(b) English Wiki indicates that in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874:
(i) Stength Empire of Japan: Land 3,000, Sea unknown; Paiwan unknown.
(ii) Casualties and losses Empire of Japan: 6 killed, ~30 wounded; Paiwan ~30 killed
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Descendents of perpetrator, victim of 1871 massacre make peace
2011/11/24 19:38:05
Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) A descendent of one of the 54 sailors killed by Taiwanese aborigines in a massacre 140 years ago made peace on Wednesday with the offspring of one of the perpetrators, ahead of an upcoming international forum that seeks to fully discover the truth about the incident.
In 1871, a ship of 69 crew departing from the Miyako Islands in the Ryukyu Kingdom -- an independent kingdom from the 15th century until annexation by Japan in 1879 -- was shipwrecked by a typhoon on its way back to Miyako after paying tribute to Naha, the present-day capital of Okinawa.
Three sailors drowned at sea and 66 landed on the shore of southern Taiwan, where only 12 were able to escape being butchered by the local Paiwan aborigines.
The incident led to a punitive expedition by Japan in 1874, known locally as the Mudan Incident. This incident exposed the vulnerable grip that the Qing Dynasty had over Taiwan, ultimately planting the seeds for future Japanese aggression against Taiwan during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, which resulted in the ceding of Taiwan to Japan.
The killing of the sailors and Japan's strong response also weakened the Qing Dynasty's claim of sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands, which were paying tribute to the Qing Court at that time, and legitimized Japan's sovereignty in the area.
The 1871 incident is important to be remembered as it changed the course of history for the country, said Yang Meng-che, a professor and convener of Saturday's forum that will bring together Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean scholars to discuss the incident.
The forum is being held to fully discover the truth of the incident, taking into account both the Japanese and the Paiwan perspective, said Yang, explaining that most of the information available about the incident is from the Japanese perspective.
"This gathering helped me resolve some of my bewilderments," Koei Nohara, a fifth-generation descendent of one of the sailors, said at a press conference in Taipei to promote the forum.
Nohara said he had learned about the incident from his father and grandfather and had tried to imagine their feelings on his way to Taiwan. He said he was both surprised and glad to see so many people gathering in Taipei to discuss this incident.
Valjeluk M.V.L., a descendent of the tribal chief of the Paiwan village where the sailors were slaughtered, said his family has told him that the killings were a result of a misunderstanding.
The villagers had treated the sailors as guests, but the sailors violated tribal customs by running away from the village without first notifying the villagers, which made them enemies, said the aborigine.
The sailors probably fled out of fear after seeing Paiwan men with their hunting weapons, he said, but he nevertheless condemned the killings and thanked Nahara for his understanding.
Lilies signifying peace were presented to Nohara by aboriginal children, as well as to Valjeluk M.V.L. and Yang Shi-wei, an offspring of Yang Yu-wang, one of the two ethnically Han Taiwanese men who helped a dozen sailors escape and return home. The three held hands to signify reconciliation.
On Thursday, the group was scheduled to visit Checheng Township in Pingtung County, where a ritual to console the souls of the dead was to be held at the graves of the sailors.
Saturday's forum, co-directed by the Council for Cultural Affairs, will be held at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Checheng. (By Christie Chen) ENDITEM/npw/tc