The Atayal aborigines populate the central and northern mountains of Taiwan. Population stands at 40,000. The Atayals are honest, sometimes bellicose and straightforward. Older men and women used to wear tattoos on their faces. The civilized peoples called them the "whale face aborigines." The basic social unit is the communal worship group. The leader of the group is the wise man. The family is patrilineal. Although tribal unity is strong, tribal dialects and customs are diverse. Fighting among various groups used to be common. The Atayals maintain strong affiliation with their ancestors through worship and absolute obedience to family traditions. Xenophobia of the Atayals is strong. The Japanese had a hard time pacifying the tribe during their 50-year occupation of Taiwan.
The Atayals believe in spirits. When they walk past graveyards, they do not make a sound .for fear they may disturb the spirits. All matters of importance must be taken up with the sa sa god. The poisonous striped snake is regarded as the spirit of the dead and symbolizes misfortune.
Legends say that one day a big rock burst open and a man and a woman emerged. The woman tattooed her face to tempt the man. They became husband and wife and had children. Offspring who moved to the lowlands became the ancestors of other tribes, while those who stayed in the mountains were the ancestors of the Atayals. The woman's act of temptation started the custom of tattooing the face.
Spring is the season for work. On the eve of sowing, the head of the family kneels beside his bed, raises his hands and calls out to his ancestors for blessing and prosperity. He lies prone, then returns to the kneeling position and starts calling upon his ancestors again. This is done several times. Then he lowers his head and prays for dreams. If his prayer is answered with a dream about the sea, rocks or the high mountains, the family will prosper. If he dreams of poisonous snakes, fish or manure, the family will meet with misfortune. The Atayals act according to the meaning of their dreams. Families destined to have a prosperous year must not let others know. If they do, their prosperity will vanish and their crops will be plagued by insects.
On the day of sowing, families start when it is still dark for fear of being seen by others. Women must not touch needles, thread, scissors, or knives until the last day of sowing. On the first day, the head of the house sacrifices a small pig and a cock in the fields. Neighbors and friends are invited to participate in this service.
The chestnut worshipping ceremony of August 15 by the Gregorian calendar is the year's biggest feast. The Atayals beg for good weather, abundance in harvest, good hunting and peace to people and pets. The celebration is both religious and communal. Sacrificial offerings are of chestnuts, chestnut wine, chestnut cakes, fish and meat.
A month before the festival, men of the tribe go hunting and fishing. Women make wine and new clothes. The site is a place relatively remote from the residential area and presumed to be closer to the gods. The altar is set up and on the eve of the festival, chiefs and strong young men pray for good fortune.
Before dawn of the festival day, members of the tribe take offerings of food to the festival ground. They hang their gifts on bamboo boards and pray for good tidings. The more offerings, the greater the chance the gods will answer their prayers. Offerings are not eaten but left to rot. Song, dance and merrymaking follow. Young men and women make a great circle and dance. When night comes, they sit on the ground around a campfire. The chief arrives and there is a feast. Each family makes gifts of food-boar, mutton, deer fowl, fish, shrimps and wine. If any couples wish to marry, they present themselves in front of the assembly and drink together from a bamboo cup of wine. The people applaud and wish them well.
Marriage among the Atayals has few restrictions. Endogamy and marriage between members with the same family name is prohibited. The couple must consult the sa sa god and win his approval. Betrothal gifts are sent to the girl's family on a lucky day. These usually include cigarettes, wine, cloth, meat and cakes. Proposals are usually made in July, August or soon after harvest. The bridegroom goes to the bride's house and takes her home. He is accompanied by the matchmaker or marriage mediator. When the bride arrives at her new home, the mother-in-law blows a mouthful of water in the bride's face as an act of welcome.
Funeral ceremonies of the Atayals are unique among Taiwan aborigines. Each member of the family must see the deceased before burial. News of the death is announced to the tribe and the day's work terminated as an act of mourning. The corpse is placed in a sack in upright position. A hat made of twine is placed on the head. Wrapped in the sack, the body is carried to the burial ground. Belongings are buried with the deceased. After the funeral, members of the bereaved family bathe in a stream to make sure the spirit has not attached itself to the living. Returning home, they sprinkle ashes around the living quarters of the deceased to drive away evil spirits. -Kao Shan-jen
Issue and Studies - Mainland research
People on Taiwan share historical background, language and culture with the people of the mainland. Aside from the government research institutes serving political and military purposes, there are a number of unofficial groups engaged in academic studies of mainland affairs. The Institute of International Relations is a main center. Others include the Institute of the East Asian ,Studies of the National Chengchi University, the Joint Council on Sino-American Cooperation, in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the Academia Sinica, the Chinese Communist Studies Society, the Institute on Chinese Mainland Problems, the Institute of Political Science of the Political Staff College, the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang Central Committee and the Hui Lu Research Center (Bureau of Investigation Library). Progress of research has been rapid.
