Free Formosa: The Beginning

By Jay Loo

Is a war between the US and China on the horizon? Can a Sino-American conflict lead to massive nuclear exchanges? Can China launch a surprise nuclear Pearl Harbor against the US homeland? There are no definitive answers, but the author’s insights (part VI, “Unpublished Essays”) provide indispensable information for pondering these grave questions.

This book documents the early history of the Taiwanese American community in the United States, beginning in the 1950s.

On January 1, 1956, the first Taiwan independence organization—Formosans’ Free Formosa (3F)—was launched in Philadelphia (see part I). Two years later, 3F was reorganized as United Formosans for Independence (UFI). Parts II and III document little-known activities of 3F and UFI.
Formosan Clubs, the forerunner of present day Taiwanese American Associations, were born in Chicago and New York City, in the mid-1950s. Part IV introduces the key contributors to the Clubs’ birth. Sample pages of the newsletters are reproduced to show a glimpse of life in the early days.

Pacific Times was a nationwide Chinese language newspaper, published in Los Angeles for the Taiwanese American community. The author wrote short English editorials for the paper from 1999 to 2008. Sample pieces are reprinted in Part V.

Part VI covers 19 unpublished essays from 1999 to 2009. The topics include US-Taiwan-China relations and US national security. Part VII reprints author’s letters to the editor of US newspapers and academic journals from 1958 to 2009. Some letters dealt with noteworthy events, such as China’s enactment of the Anti-secession Law.

Most issues discussed in this tome remain unresolved and are still relevant today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664152274

Jay Loo

Jay Loo was born in Tainan City, Taiwan. He came to the US for college at age 19 and became an American citizen in 1969. While pursuing a career in actuarial consulting, Jay devoted much of his life to the cause of Taiwan’s democratization and independence. Jay has written extensively regarding the myriad dangers to US homeland security posed by the rise of a chauvinistic China. Jay Loo won a BA summa cum laude in politics (University of Minnesota) and a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University. Jay is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Jay has published in prestigious journals including Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and UK’s Defence Review. He is the author of America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom under his pen name Li Thian-hok (Xlibris, 2010) and Free Formosa: A Memoir (iUniverse, 2019). Jay and wife Helen live in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Jay Loo. 821055

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Xlibris

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021901519

Rev. date: 09/14/2021

Contents

Introduction

Map of East Asia

Abbreviations

Photos from Taiwan’s Past

Part I Launching Formosans’ Free Formosa (3F)

Research Paper by Florence Chen

Photos: Friends, Family, and Documents

Part II 3F Activities

1. Newsletters

2. Letter from George Kerr

3. Correspondence with Dr. Thomas Liao

4. UN Petition

Part III UFI Activities

1. UFI Newsletters

2. Monographs on Quemoy and Matsu

3. Correspondence with US luminaries

4. Essays in Taiwan Youth

5. Joint Declaration

Part IV Formosan Clubs - Early Days

1. Midwest Formosan Club and Formosan Brotherhood

2. East Coast Formosa Club (ECFC)

3. Nationwide Taiwanese American Association (TAA) Aborted

4. Exhibits

Part V Editorials in the Pacific Times (1999–2008)

Part VI Unpublished Essays (1997–2020)

Part VII Letters to the Editor (1956–2009)

Part VIII Two 2020 Essays

Part IX Conclusion

This book is

dedicated to

Dr. Joshua Liao (廖文奎)

Pioneer of Taiwan independence movement

and

Generations of Taiwanese patriots

About the Author

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Jay Loo was born in Tainan City, Taiwan. He came to the US for college at age nineteen and became an American citizen in 1969.

While pursuing a career in actuarial consulting, Jay devoted much of his life to the cause of Taiwan’s democratization and independence.

Jay has written extensively regarding the myriad dangers to US homeland security posed by the rise of a chauvinistic China.

Jay Loo won a BA summa cum laude in politics (University of Minnesota) and a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University. Jay is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Jay has published in prestigious journals, including Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and UK’s Defence Review. He is the author of America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom under his pen name Li Thian-hok (Xlibris, 2010) and Free Formosa: A Memoir (iUniverse, 2019).

Jay and wife Helen live in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

FREE FORMOSA

The Beginning

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A rare precious book

minds your offspring

celebrate the deeds

which made freedom ring.

By Jay Loo

p10%20Hanji%20poem.jpg

Introduction

This book documents the little-known story of how the Taiwan Independence (TI) movement came into being in Philadelphia in 1956 and the activities of the early organizations—Formosans’ Free Formosa (3F) and United Formosans for Independence (UFI)—during the first several years of the movement. The saga of 3F and UFI is part of the history of Taiwanese Americans as well as the history of Taiwan’s democratization.

