by Chienn Tai Artwork by white Terror victim Ouyang Jian-hua (歐陽劍華, 1927-2011), husband of Zhang Chang-Mei.
“Lost to human rights, lost to human morality, lost to humanity.” A Sole Survivor “He said that he’d rather have innocent 99 wrongly executed than leaving one guilty out,” remarked the 87-year-old White Terror victim Zhang Chang-Mei (張常美, 1931-). She was speaking about Chiang Kai-Shek(蔣中正), the former president of Taiwan. Zhang was imprisoned for 12 years during the period known as the White Terror, a term familiar to all Taiwanese who grew up after the 1980s. But the details of what really happened remain mostly unknown. In September 2018, the theatrical troupe Island Stage (海島演劇) presented this untold story via an original stage play revolving around three women who were imprisoned and even lost their lives during this terrible period. Zhang, the only survivor out of the three, was interviewed after the show, and the bloody history of the White Terror became, once again, alive, with the suffering and tears that caused to a generation of two hundred thousand. What is the White Terror (1949-1991)? Beginning in 1947, Taiwan entered a phase of single-party rule by the KMT (Kuomintang, a.k.a. Chinese Nationalist Party). Martial laws were launched, eliminating any opposition and strictly controlling the whole nation’s ideology. Civilians were on their guard against one another, and were terrified of being accusing of a bandit spy (匪諜, a spy for Chinese communists), which got them into a great deal of trouble. The entire island was shrouded by the fear of being labelled or prosecuted by the officials. Criminals Without Committing Crimes Ding Yao-Tiao (丁窈窕), sentenced to death by shooting after 3 years of prison. Shih Shui-Huan(施水環), sentenced to death by shooting after 2 years of prison. Zhang Chang-Mei , sentenced to 12 years of prison. All of the victims were forced into jail in the middle of an ordinary day, midway through dinner or school, but only one of them made it out alive after twelve years and one hundred days under lock and key. Even Her Two-Year-Old Child Knew What “Shooting to Death” Meant Ding and Shih shared dear friends and were both accused of communism involvement. It was an age of torture and interrogation, false confessions were made on a daily basis with belts and whips. Ding was sent to jail because of her close proximity to Shih. She had helped her friend fend off an arrogant pursuer.Frustrated, the man reported her as a spy because of her possession of “the restricted book.” Ding was pregnant when she went to jail and her baby girl grew up in prison. On the day of execution, she was told that there were “special visitors” for her. She was later grabbed forcibly, leaving her child screaming and crying repeatedly, “My mama is not a bad person, please don’t shoot her!” The sentence lingered on, but Ding’s life did not. May God grant us His glory upon us all, amongst our family, Amen. Peace be with you.” (from Shih’s 68th letter, 1956) Shih had a younger brother who got labeled as a spy because of his left-wing political stance whilst in university. She hid him in the ceiling of her dormitory and was later arrested herself. The 68 letters home are her only belongings preserved to this day, along with her firm and steadfast spirit. “Mother dear, worry not, our righteous judge shall prove us innocent. We have always been abiding by the laws, have always been well-behaved, nothing of the government dare we challenge in this great, wide world.” (from Shih’s 2nd letter,1954) So she wrote, reassuring her family and holding on to hope, but each time it was another wave of disappointment and torture that finally carried her away into the tides of death. “Why Am I Confined Here? I Need to Go Back to Class!” Zhang was still a young and bright 19-year-old elite student in Taichung when, out of the blue, she was summoned to the principal’s office and never returned to class. She was made to sign a false confession letter and admit to accusations she was completely ignorant of. “I was only the class leader, how do I know anything about committing crimes and communism?” During her days in jail, she shared a ward as tiny as 100 square feet with 10 other prisoners; she witnessed many people shot to death every day, including seven women whom she knew who were shot to death right in front of her. Recalling Fu Ru-Zhi (傅如芝1932-1956), another white terror victim, Zhang said: “I remember how brave she was when being told there were ‘special visitors’ for her. She simply took off her green sweater and told us to pass it to her little brother. We dared not cry out, as she did not; it was only after a gunshot pierced through the silent air that we unleashed our great lament.” A History that All Taiwanese Should Be Familiar With “To be truthful, it’s really agonizing to recall all those terrible, horrible days… but then if you all wish to hear about them, here I am.” Tears accompanied her memories as she finished her story, and her audience shed tears along with her. Zhang Chang-Mei represents the one survivor of the 99 innocent people who were captured and slaughtered by the government, like sparrows on the field. But when one sparrow is willing to share her memories — barely surviving, still holding on— we can know something of the real untold story of the White Terror. a
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May 2024
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