The most voluminous collection is of materials concerning the Chinese Communist Party before 1949. Most of these are original documents and valuable. They are kept at the Hui Lu Research Center, Shih Sou Shih (the archives collection of the late Vice President Chen Cheng) and the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang Central Committee. The Hui Lu alone has a collection of more than 300,000 books and documents. The materials at Shih Sou Shih have been microfilmed by the Hoover Institute and are available to researchers abroad. The collection of the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang Central Committee includes documents on the relations between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, mostly for the 1922-1927 period. There is also a collection of materials concerning Communist activities after 1949, many of them originals. Included is data on the Chinese Communists' preparation to participate in the Korean War, the Lienchiang Documents and the Landing Craft Documents. Recent materials include the Chinese Communist Party "constitution" adopted at the "ninth national congress" and the draft "constitution" of the Maoist regime. The latter text has not been made public on the mainland.
Current materials are kept by the Chinese Communist Studies Society, Institute on Chinese Mainland Problems and Institute of International Relations. The Institute of International Relations has 50,000 books and monographs and 100,000 newspaper clippings.
Another important source is information obtained through interviews with persons who formerly were associated with the Chinese Communists. With regard to relations between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, many high-ranking officials in Taiwan have supplied information from their own personal experience. Exchange of materials and research results is conducted with institutes in other countries. The Hoover Institute, Harvard-Yenching Library, Institute of East Asian Studies of Columbia University and a number of others are working closely with research institutions in Taiwan.
All Taiwan institutes are short of research personnel. This involves problems of staff standards and demands, training and recruitment of scholars and specialists. IIR has engaged professors and scholars of universities in Taiwan as well as returned students from abroad. In recent years, 70 scholars and specialists have been recruited. IIR established the Institute of East Asian Studies with the cooperation of the National Chengchi University to train graduate students for research. There are four classes with more than 50 graduate students. Students of the first class have been graduated with master's degrees.
IIR has exchange programs for researchers and graduate students with the Hoover Institute, Center of Asian Studies of St John's University, Institute of International Studies of the University of South Carolina, Asiatic Research Center of Korea University, World Political and Economic Study Society of Japan and Free University of Berlin. These programs are aimed at broadening outlooks and raising standards. The Institute of Political Science of the Political Staff College, the Chinese Communist Studies Society, Institute on Chinese Mainland Problems and Hui Lu Research Center are making efforts to expand personnel and improve training. New members acquire increased understanding of Chinese culture and history, broader knowledge of world affairs and ideological trends in other countries, and the basic understanding of Marxism-Leninism necessary for the study of Chinese mainland problems.
Research methods include inductive, deductive, comparative and historical. Studies are made with an objective and unbiased attitude. Subjective anti-Communist prejudice and emotional hostility toward the Communists are avoided in making analyses and judgments of mainland problems. Standards and measurements used by some free world researchers may not be adequate for appraising Communist behavior. Communist propaganda and deceptive techniques have often confused objectivity.
To analyze mainland problems, researchers must often resort to the dialectics which the Communists habitually use. The Chinese Communist Party's internal struggles and personnel changes must he approached in terms of the law of contradictions, particularly the principle of "one divided into two," to observe anti· Maoist and anti-Communist phenomena, appraise Communist struggle' criticism-transformation and the theory of continuous revolution, and analyze peaceful coexistence and diplomatic activities from the point of view of the united front and "two faces" techniques.
Collective research projects and' group study have been given emphasis along with individual projects. Collective works include the Chinese Communist Who's Who and the Dictionary of Chinese Communist Terminology, which have already been completed.
Results of research on mainland activities and problems are regularly published in periodicals in both Chinese and English. Among these are the, English language monthly Issues and Studies, Fei Ching Yueh Pao (Chinese Communist Affairs Monthly), Chung Kung Yen Chiu (A Study of Chinese Communist Problems), Fei Ching Yen Chiu (A Study of Chinese Communist Affairs), Wen Ti Yu Yen Chiu (Issues and Studies in Chinese), Tung Ya Chi K'an (East Asia Quarterly), and Chung Kung Tang Tai Fen Hsi (An Analysis of Current Chinese Communist Affairs).
