An Unknown Old Soldier of Taiwan,
Who carried his cross alone, like Jesus.
Who fought for every war,
Japan, KMT China, ROC China, Taiwan and USA,
Without a Nation to turn to, He torched Himself, Died of Forfeited Promise
May 20, 2008
The Day when KMT China took Reign again in Taiwan.
By Stephen Lin, 林安平，July 26, 2008
Mr. Khou Chiao-Eng (許昭榮) was born 1928 when Taiwan was part of Japan. Like many others, he was drafted, to join the Japanese Navy in 1944. He was only 16. When the war ended in 1945, he got to go home. He was 17.
When WWII ended, Japan surrendered all the Pacific Islands stringing the Asian Pacific coast, including Taiwan. A WWII ally of USA, Chiang Kai-Shek’s KMT army was overwhelmed by PRC, lost the civil war to Mao. US offered KMT to exile to Taiwan, i.e. in exile from PRC China.
When KMT began the “228” massacre in Taiwan 1947, a “search and clean-up” throughout the island began looking for remnant “Japanese and Communist Enemy”. Against his will, Khou took refuge, agreed to join the KMT Navy. Having been trained briefly by the Japanese Navy and knew to read Japanese, Khou became an “expert” mechanic again.
Khou was shipped back to China to repair the Japanese ships left behind from WWII. For that, he was decorated twice with honor. With unexpected credits, Khou visited different regions of China as a China’s Navy man.
He was 22
Khou was not alone. About 200,000 Taiwanese youths were recruited or drafted. Among them, 100,000 were captured by PRC, 30,000 sent and died fighting in the Korean War. Among them, another 10,000 remained missing, unaccounted for, until today. He witnessed ravages after savages. The miserable plights of many Taiwanese youth. He became depressed and was missing home. He decided to run for home, Taiwan. Took a vacation and simply ran for home, 1950, the 2nd time.
Soon, he was arrested for desertion. Soon, he was released only to be sent again on another KMT Navy’s mission. This time, he was needed at a “US Naval Project”, a part of “US Aid” to Taiwan. After two years tour of US Navy training. He came home a specialist, an earned respect.
When His company brought two US Navy ships home, entered the Kao-Hsiung harbor, welcomed by dancing school kids, thousands of cheering crowds, blaring winds and bands on the dock, it was a big deal. Welcomed by his family and received honorably by ranks and file of the dignitaries, Khou came home the 3rd time, with pride and with triumph, 1955. He came home to protect Taiwan. He was only 27.
His dream came true. His home was particularly sweet, because “Taiwan”, his home nation, got two new US Boats to fight the PRC China, and he was in charge of their engine rooms. He was accomplished and indispensible, an important mechanic for Taiwan’s new Navy. With his hard earned glory, he got married.
1955-1966.
His glowing love affair for Taiwan intensified during his US tour, a free and democratic landscape. Not knowing he was under surveillance, being suspected as a Japanese remnat, he made a casual mistake. Inside his Navy’s packing, he brought literatures of democracy, freedom and human right. Naively, he began advocating Taiwan independence.
He was obviously unprepared for the intensive police state. He was closely watched by the KMT agents, in US and in Taiwan. Literatures were found and reported. He was portrayed a rebel. Arrested with little or no reasons, he was sentenced to a brutal 10 years in prison, a typical court martial. He lost his prime part of his sweet family life. He was sent to the Green Isle, a place only the worst criminal belong, a lonely place only the serious political rebels were detained, 15 miles southeast of Taiwan in the vast Pacific water.
Ten years of lock-up did nothing but intensified his devotion for Taiwan, to go Independence. After his release in 1966, Khou completely lost his youth. He came home the 4th time, from the Green Isle at 38.
Khou became a political refugee, exiled between US and Canada.
Like many restless mid-aged men in Taiwan, Khou thirsted for business challenge. This time, owning a business of his own, he ventured into trading, exporting farm-raised shrimps for the next 20 years.
In 1985, while visiting California, he lost his grace, joined a rally to support Shi Ming-Te’s (施明德) with a hunger strike, demanding Shi’s release. Mr. Khou’s passport was quickly denied, unable to go home. While being a political refugee without a passport, he became an instant exile, between US and Canada from 1987 to 1991.
Mr. Shi, was an active political prisoner then, jailed by the KMT government, advocating independence.
10,000 Taiwanese Captive Slave-Soldiers were left in China.
Unable to go home, Mr. Khou made extensive research and contacts with Taiwanese veterans of all kinds, veterans of all wars, living oversea in Japan, KMT China, PRC China, Canada and Americans. While in US and Canada, he also searched for them..
Like Khou himself, there were today, 10,000 Taiwanese soldiers still left behind in China, without passport, without national ID, without welfare. They were victims to all the wars. They were slave-soldiers for hire. Khou investigated the well-beings and the whereabouts of each exile and every misery. All of them, lost, alone without family, without social benefits, without safety-net of any kind.
These were the captive slave-soldiers, who fought to survive; who would wear different uniform for different wars, against their will. Unknown to any news media, unknown to his family, without hope, without soul, they fought only to stay alive.
They were robot mercenaries. Their only common denominator was, to “Go home, Taiwan”, some day, they dreamed.
His exemplary voluntary work could only have embarrassed KMT’s bureaucracy, and eventually got deleted from the list of “undesirable” with his passport returned. It was after Taiwan held its first Presidential election and KMT’s dictatorship ended. He went home the 5th time. It was 1992, when he lost all his “Business Man’s” impetus. He was 64.
There were 400, returned, abandoned and uncared for, in the street of Taiwan.
