ISLAND OF FORMOSA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 27 October 1941, Page 8

ISLAND OF FORMOSA

JAPAN’S FIRST COLONY 111 \ i>l l l m i i;s - i n i \i;m mi | To sol i u * rni isiilcr; 1)1.• extent the China. Tins was Japan' lirsl colony. For w ill. .1 (liflU i t ami dai Herons lon am. set a to I lor the Japanesc to prove their ability colonists They have tailed The mam reason r that the (iovernment could not persuade its people to settle on this island rich m natural resources, and underpopulated. Even now there is only 10 per cent, of Japanese in the population of 5 000 000 Actual I '. Clone e laboui ha had to he imported. The fact that the Japanese are one of the most prolific races suggests that tie man in the street has a different idea about ex mansion from that of Ins lords The Japanese dislike leaving then homes I more than do tin* French. | the Japanese from a strategical point J of view. It is much nearer Singapore I than the Japanese islands, and has one | of Nippon’s most important air bases. ! "beautiful." but the Japanese and I Chinese have a different name for it. j --Taiwan, which means "terraced j bay.” Here, as in so many other parts of the world, the Portuguese sailors were the explorers, the "men who found lout.” but the Chinese, and later the J Japanese, followed in their footsteps, j There arc, 1 owever, . till plenty of head hunters around, and behind Tat Hoku, I with its population of almost 2r)0.000 , people, there lies one of the most fan- ■ tastie countries in the world. A CENTERV’S CAMPHOR Sl. ITLY j For the Japanese individually and i as a community the stay at Formosa I is more unpleasant than in China, but they slay there, as it has such great ! coal and naphtha, and there is a surj plus of rice which can be sent "home.” I Tea. sugar, hemp and camphor are | other products. The Japanese claim I that the camphor producing district of j Formosa is the largest in the world. : covering about 130 square miles, and ; containing enough drug to supply the whole world’s demand for the next 10U years, though synthetic camphor is a strong competitor, and has dampened the hopes of the* Japanese exporters. I They produce annually 8.000,0001b5, allied at about £300,000. The Japanese policemen and militia fight unceasingly against the head . hunters, who are divided into seven different tribes. They are subjugated as far as possible, but it is a difficult i task, for these tribes live in mountainj ous country, where troops are easily | ambushed and massacred even now- | a days. The tribes are dominated by the

I . An ... • ,i: m I j»• im.tivr and in.. deni i A .believe that every man they behead their 'earthly rc.iii|iiering They an* causes' terrible pain and fever, and often death The bu> a a rule are PRO! I I S ANI) RISKS 'prey of the savages i.s for those who i live and work near the guard lines. Which are maintained for building paths 'and roads and clearing the jungles, [and for trade stations. | There are about 100 of these stallions. and eaeli of them works at a | great profit in tins risky business. Often I d happens that savages bring in gold I anil exchange it for ammunition; next I day they are likely to attack the station, massacre the traders and take what 11hey traded. The Tayals are especially supplied with firearms, grenades, tele j phones, barb-wire fences, and in the I more dangerous areas are electrified, j and have mines buried around them. (.Some of the guards always have to be | on watch, for they are responsible for \ not only their own lives, blit the lives |of their comrades and the safety of | the whole community- mostly "domesticated savages,” as the Japanese call the | converted head hunters who work in , the service of the Japanese Imperial ! industry. | Life m Taiwan is predominantly (Chinese. The streets of Keelong, the I main port of the island, could easily be im Singapore or Hong Kong, where the ! British rule, but deep down the roots | of life belong to the Chinese, j Behind Keelong and Taihoku live the (aborigines of Malayan origin, both mild | and wild, suffering Japanese who are j home sick, melancholy and afraid, and | Lame Chinese tribes, among them the Kabans, who have one of the most curious orchestral instruments in the world It is a large Hat stone about 8 feet by 10 feet, with its surface about 1 inch | above the ground. The Kabans pound j out queer melancholy tunes by means of hardwood instru icnts, resembling giant pestles, which are as long as 8 feet. These Kabans originated from the Chinese, who, for major or minor crimes, lied from the lowlands in great j numbers, and degenerated into a sennj M.vage stale. To hear this melancholy music in u beautiful surroundings is worth the curious trip up to Sun-Moon-Abyss—the Dragon Lake. Front Taihoku to Gaishatei, another comparatively civilised outpot, it is possible to travel by train or car, but from then on the method is the "savage express.” The cars of this "train” are wicker canopy chairs mounted on springless factory trucks, and running on a light rail. But all the travellers’ sympathies go to the “locomotives”— two Chinese coolies to each car, who push the train up the steep mountain, shout gladly when they reach the summit, then give a final push, jump on the train, and travel down at a dangerous speed. It is a mixture of excitement, danger and tragi-eomedy, and in these respects can probably be taken as a symbol of this first of the colonies of the Rising Sun.