Motherland controversy

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Chinese :祖國支那事件; lit.'Motherland Shina Event'
Part of Taiwan under Japanese rule
Tai Wan Wen Hua Yu Min Zhu Yun Dong Ling Xiu Lin Xian Tang Lin Hsien-tang, Leader of Taiwanese Culture and Democracy Movement.jpg
Lin Hsien-tang
Native name Abbreviated as 祖國事件, lit.'Motherland Event', in Chinese
DateJune 17, 1936 (1936-06-17)
Venue Taichung Park
Location Taichung, Japanese Taiwan
OutcomeLin resigned from all his political and cultural positions

In 1936 on Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule, Taiwanese politician Lin Hsien-tang was publicly humiliated by a Japanese individual for referring to China as his motherland. [1] [2] The ensuing media backlash led Lin to resign from his political roles and relocate from Taiwan to Tokyo. Lin himself speculated that the Japanese military orchestrated the incident as a means of deterring Taiwanese intellectuals from embracing Chinese nationalist sentiments. [3]

Contents

Background

In March 1936, Lin Hsien-tang, a Taiwanese politician from the prominent Lin family of Wufeng  ( zh ), accompanied by his brother Lin Chi-tang  ( zh ) and son Lin You-long  ( zh ), visited southern China on a trip arranged by the Taiwan People's News  ( ja; zh ) newspaper. Their itinerary included Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shantou, Hong Kong, Guangdong and Shanghai. During a welcome ceremony in Shanghai, Lin said:

Since I returned to the motherland twenty years ago, I have never returned to its borders again. The progress of the motherland has been rapid. This time, accompanied by others, I returned to the motherland and saw that the cultural development in cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai can hardly be compared to what it was twenty years ago.

— Lin Hsien-tang [4]

Hence, Lin referred to China as his "motherland" (Chinese: 祖國). This was subsequently reported to the head of the Japanese Army in Taiwan. [5]

Incident

Back on Taiwan, on 17 June 1936, Lin Hsien-tang attended a ceremony commemorating Japanese rule on Taiwan at Taichū Park at the invitation of the mayor of Taichū Prefecture. Uruma Zenbee (Japanese : 賣間善兵衛) publicly confronted Lin and asked: [3] [4]

Why did you say that you were back in the motherland when you were in the welcome ceremony held by chankoros?

Zenbee handed Lin a letter demanding his resignation from the position of legal consultant to the Governor and all other public roles, a public apology for his remarks in Shanghai, and a cessation of involvement in any political, cultural, or social activities. He proceeded to slap Lin. [3]

Taiwan Daily News , along with other newspapers, reported on the event while attacking Lin. [3] Due to overwhelming media pressure, Lin was forced to resign from the legal consultancy of the Government of colonial Taiwan, the Taiwanese Alliance for Home Rule  ( zh ), the Common Prosperity Association of East Asia and newspaper Taiwan Minbao, and moved to Tokyo with his complete family of 7. [5]

Lin Hsien-tang, in his diary, posited that the confrontation was co-conspired by Rippei Ogisu  ( ja; zh ), the military head of colonial Taiwan, and the Taiwan Daily News. His secretary, Yeh Jung-chung  ( zh ), also believed in Ogisu's involvement. [4] However, in the following years, Lin did not make much of a fuss about retribution, and when Uruma came to his door to apologise, he did not scold him. [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 簡後聰《台灣史》〈第七章 日據時期〉
  2. ↑ 羅吉甫 (1992). 《野心帝國：日本經略臺灣的策謀剖析》. pp. 頁236. 「在盧溝橋事件前一年(1936年)，臺灣發生了林獻堂被毆辱的事件(祖國事件)……顯示出總督府以及臺灣軍司令部對同化政策成效的不滿。
  3. 1 2 3 4 Li, Zuji (2010). 台湾研究新跨越·历史研究 (First ed.). Beijing: 九州出版社. p. 166. ISBN   978-7-5108-0445-8. OCLC   655748074.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "A Foreigner Returning to His Motherland". National Museum of Taiwan History (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  5. 1 2 民國文學與文化研究 第三輯 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Showwe Information Co Ltd. 2016-12-01. ISBN   978-986-94071-4-4.
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