Compilations of basic materials on mainland problems are tools for researchers. The more significant are the Concise Encyclopedia of the USSR, Chinese Communist Who's Who (in Chinese and English), Dictionary of Chinese Communist Terminology, Compilation of Original Documents on Peiping-Moscow Conflicts (Volumes I-XII), Compilation of Historical Materials of Chinese Communist Treason (Volumes I-IV), Selections of Original Documents of the Chinese Communist Party (Volumes I-II), Chinese Communist Year Books (1967-1970) and Combined Catalogue of Reference Books (3 volumes).
Compilation of documents and materials on current mainland affairs include the Lienchiang Documents and Landing Craft Documents, Compilation of Important Documents on the Cultural Revolution (2 volumes) and the Special Compilation on the CCP Ninth Congress.
Books include the Analytical History of the Chinese Communist Party (in Chinese and English, 3 volumes), Draft History of the Chinese Communist Party (3 volumes), Rise and Fall of Chinese Communism (2 volumes), Borodin and the Wuhan Regime, Kuomintang's Admitting of the Communists and its Party Purge (2 volumes), Critical Appraisal of Mao Tse-tung's Thought, Appraisal of the Quotations of Mao Tse-tung, Study of Mao Tse-tung's Military Ideology, History Has Given the Answer, The Soviet Union and Its Satellites, Land Struggle on the Chinese Mainland, Study of Mainland Foreign Trade, Chinese Communist Rectification of Literature and Art, Communist Reform of Chinese Characters and Prospects, Cultural Revolution and the Red Guards, Sanzo Nosaka and Mao Tse-tung (in Chinese and English), Compilation of Resume of CCP Leaders and Chou En-lai (in English).
Other materials have been collected. But processing, study and publication pose a great task. -Warren Kuo
U. B. Chamber Topics - Taipei in transition
The city of Taipei, young as Oriental cities go, looks forward to the future confident that it will be able to avoid the premature old age now afflicting so many cities of the world.
Taipei's Mayor Henry Kao hopes to turn his city into a clean, light, tree-filled metropolis which will attract residents rather than driving them in retreat to suburbs. With this end in mind, a master plan has been drawn up for the orderly development of the city. Its goals are to improve the efficiency with which private and public investments are made, to safeguard and promote the health and well-being of the people, to reduce waste and to continue to make the appearance of the city more beautiful.
Taipei's relative youth is a factor in its favor, since many areas do not yet have extensive construction and lend themselves more readily to planned development than areas with deeply established patterns of use.
The city was first settled at the beginning of the 18th century by Chinese moving east from Fukien province and northward from Tainan, which was then the island's main population center. These settlers found the Tamsui basin a wilderness occupied by aborigines. The first Chinese town was a trading post on the east bank of the Tamsui River, near its junction with the Hsintien River.
In its early years, Taipei maintained strong trade relations with the mainland and southern Japan through its port on the Tamsui. Although Taipei remains a thriving trade center, ships no longer call there. The Tamsui is too shallow for modern seagoing vessels.
In 1887, Taiwan was elevated to the status of a province of China. The center of government was moved from Tainan to Taipei, which was then a city of some 40,000.
At the end of the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese, who continued to use Taipei as the administrative center of the island. In the ensuing 50 years of Japanese rule the area of the city more than doubled, while the population grew from 47,000 in 1897 to 80,000 in 1920 and 335,000 in 1945.
Industrialization began during the Japanese period. Taiwan's railway system, which had been begun under the Chinese administration, was further extended and developed. The port of Keelung was expanded to serve the needs of the north Taiwan region.
It was also during this period that the first efforts were made to plan the development of Taipei. In 1902 the first master plan was promulgated. It was last revised in 1937. Based on Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) planning principles of a grid of broad avenues, this city plan has given Taipei its current street system and general physical pattern.
With the surrender of Japan in 1945 and the return of Taiwan to the Republic of China, Taipei came under administration of the Provincial Government.
The influx of refugees and migration from rural areas and the less rapidly industrializing towns of the west central plain helped swell Taipei's population to an estimated 1,500,000 in 1967, when the city was elevated to the status of a special municipality, directly under the jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) of the Central Government.
Administration of the city is in the hands of a mayor appointed by the Executive Yuan in consultation with a city council elected by the people.
When Taipei became a special municipality, six suburban townships were annexed, increasing the land area by three and one-half times to over 210 square kilometers. Of this area, only 102 square kilometers is suitable for building. The remaining 63 per cent consists of steep hills, river beds, flood plains and other land not physically or economically adaptable to urban development.
Taipei's burgeoning population is expected to keep growing. Its land area, however, cannot. The city is physically bounded by hills and flood plains which inhibit further growth.
