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1. Description of Our Community
Dr. Chiang Wei-shui described his time as the "shaking era." He said, "The social situation in today’s Taiwan should be called the transitional period, or the shaking era… During this period, the imperialism of roughshod riding will collapse, and the smaller and weaker ones being invaded will get librated." Chiang Wei-shui was the revolutionary of the democratic movement that was shaking the Japanese colonial government system in Taiwan.
2. Summary of Our Project
Dr. Chiang Wei-shui (1891-1931) was the founder of contemporary cultural associations and political organizations, and the leader of the non-violent anti-Japanese movement in Taiwan from 1921 - 1931. He has been referred to as the "Dr. Sun Yat-Sen of Taiwan" and the "Mahatma Gandhi of Taiwan," and is regarded as the founding father of the Taiwan democratic movement. Dr. Lin Zhe-wei once recognized Dr. Chiang Wei-shui, along with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Mahatma Gandhi of India and Jose Rizal of Philippines, as the four greatest revolutionists of Asia. Mr. Chuang Yong-ming, a well-known historian of Taiwanese culture, honored Dr. Chiang Wei-shui prominently in his book "The Biography of One Hundred Taiwanese." Leading the local people barehanded against an invasion by the arrogant and aggressive Japanese Empire, without any outside support, Dr. Chiang founded the Cultural Association of Taiwan and set up the foundation of political resistance in the form of cultural enlightenment. Later, he established and organized the People’s Party of Taiwan to use the force of a political party to seek political, social and economic equality and improve the social system. In 1931, Dr. Chiang passed away with his strong beliefs and aspirations, at age forty-one. This great man has long been overlooked, as has been contemporary history of Taiwan. We created and dedicated this Website to commemorate Dr. Chiang’s great sentiment, dedication and contribution, and to bring back the lost memory of the history of our nation. We have also provided some educational material about Contemporary Taiwan History and the Taiwan Spirit.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:2-3
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
We use the computer at our school’s network management center to integrate our material. Our school’s network basically has two channels, microwave and ADSL. Usually we use microwave. With its wider broadband, it connects outward to TANet (Taiwan Academic Network) via National Historical Museum opposite to our school. Apart from this, of course, at home all our members use narrowband or cable modems to dialup and connect to networks.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
1. Dr. Chiang Wei-shui died young at 40, and he had devoted all his time and possessions to the cause of non-armed anti-Japanese movement for the dignity of fellow Taiwanese. His situation at death, as described by his revolution comrade, Chang Chin-chuan, was very miserable. What left behind were some books, a week wife and the children still at school. The rented house was taken back and even the only valuable telephone was taken to pay for debts. The dependents had to live on the obituary donation from comrades. The unsettled lives made much of the first-hand material lost beyond recovery. 2. During the democratic movements in Japanese era, Dr. Chiang was engaged in resistance by means of newspaper publication, political association, party organization, public lectures, … and these conflicted with the authority power in the era under martial law…. It takes twice much time to search for the material. 3. We got in contact with Dr. Chiang’s eldest son, Chiang Song-hwei, and a specialist who studied on Dr. Chiang at earlier stage, Huang Huang-hsiung. They visited Dr. Chiang’s comrades and classmates more than 20 years ago. Chuang Yong-ming, a specialist on Taiwan’s culture and history, has contacted many non-armed anti-Japanese preceders of those days and their descendents, who provided some first-hand material, such as diaries. Through his works and talking to him, we made up some shortages. 4. Dr. Chiang died in 1931. All comrades who fought with him passed away too. We cannot reach them. All those who witnessed that era when they were only students of elementary and high schools, are now nearly 90 years old. It is difficult to get in contact with them, and to determine whether worth of an interview.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
“Fellow countrymen should unite. Unity gives us power.” This most catching phrase was cried out by Dr. Chiang facing the split of Taiwan Culture Association. We can see its “power” when the Japanese policeman took it away on the foundation day of “Union of Taiwan Laborers”.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Because of the political deregulation from martial law, history textbooks were also deregulated. Taiwan history is no longer a taboo. In history textbooks, we began to contact Chiang Wei-shui. We got, however, only vague impression of him through the simple description in textbooks that he was a leader of Taiwan People’s Party in Japanese era. Anyway, we become curious that there were political parties of Taiwanese own in those days. Through our deep research, visits, collection and organization of material, we understand by Dr. Chiang the vision and difficulties of those non-armed anti-Japanese preceders. Under the colonial system of exploitation, there was no status, no election, but watchful police. With their throats grabbed, they still cried out for freedom. This righteous nationalism is not felt in history textbooks. We can only feel it deeply when we grope our way through history.
