--- from the Director

Once again we have a lot to report from the previous months’ activities throughout 2004. It has been a wonderful year with so many things being accomplished for the memory of the Taiwan POWs.

A number of milestones have been reached in our journey to ensure that the story of the Taiwan POW camps is told, and that the men who suffered so terribly in them will not be forgotten. Projects that have been “on the go” for several years were finally completed this year, and for all those who have helped in one way or another, we say a most heartfelt thanks.

As noted in the newsletter we have re-dedicated the Kukutsu Memorial in its new location, and after 3 ½ years of work, the Heito Camp POW Memorial is finally in place and dedicated, thus bringing to a close our “ POW memorial building program”. There are now four POW memorials on the island – all located on the sites of the former camps and in areas that are certain to be maintained by either caring local residents, the government or the military, thus ensuring the safety, survival and care of the memorials in perpetuity.

The sites of the other former Taiwan camps are either inaccessible or are located in areas where there is no assurance of the memorials being maintained or cared for, and so we feel that it is not wise to try to locate memorials on the sites of those other camps. Should the situation change at any of the other camps in the future, then we will consider the possibilities at that time, but for now we are considering our memorial building program concluded.

Another project that was completed this year was the POW display in the new Chinguashi Mining Museum. Seven years ago I was approached by the local community with the request to collect information for the proposed museum and to possibly place some POW artifacts in one of the galleries. Over the past six years I have been working with this goal in mind, and after working with a fine group of people at the museum for several months this year, the display is finally in place and was opened to the public on November 4. In addition to the display, a brochure has been produced so that visitors may have more information about the Taiwan POWs to take away with them, thus spreading the story even further.

The POW Honour Roll on our website has been another ongoing and very time-consuming project which is getting very close to completion. We have already passed the estimated number of Taiwan POWs that we had figured according to our knowledge of the basic POW camp population figures mentioned in earlier newsletters. Almost 1000 more names have been added to the roster this year and we are now very close to having the names of most of the former Taiwan POWs. The total number to date is almost 3800 names, and with only a few more to find from a couple of the “temporary” camps, we feel that we are getting very close indeed. We will never know of course if we have all of the men exactly, as most of the records were either lost or destroyed at the end of the war. We feel however, that we already have most of the men and will always continue to search in the future for new names to add to the Roll.

The coming year is going to be very full with many opportunities for the Society to further tell the story of the Taiwan POW camps to the world. As the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II draws near we are planning events and commemorations in several locations around the island at various times throughout the year. We will keep our friends and supporters here in Taiwan informed of these happenings and hope that you will join with us in remembering the men and learning more about this little-known part of Taiwan’s history.

Preliminary work is also underway towards making a documentary film on the Taiwan POWs’ story, and we are working with the Taiwan Post office to see if a special stamp can be issued next year in August to commemorate the end of the war and also to remember the Taiwan POWs.

I hope to finally have the book on the Taiwan Camps finished and published sometime during the year as well. There have been numerous delays in finishing it - partly because of key new information continuing to come to light in recent months. With the help of several fellow researchers and friends, from further materials supplied by the former POWs and their families, and from travels and further study this past year, the groundwork is pretty well complete. Now all that is left is to assemble the vast amount of data into a book that will not only tell the historical account of the camps, but which will bring out the human side of the story.

Increased interest is being shown in our work from the national government, through the Academia Historica, the Taipei County Government and also individuals and groups who care that the POWs’ story should be made known.

We have had numerous offers of help from local people living here in Taiwan – both from the expat community and also from Taiwanese friends, and I am very grateful for all the care and interest that is being shown in the POWs’ story. There is still a lot to do and we are looking forward to an exciting year ahead in 2005.

I want like to thank all those who have continued to support us and encourage us in our work. It means so much to have you behind us, helping with your encouragement and your gifts. We are looking forward to doing even more in the days ahead so that the memory of the Taiwan POWs will “never be forgotten”.

Sincerely,

Michael Hurst, MBE
Director, Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.