US Edition
'Nobody Else Knew': Allied Prisoners of War Held in Taiwan
More than 4,300 Allied servicemen were held in harsh Japanese POW camps in Taiwan during WWII, where 430 died from malnutrition, disease, and overwork, historian Michael Hurst said.
- More than 4,300 Allied servicemen were sent to Taiwan starting in 1942, where they were held in brutal POW camps including Kinkaseki near Taipei.
- This occurred because Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895 until its defeat in 1945, using the island as a key staging ground during World War II.
- The men, including Anne Wheeler's physician father, were forced to work in copper mines under harsh conditions, suffering starvation, disease, and injuries as death counts rapidly increased.
- By the conclusion of the war, a total of 430 prisoners had succumbed to factors such as starvation, illness, exhaustion, and mistreatment, and over time, Kinkaseki gained a reputation as one of the most brutal POW camps in Asia, though these accounts remained largely unspoken for nearly five decades.
- Michael Hurst, who established the organization dedicated to commemorating the prisoners of war held in Taiwan, continues to honor their experiences through detailed research, memorial installations, guided visits, and a book compiled from veterans’ interviews and personal diaries, while families of former POWs remain eager to learn about their loved ones’ fates.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Jinguashi - On a granite wall, more than 4,000 names of Anglo-Saxon-consonant soldiers: in Taiwan, a memorial built on the site of an ancient Japanese camp pays tribute to long-forgotten prisoners of war. Taiwan's prisoners of war memorial, located on the site of Kinkaseki (locally known as Jinguashi) about thirty kilometers east of Taipei, was one of the twelve camps run by Japan on the island that it ruled from 1895 until its defeat in 1945. M…
'Nobody Else Knew': Allied Prisoners Of War Held In Taiwan
In a small urban park in Taiwan, more than 4,000 names are etched into a granite wall -- most of them British and American servicemen held by the Japanese during World War II. The sombre memorial sits on the site of Kinkaseki, a brutal prisoner of war camp near Taipei and one of more than a dozen run by Japan on the island it ruled from 1895 until its defeat in 1945.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