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1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?
This time we try to use some different methods to finish the project. We used not only computer to surf to the internet and record information, but also digital tape recorders to take down the process of an interview. Furthermore, we also used digital camera to take pictures and transferred them into the computer. Postcards, photos and pictures were scanned. 1. Ulead PhotoImpact 6.0 to edit the images and all pictures and to design the interface of our homepage. 2. Macromedia Flash 5.0 to finish the main Web site of flash only type. 3. Macromedia Dreamweaver 4.0 to edit our Web site of html only type. 4. digital camera and voice recorder to take down our interview.
2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.
The messages, praises, critics and suggests on Internet gave us a great help. Through the search and visit on Internet, we found much valuable material from Wu San-lien Taiwan Historical Material Center, Taipei Branch of Central Library …etc. Year 2001 was the 70th anniversary of Dr. Chiang’s death and the 80th anniversary of founding Taiwan Culture Association. We participated in many activities and took many first-hand pictures, recordings and memos. Through all of these, we have a broader vision and see many excellent works by others. They give us a drive to do it better. We really learned quite a lot, from software technique to teamwork, regardless what the result would come out.
3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?
Besides Dr. Chiang’s accomplishments in politics, we put emphasis on his contribution to the enlightenment in culture and his concern of the weak with his medical virtue. We hope to arouse the society to the concern of more humanism. When interviewing specialists and Dr. Chiang’s descendents, we feel deeply the pity of lost document. We also find it quite strange that except for books and newspapers, governmental libraries and museums lack objects of document and material of Japanese era, which are collected among the people. Objects such as letters, leaflets, pamphlets, the party flag of Taiwan People’s Party, its party guidelines …are possessed by nongovernmental collectors, who treasure them and are reluctant to make them public. This discourages us from using them on web pages because of copyright. We sincerely hope that besides hardware structures, the government will enhance the display of objects to witness history.
4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?
We interviewed Huang Huang-hsiung, the most authoritative specialist on Dr. Chiang, talking about the origin of his research, which was the first ever done in Taiwan. Chiang Song-hwei, the eldest son of Dr. Chiang, is 89 years old now, who witnessed how his father gained the dignity of Taiwanese in that turbulent era. In our interview, he provided some first-hand photos and material and introduced some scholars for our interview. It was our pleasure to be invited to the first reunion of Dr. Chiang’s descendents including those from abroad. Among those invited were Chuang Yong-ming and Wang Hsiao-po. Mr. Chuang is a folk scholar, who makes the most extensive study on Taiwan culture with the broadest collection of objects. Prof. Wang, National Taiwan Univ., a non-Taiwanese born scholar on Taiwan history, published many volumes on the preceders in Japanese era. What the instructor thinks It is pleasing to know the students are pursuing what they are interested in. Through their hard work of study, collection and interviews, the most representative character of a turmoil age is active again on the stage of Taiwan history. Their courage in trying is impressive, with the artwork of vivid animation to give wonderful visual effects. Maybe it is not a perfect work, but they tried their best, having problems resolved with my help.
5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)
We are surprised that such an important figure in modern Taiwan history, who was given by late President Chiang Kai-shek, a honoring board inscribed “Righteousness of Nationalism” on the 20th anniversary of his death, suddenly disappeared from textbooks in martial-law era, and has been sealed with dust for nearly 50 years. The “rediscovery” of Chiang Wei-shui proves that a historical character was not made over night, but tested through the current of times. The truth we learned is that history is not to be covered up. Document shall speak.
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View our CyberFair Project
(Project ID: 1927)
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