Home is where the heart is
- By: Story and photos PATCHARIN TORAKTRAKUL
- Published: 12/01/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Outlook
The plight of the exiled Kuomintang soldiers in Thailand
We often see images of soldiers of victorious armies returning to their motherland, after a war, to a heroes' welcome. In contrast, the world completely forgets the story of those who were defeated.
The former office of a lieutenant in General Li Wenhuan’s Route No. 3 army headquarters is still preserved as one of the many historical remains in Ban Tam-Ngob.
In 1949, Mao Zedong's communist forces were victorious in the Chinese civil war and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was forced to flee to Taiwan. After that, the Kuomintang forces who remained on the mainland, including those in Yunnan province, had to fight and flee from communist persecution.
A group of those soldiers - the so-called Route No. 8 and Route No. 23 armies - retreated from Kunming to Jinghong. They planned to use Jinghong as their new base because it was located in the special autonomous area of the Tai Lue people, who had always been supportive of the nationalist forces. However, before the new base could be completely established, the enemy attacked, forcing them to retreat across the Burmese border to the town of Pong. They then established a stronghold in the town of Sat in the Chan state.
However, their hopes of returning to reclaim the motherland from the communists were shattered after the United Nations mandated that they be transported to Taiwan in accordance with Burma's demands. Only the Route No. 3 army of General Li Wenhuan and General Duan Xiwen's Route No. 5 army remained. Those 30,000-odd officers were ordered by the authorities in Taiwan to guard their position at the Thai border and wait for the opportune moment to retaliate and reclaim the mainland.
After all his family members were slaughtered by the communists, General Lui Yitian spent his life fighting in various battles for many decades. Now, at 92, he is the oldest soldier on Doi Mae Salong.
When Chiang Ching-kuo ascended to power following the death of his father, all plans of returning to the motherland were suspended. The abandoned armies that remained in Thailand until 1969 were forced to officially submit to the Thai authorities.
At present, the descendants of the Route No. 3 army's soldiers who once followed Taiwan's orders to guard the Thai border have established permanent residence in the area of Ban Tam-Ngob in Chai Prakan district, Chiang Mai province. The descendants of the troops in the Route No. 5 army have settled on Doi Mae Salong in Chiang Rai province.
All those former soldiers suffered greatly following the painful defeat. They were left to fend for themselves when their highest ideals were shattered. The only way for them to survive was to agree to fight the Chinese communist forces along the Thai borders. Many of them were wounded or died in the battles so that their descendants could claim Thai citizenship.
Through the blood and sweat of their veteran fathers, most of the children of the exiled Kuomintang soldiers were able to start a new life and engage in legal employment free of harassment by the Thai authorities.
Today, there are very few exiled Kuomintang soldiers still alive in Ban Tam-Ngob and the adjacent villages - Ban Arunotai, Ban Mai Nongbua, Ban Yang and Ban Sanmakokwan. The people of Ban Tam-Ngob continue to lead a simple Yunnanese lifestyle, and they try to preserve as much of the historical evidence in their area as they can. Places like General Li's headquarters - with its large front yard where soldiers used to march every morning - the old barracks made of woven bamboo strips, and General Li's living room allow the visitor to imagine the former glory of this small village of a mere 100 households.
The blood-red character ‘Bao’, meaning to respond or return, is inscribed on the walls of the memorial building above the spirit tablets of the Kuomintang martyrs.
Although they sacrificed their blood to help the Thai government to defend the country, some of the offspring of the exiled Kuomintang soldiers of Tam-Ngob remain unrecognised by the state of Thailand. Eager to leave the village for employment in the city and to explore the wide world like the young people of other villages do, many Kuomintang descendants are still fighting to acquire Thai citizenship. Most of the villagers continue to work in agriculture.
Some are benefiting from the tourist industry. They wait to welcome tourists who pass through Tam-Ngob on their way to Doi Angkang, much like what the residents of neighbouring Ban Pa-Daeng do in their own village. This neighbourhood has been selected by the authorities to host the Tulip Festival, a major tourist attraction of Chai Prakan district. During the festival, we can still see Kuomintang descendants dressed in their native attire and watch them play traditional Yunnanese games. The authentic cultural atmosphere here seems slightly stronger than that in the tourist village of the Route No. 5 army's descendants on Doi Mae Salong.
