People torn apart by borders

Correspondence with Yonaguni and Taiwan - "Borderland" に木らす人々

How is the historical common living circle torn apart by the national borders of modern politics?
The latest work by Yoshitaka Matsuda, the author of "Taiwanese in Yaeyama",
Retracing the forgotten history of eastern Taiwan facing the Kuroshio Current in the Pacific Ocean, renowned author Liao Hongji recommends this preface. Do you know which country introduced the "sailboat" fishing method, used to chase swordfish amidst the surging waves whipped up by northerly winds, to Taiwan?
Did you know that almost all Yonaguni people came to Taiwan to make a living in the first half of the 20th century?
Did you know that the thriving fishing industries of Sheliao Island in Keelung, Nanfang'ao in Yilan, Jinzun Port in Taitung, and Chenggong Township were built by fishermen from Yonaguni?
The common living area that once existed in the waters east of Taiwan was torn apart with the demarcation of the postwar national border.
Yoshitaka Matsuda's "People Torn by Borders: A Chronicle of Exchanges between Yonaguni and Taiwan" recounts the common history of eastern Taiwan and Yonaguni Island. From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, the two peoples interacted closely, exchanging their respective technologies and products, but were separated by a strict border after 1945.
The closest point to Yonaguni Island in eastern Taiwan is only 111 kilometers. People from the two regions have been traveling together since the mid-Qing Dynasty. In the late 19th century, Japan annexed the Ryukyu Islands and then Taiwan, transforming the lifestyles of both regions and bringing them under the same regime. Since then, exchanges between the two regions have intensified.
In the eyes of the Yonaguni people of the time, Taiwan was their mentor in "Japanization." Almost all "Japanese elements" were introduced to Yonaguni through Taiwan. If a letter from Tokyo to Yonaguni was to be sent to Keelung Port, it would first be forwarded. After completing elementary school in Yonaguni, if Yonaguni residents wanted to continue their education, they had to go to school in Taiwan. If they grew up and didn't want to continue their fishing careers, they would go to Taiwan to work.
This increasingly close sphere of shared existence underwent drastic changes with Japan's defeat in 1945. A strict border was drawn between Japan and the Republic of China, severing over two centuries of shared history between northeastern Taiwan and Yonaguni Island. The entire Ryukyu Islands were also home to unfamiliar American troops.
"People Torn by a Border" illustrates how difficult it is to abruptly sever the history between the two places. Although the once normal exchange of goods and personnel is now considered a smuggling crime, the people of the two places still try to sneak across the border to continue to travel and maintain a shared economic life. However, the situation in Taiwan changed rapidly, and social tensions grew. The February 28 Incident in 1947 forced most of the Yona people who remained in Taiwan to return home to avoid disaster. After the Kuomintang government's large-scale relocation of people to Taiwan in 1949, exchanges were almost completely severed.
However, the historical memories accumulated over the past two centuries will not vanish in an instant, and the cultural exchanges that took place there leave traces everywhere. With the increasing intensity of Taiwan-Ryukyu relations in recent years, it is time to look back and carefully examine this shared history, which was not about politics but about the lives of ordinary people.

2017-03-30

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