Back in Taiwan, Khou was surprised with another human misery. After the Taiwanese soldiers came crawling home one by one, did not fare better. Many, lost their entire family, were abandoned in the street. Without care, without veterans’ benefits, he were solid embarrassment for KMT-ROC. The welfare benefits received by the returning Taiwanese veterans were miniscule, compared to the KMT or ROC Chinese veterans. The disparity between them was immense and beyond reasonable explanation.
The enormous disparity was not a mistake; it was a purposeful segregation. It was a genocide quietly executed. With his well trained, well travelled and well informed years of the past, Khou knew well, he held witnesses. He was one knew their plight, no less miserable like many left behind in China.
He prayed and accepted the holy mission with highest standard of salvation and human sympathy.
In frustration, there were 400 souls. In desperation, they returned home. Most were abandoned in the streets of Taiwan for another misery.
He commit to organize, to publicize, to memorialize, to commemorate these deserted human of his kinds, souls of less fortune, the walking dead of honorable Taiwanese veterans. He began a serious campaign of salvage. He doubled his steps at an age of 66.
In 1994, Khou organized the Association of Taiwanese Veterans and Their Survivors (全國原國軍台籍老兵暨遺族協會). Annually, they gathered at a corner of a bare land in Ki-Tin (旗津), Kao-Hsiung. Together, they recollected their ordeals, teasing each other’s “Stupid Life”, “Get Killed for Nothing” or “To Retire with a Wood-Plank Coffin”.
On November 10, 2005, City of Kao-Hsiung agreed to build a memorial monument for the “Unknown Taiwanese Veterans”. It resolved to build it inside the Windmill Park at Ki-Tin, Kaohsiung, surrounded by the bare land. Never minding a small monument, it was a sweet achievement after 10 years of lobbying. Khou and his friends called it:
台灣老兵祈願世界和平紀念公園。
Unfortunately, the funding to build the Memorial Park was stalled for 2.5 years with impasse within the Kao-Hsiung City Council, controlled by KMT.
For some adverse reasons, Kao-Hsiung City Council passed a resolution against Khou, in March of 2008, to rename the park as, “Peace Memorial Park”. It also proposed to relocate the monument elsewhere. The resolution was clearly intended to dis-associate or fixing the KMT’s embarrassment, their shame past. KMT succeeded to mitigate their public disgrace and stalled Khou’s project.
Their sweet three years of cheers was shut and mummed. A glorious dream for a memorial park spoiled and soured. It’s a stunning blow to the 400, a murderous chill to the souls too many, the wandering 15,000 in China, their only beacon lost.
He went Home, his 6th, knowing his Monument Park will not be built.
Mr. Khou’s motivation was beat and trashed, like a piece of his hard earned gold medal denied. Worst, there were no more uniform to switch. Back in Taiwan, he would not switch any more, even if there were one. He would rather fight for his gold medal.
He saved enough of his remnant body warmth and temperature to move his finger. With that, he detonated his final assault, alone, a one man battalion aiming at KMT.
He would not stay alive. On May 20, 2008, at the resumption of KMT Chinese Control of Taiwan, Khou made up his mind, his next move.
In the evening of May 20, 2008, Khou surprised all corners of Taiwan and every international media on earth, with a headline in the next morning, Mr. Khou torched himself, last night 5/20/2008, in his car, parked alongside the Memorial Monument granite he personally paid for.
It was the day KMT Chinese President Ma inaugurated. It was Mr. Khou’s triumph, who openly embarrassed KMT. He released the story of the 15,000 left behind in China. He released the story of the 400 left in the streets of Taiwan, without veteran’s safety net. He revenged, by uncovering a quiet genocide attempt by the KMT.
He finished his last mission. Like Jesus, the Christ, he ascended and went home, his 6th time, to his permanent home sweet home, joining his Heavenly Father. He was 80.
二○○八年七月二十四日
於美國加州 聖荷西市
許昭榮夫人，余美智女士
許先生的一生，我們已知之甚詳.
絕對是一位台灣歷史的傑出人物。他一生的奮鬥一點都沒有浪費過。為了他的理念，為了台灣，為了與他一同奮鬥的兄弟，他自已 設定最高的做人道德標竿。無聲勝有聲。默默地，單獨地，建造那只有 上帝看懂的工程。
耶穌基督 不也是如此? 當耶穌自已挑起那沉重的十字架，走在 耶路撒冷的 Ponderosa。耶穌自已，清楚 這一切的涵意，這一切的天意。它是超越人類，心律，時空，想像 的偉大工程，羅馬官兵，所有先知 與 以色列人 都看不懂。
許先生的努力，沒有枉費。他是我心目中的偉人。今年十二月六日，我們每年在聖荷西市政府，會議廳的聖誔音樂會，在所有為台灣貢獻的美國退伍軍人感恩紀念，我會特別表揚，禱告，傳揚，許先生一生為台灣的自我犧牲。
弟雖與許夫人未曾謀面，也與許昭榮先生未曾認識，弟卻有如電擊般的感受。絕對相信，許先生已經為台灣人，留下可歌可頌的歷史祖產。弟會與 江仲曄教授，還有其他許許多多，繼續 許先生未完成的工程。
禱告紀念。感恩感謝。
弟 林忠雄 上
Dr. Stpehen C. H. Lin, San Jose, CA
代表, (On behalf of)
美國聖荷西， 國際台灣之友社，Friends of Taiwan International
國際 台南市聖荷西姐妹市，San Jose Tainan Sister City International
美國台灣退伍軍人協會。Taiwan Veteran Post of Santa Clara County
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