Many Kuomintang descendants on Doi Mae Salong are quite wealthy. They own resorts, tea plantations and large processing factories that produce tea for
export. The roads are good and are lined with tea shops and souvenir shops. In the cool season, hundreds of cars bring tourists to visit Doi Mae Salong. There are convenient shops that accept credit cards, just like those in the capital do.
So much money flows through that there is hardly anything of the traditional lifestyle left to be seen. The only exception is the character of the morning market, which still preserves the Yunnanese atmosphere and the activities of the close relatives to the Akha hill tribe people.
The Chinese characters, reading downward, on the walls of former headquarters in Ban Tam- Ngob say (left): ‘Fan Gong Fu Guo’ and ‘Huan Wo He Shan’, meaning, ‘Fight the communists, restore the nation, regain our mountains and rivers’.
Tourism in this area was at its peak in 1991. At that time, the Kuomintang party was in power in Taiwan, and its leaders returned to support the Mae Salong community in many ways for many years. However, after Chen Shui-bian came to power in 2000, all supporting funds were suspended during the eight years of his presidency. Now there are only a few non-government organisations (NGO) that provide support for the education and livelihood of the people in this area.
There are no historical traces remaining in what used to be General Duan Xiwen's stronghold, aside from the spirit tablets of 360 martyrs in the Nationalist Soldiers Memorial Hall. This Memorial Hall was constructed with financial support from Taiwan and is located in an area away from the hustle and bustle of the village's commercial area.
This year, representatives of an NGO in Taiwan arrived to give offerings to the martyred soldiers so that their wandering spirits could go and rest in peace inside the Memorial Hall. The names of another 700 soldiers have been lost, and so there are no spirit tablets made in their memory. The surviving Kuomintang soldiers, who numbered less than 20, were present at the ceremony.
The exiled soldiers in Tam-Ngob and Mae Salong who are still alive are now between 60 and 90 years of age. Most of them joined the army when they were teenagers. The majority of them are poor and are completely cut off from their relatives in China. Only a few continue to keep in contact with relatives in China. Personal visits home are infrequent because of the considerable travelling expenses and because their ageing bodies can no longer cope with the strain of covering the long distances. None of them think of returning to live in the land where they were born.
Li Yibao continues to smoke tobacco from the same bamboo pipe that he used when he was still a warrior. This remains a daily routine. Images of Yunnan culture that have nearly disappeared from most places can still be seen in Ban Tam-Ngob.
Some relatives of the exiled soldiers are still living in Yunnan province - in the districts of Baoshan, Tengchong, Longling (Mang-sue), Dehong, Lanchang, Yongde, Kunming and Zhengkang, and in the city of Jinghong. In all these places, there are no traces of the Kuomintang left. Everything has ended. Even in the flashy liberal tourist city of Jinghong, where the atmosphere is imbued with capitalism almost as much as it is in Thailand, it is difficult for a stranger to find relatives of the Kuomintang.
The closing of the Burma-China border pass is a great obstacle to the Kuomintang exiles who desire to visit their relatives in Jinghong. Also, the Bangkok-Jinghong flight has been cancelled. As a result, to reach China, the old soldiers have to travel by car from Chiang Kong district, in Chiang Rai province, cross the Laotian border at Bo-Ten, and then enter China at Bo-Han. From there, they can hire a car to Jinghong.
The most economical mode of transport is the bus, but the journey takes two days. People who have a bit more money may take the sleeper-boat from Chiang Saen district, in Chiang Rai province, and disembark directly in Jinghong. However, this choice could cost as much as 4,000 baht per person. Jinghong is also the first stop for people who cannot afford a plane ticket to Kunming if they wish to catch a bus to other destinations.
Today, Jinghong continues to be an important city for the exiled Kuomintang soldiers who desire to return home, just like it was in the past when troops marched into it with the intention of establishing the headquarters for the battle to reclaim the motherland. This area was the safest place one could hope for in those days. However, the landscape of the city has since changed completely.
