TERMS AND GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR FILM

Tug of War: the Story of Taiwan

Shanghai Communiqué: the document, issued jointly by Chinese and American officials at the end of Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972, that contains the passage, “All Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China.” That passage is now at the center of Sino-US-Taiwan relations.

Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975): close ally of Sun Yat-sen and prominent leader of the KMT after Sun’s death. Chiang retreated to Taiwan after the Communist victory in 1949, where he continued to rule until his death. “Sea Goddess” Matzu: the most important folk deity in Taiwan. Matsu was first worshipped during the Song dynasty (960-1279), particularly among China's coastal communities as a guardian of seafarers. Li Tien-lu (1910-1998): Taiwan’s most famous hand puppeteer. Li became a puppeteer’s apprentice at the age of seven. February 28th Incident: the arrest of a woman selling cigarettes without a license in Taipei led to large-scale public protests against repression and corruption. Following months of violent government retaliation, the number of those killed, injured and missing exceeded ten thousand. Bo Yang (b. 1920): born in China and retreated to Taiwan with KMT forces. Bo Yang made his living as a newspaper columnist. For his translation of an “Popeye” comic in 1967, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bo Yang's most famous book, The Ugly Chinaman includes his critique of a Chinese “soy-vat” culture.

Chiang Ching-kuo (1909–88): eldest son of Chiang Kai-shek and president of Taiwan from 1978 until his death. In his last years in power he initiated the momentous democratization of Taiwanese society. “Homeland Literature” (xiangtu wenxue): nativist literary movment that started in Taiwan during the late 1970’s. Lin I-hsiung: current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman. As a young political activist, Lin was arrested in the aftermath of the Kaohsiung Incident (1979). While he was in prison his mother and twin-daughters were murdered in their Taipei home while the house was under surveillance by the secret police. Mr. Lin was given a 12-year sentence, but he was released after 4 1/2 years due to strong international pressure. Lee Tung-hui (b. 1923): Taiwanese agricultural economist and president of Taiwan (1988–2000). He received a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University in 1968. In 2001 after having left office, he challenged the current KMT leadership, and was expelled from the party. He is still politically active.

#1. Regarding Taiwan’s history, what does the following passage mean, “Too near to China to be different, too far away to be the same”?

#2. What effect did the early years of Japanese colonial rule have on Taiwanese society?

#3. How did misunderstandings between Nationalist troops and the Taiwanese populace lead to the “February 28th Incident”? What happened in the aftermath of the initial disturbance?

#4. How did Taiwan’s secret police system function under Chiang Ching-kuo?

#5. What happened to Taiwan diplomatically during the late 1960’s – early 1970’s?

#6. What made Lee Tung-hui’s presidency distinctive?