CHAPTER 23 : DONGSHAN - VILLAGE OF WIDOWS

I discovered an interesting but tragic fact about my paternal grandfather's village. Grandfather came from Dongshan Dao, Fujian, a fishing island facing the Taiwan Straits. The island had deep harbour, suitable for ships. It was a very strategic island and even in the Ming Dynasty, it was the centre of military activities. Read here.

Map showing proximity of Dongshan and Taiwan

Tonglinzhen, Dongshan Dao

In 1949, Chiang Kai Shek's army lost to the Communist Red Army. Thus Chiang's army retreated to Dongshan Dao and from there, they fled to Taiwan. As his army suffered severe losses, he forcibly recruited the locals to join his army, in the hope of recouping his forces and launch another attack against the Red Army. Men aged 15 to 55 were forced into his army. Some of the males were just mere boys of 12 years. There were stories of how some men were dragged from their homes and herded to the navy ships. One woman recalled : "My husband was dragged from our bed. He barely had time to put on his shoes when the soldiers came. He had one shoe on. I held on to the other shoe to give it to him but he was taken away. I kept that shoe as a memory of him."

Suddenly the village was left with women and very young children. With no men to man the boats, the women had to eke out a living by tilling the soil. It was not the work they were used to as they were mostly fisher folks. The women suffered much hardship, struggling to bring up their children. Many of the children died of malnutrition. They struggled for years, hoping in vain to see their loved ones but most never did. "I was 26 when my husband was taken away, and now I am 66. My husband did not recognise me when he returned." Thus the village was also known as 'Village of Widows'. Many of the remaining kith and kin in Dongshan still hold bitter memories of that fateful day and they spat at the name of Chiang Kai Shek.

The men did not fare any better, Most of them were illiterate fishermen. They were recruited as foot soldiers. Thus after the war, many of them ended doing menial work in Taiwan. Due to the political difference between China and Taiwan, the men were unable to return to their homeland.

Fortunately, at that time, grandfather had already left for Malaya. Thus he was spared the evil fate.

Historical Note :  History of modern China and Taiwan is not complete without mentioning the significant roles played by the famous Soong sisters.There is a saying that 'behind a great man is a woman' and this certainly rings true of the Soong sisters. There is a movie on the Soong sisters which began with these words : "Once upon a time in distant China there were 3 sisters. One loved money, one loved power and one loved her country......" One sister married Dr. Sun Yat Sun, father of Republic of China, one married a millionaire ( and was able to finance some of Dr. Sun's struggle against the Ching dynasty), and one married General Chiang Kai Shek. It was Madam Soong Mei Ling (Gen. Chiang's wife) who sought America's help to stave off any imminent Communist threat to Taiwan during those crucial early years. Here