VISIT TO THE FORMER TAIWAN GOVERNOR’S MANSION

It was 62 years ago in March this year that two military jeeps with machine guns mounted on the back pulled up in front of the gates of the Taipei Presidential Guest House, then known as the Taiwan Japanese Governor’s Mansion.

This unit was a part of one of the special allied investigation teams that were sent back to Asia after the war to investigate Japanese wartime atrocities and to round up potential war criminals for trial. In this squad were Major Freddie Crossley (former officer commanding the POWs at Kinkaseki - present day Jinguashi); Gen. Lee of the Chinese Army; Judge Advocate James Munro; Capt. J.T.N. Cross, another officer at Kinkaseki; Stephen Green, US Army Interpreter and Sgt. Jack Edwards, a Kinkaseki POW.

Jack told me the story many years ago how that when they found the front gate locked, the other men boosted him over the wall and on landing he saw two Japanese guards with rifles and fixed bayonets standing there looking at him. However they offered no resistance and turned and walked down the driveway into the mansion.

Jack then ran to the front gate and unlocked it to let his comrades into the compound. From there they entered the house where General Rikichi Ando, Taiwan’s 19th and last Japanese governor was waiting for them, along with General Isayama, his Chief of Staff and some of his other aides.

Arrest of Gen. Rikichi Ando, Gen. Isayama and aides

General Lee of the Chinese Army read the charges to Governor Ando and his aides. They were then taken into custody and moved a short distance down the street to the Colonial Governor's Office (now the Presidential Office), which served as the temporary combined military headquarters for Formosa. Here Ando, Isayama and their aides were officially identified, formally charged with being war criminals and placed under arrest.

The next day Ando and the others were flown to Shanghai where they were put into the Ward Road Prison to await trial. It was here that Gen. Ando committed suicide by consuming a cyanide capsule that had previously been hidden in his tube of toothpaste. Thus he avoided the shame of standing trial and facing possible execution as a war criminal. For many years since first hearing this story, I have wanted to visit the former residence to have a look around to

see if anything remained of those former times. This past October I put my request to the Protocol Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and after some arranging permission was granted for a visit on January 14th this year.

Front Gate of the Taipei Presidential Guest House

I was met by a representative of MOFA and volunteer guide Mr. Chen. During the following several hours we explored the house and grounds took lots of photos. The mansion had been renovated extensively from 2001 – 2004 and so much has changed – like the Japanese Imperial “chrysanthemum” decorations being replaced by Chinese “plum blossoms”, but a lot was still there from the former time. The mansion today continues to reflect the glory and splendor of the Japanese colonial era.

Rikichi Ando Taiwan Gov/Gen

General Rikichi Ando started his military career as an instructor at the JapaneseArmyWarCollege from 1924 to 1925. Between 1932 and 1934 he was the military attaché to Britain so he could speak English. After a variety of field and staff positions, he became the commanding officer of the 5th Division in 1938. Later that year, he was assigned as the commanding officer of the 21st Army in China, where he remained until 1940. He then served as the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Southern China Area Army.

In 1941, he retired from active service, but was quickly recalled to duty once the Pacific War broke out in December, as the commander-in-chief of the Taiwan Army. In 1944, he was named the commander of the 10th Area Army based on Formosa, and from then until the end of the war, he was also the governor-general of the island. In both of these roles he was responsible for the treatment and the welfare of the POWs, which resulted in him being accused of war crimes. On October 25, 1945 he signed the surrender of all the Japanese forces in Taiwan in the old TaipeiCity Hall building.