Once it was a fertile town in the mountains, steeped in Tai Lue traditions as the mainstream lifestyle. Today, Chinese people from various areas have been brought in, in accordance with the government's assimilation policy, to replace those who died or who migrated elsewhere.
It has become a new city that is growing very rapidly. Many fashionable streets are lined with modern buildings that are usually filled with teenagers wearing knee-length leather boots, dressed up in the latest styles of clothing bearing Chinese and foreign brand names. Development projects are sprouting throughout the city. Jinghong has become a beautiful city of young men and women.
Yang Yiwang, in his old age, cares for his grandchildren while his son, like many others who have acquired Thai citizenship,works in the city and sends back money to support the family. This is a new social value that is becoming the trend.
From the outside, it appears to have opened up enthusiastically to the outside world. In the city's deep alleys, however, old and dilapidated buildings from 50 years ago can still be seen, hidden behind the new buildings. It is intriguing that Jinghong may not become the tourist city for foreigners hoped for in the initial plans of the Chinese government. This is because it is still very difficult to communicate with the residents in a language other than Chinese.
What is even more intriguing is that on the outskirts of the city, there are still small villages populated by a few old people living with their families in old houses. The lifestyle of these old people is the same as that of 50 years ago. They are labourers who were brought in from many places, some as far away as Funan, the pioneers who literally built Jinghong with their own hands. They are around the same age as the exiled Kuomintang soldiers in Thailand.
The streets of the city are still imbued with the atmosphere of an era when Mao Zedong was at the zenith of his power. His image appears on tourist souvenirs and collectables sold on the roadsides and in every shop in the city, and although these objects are not being displayed in places of honour and respect like they would be in the old days, the sight of them is still a powerful reminder that this land no longer belongs to the Kuomintang.
How would the exiled Kuomintang soldiers feel if they were to walk past the old residents - most of whom are of their age and probably from the same era as they - still living in the city? How would they feel if they saw the young men and women who are the same age as their children and grandchildren? Some of them could well be relatives of the exiled Kuomintang soldiers. The blood ties may not clear-cut and may have become blurred by the passage of time. Also, for the sake of survival, some of the people here have "crossed over to the other side", so to speak. Even though Jinghong is a tourist city open to the influx of foreigners, it is closed to the Kuomintang. Merely utter the word in this city, and one might attract unfriendly gazes. Seeing that it is the very first stop in their journey back to the mainland, it would be a tragic homecoming experience indeed for the heartbroken troops of the defeated party.
If these old soldiers could only return to hug their relatives once more, to see with their own eyes whether their parents, brothers, sisters and children are still alive after being torn apart from each other for the past 50 years, to see whether they are suffering or happy, whether their ancestors' tombs are well-kept, they might be able to die contented. But the unbearable pain that awaits them back home may be the true reason why many have chosen to sever all familial ties as well as to erase the memories of losing their motherland.
Meanwhile, their relatives are probably still waiting for their return, ever since the day they left their homes to proceed to the battlefields in their military uniform.
There are still some exiled Kuomintang soldiers living in more than 40 villages in Thailand. It is impossible to estimate the exact numbers in Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Many never returned home. All are in their ripe old age.
At present, it appears that the Kuomintang has retaken its position of power in Taiwan. As a result, the extreme tensions of the long-standing conflict between China and Taiwan have probably been defused somewhat. One can only hope that some day, these exiled soldiers will be able to return home without having to go through excruciating pain. Perhaps they can return home before dying and being buried in a land that is not their own, not receiving the honour of their Chinese traditions, like so many of their fellow soldiers before them had to endure.
This photo essay was produced under the 'Imaging Our Mekong' media fellowship programme (http://www.newsmekong.org), run by IPS Asia-Pacific and Probe Media Foundation Inc with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation. (The writer is a photographer for http://www.majorityworld.com/ and researcher for Thailand Research Fund.)
- THE COST OF DEATH
- Checkmate!
- Mating tactics
- LIVING WILL
- Examining limits
- The happiness that lasts
- Creating opportunities for Thai-Muslim youths
- In the field
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