Mayor Kao now bases his plans for the city on a projected population of nearly three million just 10 years from now. To ensure a healthy and pleasant environment for that number of people, careful scientific development plans have been drawn up for the city as a whole.
As the mayor points out, the backwardness of a developing country may sometimes prove to be a blessing in disguise. In the case of Taipei, lack of development in many areas permits ordered construction following a master plan with a minimum of disruption to existing facilities. In addition, there is more time to deal with the crises faced by many cities today, -the overcrowding and deterioration of the inner city.
Mayor Kao's concept of the Taipei of the future envisages a city of broad, three-lined boulevards and extensive green lands. The city itself will be comprised of many neighborhoods and communities, avoiding a concentration of population at any central spot, but at the same time providing residential space within the city for those who work there. Each neighborhood, based around its own schools, cultural centers, markets and parks, would be nearly self-contained, with all usual day-to-day needs and activities within walking distance for everyone. Places of work, shopping centers and the central business district will all be easily and quickly accessible by bus or train.
Taipei, like other modern cities, will be faced with numerous problems which must be solved if the urban environment is to remain a beneficial place in which to live and work.
Mayor Kao, in outlining some of Taipei's present and future problems, expresses confidence in the ability of the city and its people to overcome them.
One of the most worrisome questions in many large cities is that of providing security for the citizens. This is not a serious problem in Taipei, one of the few cities in the world where people can walk anywhere at any time without fear.
Mayor Kao attributes this to the abiding moral influence of the great Chinese culture, pointing out that the Republic of China has faithfully preserved the ancient culture which the Chinese Communists have vowed to destroy.
Plans for the solution of Taipei's traffic problems depend less upon construction of newer, bigger roads than upon expansion of mass transit facilities and reduction of the need for private vehicles within the city.
There are some 150,000 motor vehicles in the city, of which nearly 100,000 are motorcycles. About 26 per cent of the city's land is reserved for roads, and it is expected that on completion of the network, they will be able to handle traffic in Taipei with no trouble.
Another probable blessing of backwardness pointed out by Mayor Kao is the fact that a rudimentary domestic auto industry and the lack of abundant foreign exchange for importing cars keep the price of automobiles beyond the reach of the general public, automatically limiting the number of cars on the road. At a time when other cities are finding the proliferation of privately owned vehicles something of a curse, Taipei is in a position to substitute efficient mass transit facilities as a means to get around the city.
Mayor Kao also makes the point that with the concept of people who work in the city living in the city, the need for a large volume of commuter traffic entering and leaving the city each day is substantially diminished.
In the fields of sanitation and public health, Taipei has had to deal with the low standard of living which often leads to unsanitary conditions detrimental to the health of the city's population. As the living standards have risen, so have sanitation standards.
Sewers and other public works are being installed throughout the city to meet the demands of the present as well as the projected needs of the future. Garbage collection, twice a day in some areas, has resulted in cleaner streets. Continued efforts will be made to improve the sanitation levels and prevent the creation of a rundown, littered inner city.
Taipei's public health program is practically as good as any city in Japan, the mayor points out. The ratio of doctors to the population is one of the highest in the world.
Sanitation and public health programs are augmented by slum clearance projects, which over the last six years have resettled many lower income families in new housing areas while continuing to eliminate eyesores and open new land for development.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the plan to make Taipei a pleasant place to live as well as work is pollution. Mayor Kao is confident that strict controls will virtually eliminate noise, air and water pollution.
Factors in pollution control will be enforcement of emission standards for motor vehicles and industry. Natural limitations on the number of automobiles in the city will help, the mayor says. In the future, industrial development in the Tamsui basin will be limited to light and medium industries which are able to keep emissions at a very low level. Stringent control of industrial waste disposal, in addition to improved treatment of wastes, will clean up Taipei's rivers. Through traffic will be discouraged on residential streets to lower traffic noise.
In describing plans for Taipei's development, Mayor Kao is careful to remind his listeners that the economic status of the city must be taken into consideration. Although it is booming, Taipei cannot afford anything like total reconstruction.
For this reason the master development plan lays stress on the building of an infrastructure which will serve all the future needs of the city. Roads, sewers and other public works will provide the guidelines on which the city will grow. Development of residential, commercial and industrial areas will follow these guidelines. The properly planned framework will channel future efforts of government and private agencies in the directions required for the good of the city as a whole.
For a whole city is what Taipei will be. Not a crowded, decrepit business center surrounded by suburbs, but rather, in Mayor Kao's words, a "garden city, where sunshine will abound and the people will take pleasure in living and working in their city." -Mayor Henry Kao and Peter Pocock