other. Moreover, because of the negative relationship between Japan and the PRC, it causes Taiwan to cling to her giant neighbor to the East, while increasing her fear of her other to the West. (Shirk, 2007)
While this book chapter focuses more on the rivalry of China and Japan, it builds a very convenient bridge to a shared fear of China that both Japan and Taiwan have. In turn, this leads Taiwan, during increased level of Cross-strait tension, to support Japan even further. As Kirk clearly explains, ―The Taiwan issue and the Japan issues are closely intertwined. Today‘s Chinese can‘t forgive Japan for dismembering China and ruling Taiwan as a colony until the end of World War II.‖ (Shirk, 2007)
While this seems to bring us back to historical issues as being a reason for public opinion poll results, it is ever present in the contemporary political conflicts of China and Japan, and China and Taiwan. Kirk continues to say that
―Many older Taiwanese, including former president Lee Teng-hui, feel a close affinity to Japan and speak better Japanese than Mandarin, a fact that any Mainland Chinese taxi drivers will tell you bitterly.‖ (Shirk, 2007)
This reality not only illustrates that Taiwan and Japan share their negative feelings towards China, but also eliminates the earlier mentioned question about the favorable opinions of Japan only stemming from the younger Taiwanese generations. This connection of political issues, combined with the fact that Taiwan and Japan have geopolitical problems with China in common, combined with the fact that Chinese judged Taiwanese while under Japanese rule and lost trust for them, all seem to fit like puzzle pieces to form a very cohesive argument to why Taiwan is different than Korea in her attitudes towards Japan. For this reason, the section of Contemporary Political Issues will be broken into one about
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Korea, and one about Taiwan. As Shirk‘s book illustrates in the ―Japan‖ chapter, Taiwan‘s political issues with China, in connection with her bad blood and constant threats to Taiwanese sovereignty, in connection with Japan‘s own political issues with China, may very well cause over 65% of Taiwanese to have a liking towards Japan. This article may very well be one of the highest value, and may very well prove that the reason Taiwanese do not despise Japan like Korea does is due to a shared disliking with Japan towards China. Such viewpoints, however, can be dangerous to make in that they do not reflect the feelings of all Taiwanese people.
To make sure that this point is legitimate, I am using an extremely credible, and casually effective article titled ―Say Goodbye Taiwan‖, which references several opinion polls by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi
To make sure that this point is legitimate, I am using an extremely credible, and casually effective article titled ―Say Goodbye Taiwan‖, which references several opinion polls by the Election Study Center of National Chengchi