◎ Xu Shaogang, associate researcher at the Application Service Group of the National Development Commission Archives Administration
Masthead: Green Island Prison Gate.
File number: A325000000E/0070/2007/1.
From holiday paradise to forbidden island
Every summer vacation, you can always hear people talking about Green Island. Some people admire the gorgeous corals and the fun of snorkeling under the clear blue water, while others will never forget the unique experience of soaking in a hot spring while listening to the waves (picture 1), which is rare in the world. This fourth largest island affiliated with Taiwan is now a tourist paradise that many travelers yearn for, but they may not remember that it was once the most "unfree" place in Taiwan.
Please read on...
When we took a boat to the island to enjoy the scenery, have we ever thought that the sea route to Green Island used to be a one-way road for many people - you could get in, but you might not be able to get out?
Figure 1 Green Island is a good place for snorkeling and hot spring bathing.
File number: A325000000E/0069/2027/1
Green Island used to be called "Fire Island". It is located in a remote location, surrounded by the sea, with changeable walruses and dense reefs, which naturally forms a natural wall that is difficult to break through (Figure 2). Because of this, the colonial government during the Japanese colonial period took a liking to this island and established the "Fire Island Drifters' Shelter" in 1912. "Wanderer" is the Chinese character for the Japanese word hrousha, which means a wanderer, a person without a job and no fixed place to live. These people were considered to be prone to trouble if they existed in society, and since the original shelter was full, it was decided to set up a special organization for centralized management, and selected Huoshao Island, which was geographically isolated and difficult to reach and escape, as the location of the new shelter. The overall project was declared completed in 1912 and officially opened on July 22 of the same year.
Figure 2 Green Island, formerly known as "Fire Island", is surrounded by sea, with dangerous walruses and numerous reefs.
File number: A325000000E/0045/0003/1
From the internment camp during the Japanese occupation (1912-1920), to the "New Student Training Center" set up by the government of the Republic of China after the war (1951-1970), to the Green Island Regional Security Command (1970-1992), Green Island has almost always been regarded as an "island of isolation" for 80 years, playing the role of the country in isolating dissenters and troublemakers. This period of history has made Green Island a testing ground for the country's implementation of "social isolation." It is also in sharp contrast to today's sightseeing image of free travel and beautiful scenery.
"Rebirth" in the Martial Law Era
On February 1, 1950, in the turbulent period after the war in Taiwan, in response to the promulgation of the "Martial Law Order", the Taiwan Provincial Security Command established the Freshman Orientation Corps in the present-day Neihu District to be responsible for the training of prisoners of war and rebellion. On April 1 of the same year, it was renamed the Freshman Orientation Office. However, due to insufficient base, Green Island, a remote and isolated island, was selected to set up a prison in 1951 (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Green Island’s geographical location and terrain overview, freshmen training office officials, soldier establishment, freshmen education, etc.
File number: AA11010000F/0044/FD2-1/00044/0005
On May 17, 1951, the first batch of thousands of political prisoners took a boat from Keelung, then took a sampan boat ashore from Zhongliao, Green Island, and walked to the freshmen training center. According to the recollections of Ke Qihua, who was imprisoned in Green Island, when he first arrived in Green Island, the "Freshmen Training Center" political prison camp in front of him was built using the open space on the seaside near the northern end of the island and facing the foothills. The simple prison design and the dangerous natural environment make the prisoners feel that they are unable to fly. People in Green Island call political prisoners "new students." Husband Dan, a naval political victim who was sentenced for rebellion, recalled: "Sixty years ago, Major General Yao Shengzhai, the first director of the Freshman Orientation Department, lectured to the 'freshmen' at the gate - 'I represent the cross. Those who follow me are life, and those who turn away from me are death!'" During the period when the number of freshmen was the largest, the island once housed as many as 2,000 political victims. They are organized into 3 brigades, each with 4 squadrons, for a total of 12 squadrons. Each squadron can accommodate approximately 120 to 160 people. Among them are many well-known figures from the cultural, medical and artistic circles, including writer Yang Kui, dancer Cai Ruiyue, and physician Hu Xinlin of National Taiwan University Hospital. Even after the sentence is over, his freshman assessment scores will still determine whether to continue probation (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Cai Kunlin’s discussion meeting after serving his sentence.
File number: AA05140000C/0049/1525.3/42
From 1951 to 1954, Green Island also had a special "girls unit" - the Eighth Squadron, which housed nearly a hundred female political prisoners (Figure 5). The girls' team mainly takes political classes. The main work is to carry water from Liumagou and carry manure to the vegetable garden. The food is provided by the Sixth Squadron. In addition, a group of prisoners of war and political prisoners from Nanri Island in Fujian, China were repatriated here.
Figure 5 Cai Ruiyue once served a sentence in Green Island. When he applied to leave the country in the future, the National Security Bureau refused to approve his application for leaving the country because of his experience in training in Green Island.
File number: AA09000000E/0048/651.00/A1/0001/1/0004
Build your own prison
Living conditions on the island are extremely difficult, with only simple cells and camps providing shelter from the wind and rain. When many victims recalled that time, the most unforgettable thing was not the imprisonment itself, but the fact that they had to carry tens of kilograms of stone under the scorching sun every day and build the cells where they would be imprisoned.
Cai Kunlin, a political victim who was arrested for participating in a left-leaning reading club and served 10 years of torture in Green Island, once recalled that he often had to move rocks and cut grass for labor work, and the accommodation environment was very crowded. Yan Shihong, a medical student at National Taiwan University who was among the first batch of political victims to arrive at Green Island and was arrested in connection with the Student Work Committee case, recalled: "The Freshman Orientation Office, which was not yet completed at that time, had only one gate with the words "Freshman Orientation Office" in five characters. The first brigade, the second brigade to the south, and the third brigade to the west have not yet been completed. "Some people described it with a wry smile: "It is a prison we built ourselves, and we will be locked in as soon as we build it." Even the camp on Green Island was built while managing new students (Figure 6).
Figure 6: A chart of the acres of land acquired by the 8705 Corps for the construction of camps due to insufficient space on Green Island.
File number: AA05140000C/0045/1005.1/0292
Despite this, during their long prison sentences, this group of freshmen, with official permission, were able to exchange crops with the islanders, help repair buildings, serve as tutors for students, and provide medical assistance. According to the book "Qingdao East Road Section 3" written by Dr. Yan Shihong, ” stated that there were eight doctors in the Freshman Orientation Office at that time, including Hu Xinlin from the Department of Ophthalmology, Lin Enkui from the Department of Surgery, Wang Jingshu from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Su Youpeng from the Department of Otolaryngology, Hu Baozhen from the Department of Dermatology, Lin Huiji from the Dentistry Department, and Lu Shuige from the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Chen Shenchuan, who specialized in bacteriology, was average. For the islanders, "new life" even means skilled doctors, skilled farmers, and patient teachers.
From the Freshman Orientation Office to Oasis Villa
In 1962, the Ministry of National Defense built the Taiyuan Correctional Training Prison in Donghe Township, Taitung County. Political prisoners began to be moved from Green Island to Taiyuan, and all transfers were completed in 1965. The original Green Island Freshman Orientation Office was changed to the "Green Island Regional Security Command", and prisoners sentenced under the Prosecution and Suppression of Hooligans Act were changed to no longer imprison political prisoners. However, due to the completely different nature of prisoner training, incidents of prison escapes and wounding occur frequently in Green Island.
On February 8, 1970, the "Taiyuan Incident" broke out that shocked society. The cause was the "Declaration of the Taiwan People's Self-Rescue Movement" issued by Professor Peng Mingmin of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University in 1964, which attracted concern from the international community. Later, Peng Mingmin successfully escaped to Sweden in 1970 with the assistance of domestic and foreign human rights rescuers under the close surveillance of intelligence and management personnel. The news reached Taiyuan Correctional Training Prison and inspired several young political prisoners who had been brewing armed revolution in prison for a long time: Zheng Jinhe, Jiang Bingxing, Zhan Tianzeng, Xie Dongrong, Chen Liang, and Zheng Zhengcheng. They planned to seize firearms and vehicles and occupy the radio station to read the "Taiwan Independence Declaration" and call for revolution.
On February 8, 1970 (the third day of the first lunar month), Zheng Jinhe and others seized guns and assassinated a sergeant squad leader. However, the operation failed. The six people fled to the mountains, where they were surrounded by military police and were soon arrested. Except for Zheng Zhengcheng, who was sentenced to 15 years and six months, the other five people, including Zheng Jinhe, Chen Liang, Zhan Tianzeng, Xie Dongrong, and Jiang Bingxing, were all shot (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Review form of the Army Headquarters’ recommendations on the case of the Second Army Commander Hou’s escape for the Taiyuan prisoner.
File number AA05000000C/0059/563/4010/0002/9
Afterwards, the government reconsidered the possibility of detaining political prisoners back to Green Island, and decided on July 20, 1970, to move the funds for the second and third phases of the Taiyuan project to Green Island, and to build another high-walled prison in the west corner of the former site of the Green Island Freshman Training Center: the Green Island Training Prison of the Ministry of National Defense (also known as Oasis Villa). In the spring of 1972, the army, navy and air force conducted a joint exercise and sent political prisoners from Taiyuan Correctional Training Prison and military prisons in various places to Green Island for centralized management.
Although the name has changed, the nature of the island remains a symbol of isolation and punishment. At the entrance of Oasis Villa stands a stratified rock wall that looks like an arch. It is the famous scenic spot of Green Island: Elephant Trunk Rock. Starting from Oasis Villa, prisons for political prisoners were transformed into closed prisons that were easy to monitor. Political prisoners could no longer go out to work, and their space for activities was limited to their cells. From relatively free labor reform, to a typical closed prison with completely restricted movement. Due to changes in prison design, the victims imprisoned in "Oasis Villa" have completely become imprisoned, are not allowed to have contact with the outside world, and have lost their personal freedom. For this reason, political prisoners and residents described the arched Elephant Trunk Rock as the "Gate of Hell".
At the same time as Oasis Villa was being built, another prison was also prepared and completed in the same year. It was the "Green Island Prison of the Department of Justice, Department of Justice" built by the Ministry of Justice in Zhongliao Village. It accommodated inmates who were difficult to rehabilitate in various prisons. It is currently the only prison still in operation on Green Island (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Today's "Oasis Villa" is the Green Island Correctional Training Prison of the Ministry of National Defense completed in 1972.
Source: Provided by the author.
From the island of confinement to the island of human rights
In the 1980s, Taiwanese society gradually moved toward a political thaw. After the lifting of martial law in 1987, the government's suppression of political dissent gradually loosened, and the history of holding political prisoners on Green Island also came to an end. On May 6, 1990, the last political prisoner Wang Xingnan was released on parole from the Green Island Prison of the Department of Correction, symbolizing the official end of the political prison function that the island had carried since the 1950s (Figure 9). Since then, Green Island Prison has been transformed into a holding place for general criminal offenders.
Figure 9 Letter requesting that Wang Xingnan, a prisoner released on parole, be put under protective control in accordance with the law.
File number: AA11042300F/0079/030401/1/0002/001
However, the island has not faded from history. The name of Green Island has long been closely intertwined with Taiwan's tortuous journey from authoritarianism to democracy. It not only bears witness to the shadow of the martial law era, but also preserves countless traces of individual resistance.
In 1997, the Ministry of Justice planned to renovate the "Green Island Correctional Training Prison" into a branch of the "Green Island Prison". After the news was revealed, the forgotten "Green Island Prison Island" once again appeared on the main stage. Legislator Shi Mingde and 16 other legislators jointly proposed a proposal asking the Ministry of Justice to suspend construction and preserve "Oasis Villa" as a historical site or memorial hall. After the Legislative Yuan passed the resolution, on May 29, 2000, the Ministry of Justice issued the key points related to the establishment of the group in accordance with the order of the Executive Yuan. Soon, Green Island underwent another transformation - "Human Rights Island".
On December 10 of the same year, with the efforts of political victim Bai Yang (Picture 10) and the Human Rights Monument Committee, the "Green Island Human Rights Monument" was completed ahead of the memorial park and erected in Gongguangbu Park adjacent to "Oasis Villa" (Picture 11)
Figure 10 The verdict of Bo Yang (real name Guo Yidong) who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for rebellion.
File number: B3750347701/0058/1571/093/001/004
Figure 11 The "Human Rights Monument" was inaugurated on World Human Rights Day.
File number: A325000000E/0083/0519/1
In April 2002, the Association for the Rehabilitation of the White Terror Cases of the 1950s went to Green Island to protest, demanding that the former site of the Freshman Orientation Office be included in the planning. On December 10 of the same year, then-President Chen Shui-bian attended the opening ceremony of the "Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park", and the park was officially opened to the public immediately. In 2004, the memorial park was further expanded and the ruins of the Freshman Orientation Office were included in the overall plan. In 2006, the Cultural Development Committee of the Executive Yuan took over the operation and management and continues to carry out historical restoration projects.
With the assistance of political victim Chen Menghe, the restoration exhibition area of the Third Brigade was completed in 2010; in 2011, the whole area model exhibition hall of the Freshman Training Office was opened, providing a complete historical reproduction of the site. In 2015, the external service area of Green Island Correctional Training Prison was also restored; in 2017, restoration projects including the welfare community, kitchens, torture rooms and other living facilities were completed, allowing today's visitors to use their sensory experience to get closer to the reality of the victims back then.
Re-entering history
From a prison facility with high walls to a human rights park that is open to visitors, Green Island has undergone a profound spatial transformation and has also completed the reconstruction of a historical memory (Figure 12).
In the past, those political prisoners who set foot on this island faced a one-way road of imprisonment with no return; today, when we take a boat to Green Island, we can freely walk into the past and look directly at history. The waves are still crashing on the shore, but the island is more than just a tourist attraction; it is also a historical monument of resistance and transformation.
If you want to have a deeper understanding of Green Island’s past, everyone is welcome to enter the National Archives Information Network and retrieve those forgotten voices and stories from the archives.
Figure 12 Today’s White Terror Green Island Memorial Park, the former Xinsheng Home Archway.
Source: Provided by the author.
Recommended reading
Treasure Island Tourism: Progress in Taiwan’s Tourism Industry
A special prison floating on a moonlit night
Taiwan's milestone towards democratization - bidding farewell to the martial law period
This article is reproduced with permission from the National Archives Administration's [Archives Shiguang] Archives under the Black Tide: The Transformation of Green Island Prison