Florence Chen is a second-generation Taiwanese American. In May 2008, she completed her senior honor thesis on the first TI movement in America at the University of Pennsylvania. There are many books in Chinese on this topic, which are scant on facts and often full of errors. Florence’s excellent work is authentic and most valuable because it is written in English.

This book is the third volume of a trilogy.

The first volume, America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom (Xlibris, 2010), is a collection of my essays and speeches from 1956 through 2009.

The second volume, Free Formosa: A Memoir (iUniverse, 2019), is essentially an autobiography; but it also includes essays and speeches on US-Taiwan relations, covering the author’s warning that China is at war with the United States, even though the US policy community is oblivious to the grave existential threat to America’s homeland security.

The current volume, Free Formosa: The Beginning, contains many documents that have never been published. My exchange of letters with Dr. Thomas Liao is one such item. Historian Chang Yen-hsien, formerly head of Taiwan’s national historical archives, died suddenly during a trip to Philadelphia several years ago. A couple of weeks before his death, he emphasized to me in a phone conversation the importance of publishing my correspondence with Dr. Liao. I am delighted to hereby fulfill his wish.

This tome includes rare and valuable mementos from Taiwan’s past. Photos 1, 2, 4, and 5 are postcards issued by the Taiwan Governor’s Office in the 1910s and 1920s. These are selected from noted Tainan philatelist Dr. Tan Chi-chhun’s collection.

Thng Tek-chiong, an attorney who courageously sacrificed himself to save the lives of many Tainan community leaders in the aftermath of the February 28 incident, is one of the greatest heroes in Taiwan’s history of incessant struggle against foreign invaders. (See America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom, Xlibris 2010, p. 52.)

The original English version of the Defence Review article mentioned in photo 20 can be found in America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom (pp. 101–105).

Some explanation about the significance of photo 24 is in order. The Taiwanese American Conference/East Coast (TAC/EC) was started as a Christian retreat in 1970. It quickly attracted many secular participants and soon became the premier summer conference in the Taiwanese American community. It was customary to invite scholars, politicians, and musical troupes from Taiwan each year. The conference was the place to meet old and new friends, for generations of families to get together, and to share concerns about Taiwan’s future. At its height, TAC/EC had an attendance of close to 3,000 people.

At the conclusion, the conference would issue a declaration spelling out its consensus and shared hopes. Photo 25 shows the 2014 declaration at East Stroudsburg University.

The Taiwanese diaspora in America started as a sprinkle in the early 1950s and gradually grew into a steady downpour in the 1970s and 1980s. I am not aware of any book dealing with the early history of Formosan clubs and the publication Formosan Brotherhood. Part 4 of this book attempts to partially fill this gaping hole. Some letters and articles are reproduced in Japanese, Chinese, and English. The generation of Taiwanese who underwent Japanese education is fast disappearing. Some of the photos are icons of their legacy.

Part 5 presents selected English editorials in the Pacific Times. This part pays tribute to those who created and operated the paper.

The Taiwan Tribune, which was the organ of WUFI-USA, was started in 1981 and ran for thirty years. Along with the Pacific Times, this journal built the Taiwanese American community’s social cohesion and its consensus that their homeland should one day become a democratic independent nation. The history of the Taiwan Tribune merits a whole book. Here three articles are reprinted, all in Chinese. See photos 18 through 21. The names of some prominent WUFI-USA members appear in photo number 21.

Part 6 (Unpublished Essays) and Part 7 (Letters to the Editor) are self-explanatory. It is worth repeating that most of the issues discussed in these parts remain unresolved and are still relevant today.

Some articles in this volume are written in Japanese or Chinese. I have kept the original language so as to better reflect the ethos of the era that generated these writings. For readers who command only English, the English translation of some of these articles is available elsewhere in this book or in the first two volumes of my trilogy.

The trilogy is an ode to the struggles and triumphs of the first-generation Taiwanese Americans. May God bless us Taiwanese Americans for generations to come.

July 4, 2020

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Abbreviations

228 – February 28 incident of 1947

3F, FFF – Formosans’ Free Formosa

A2AD – Anti-access and area denial

AEI – American Enterprise Institute

AIDS – Acquired immune deficiency syndrome

AIT – American Institute in Taiwan

APEC – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ARATS – Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait

ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations

B/S – Brothers and Sisters

C4ISR – Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

CASC – China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

CC – WUFI’s Central Committee

CCP – Chinese Communist Party

CFR – Council on Foreign Relations

Chipo – Local chapter

CIA – Central Intelligence Agency

CMC – Central Military Commission

CSB – Chen Shui-bian

CSIS – Center for Strategic and International Studies

CTIR – Center for Taiwan International Relations

DOD – Department of Defense

DOS – US Department of State

DPJ – Democratic Party of Japan

DPP – Democratic Progressive Party

DPRK – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

EA – Enrolled Actuary

ECFA – Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement

EEZ – Exclusive Economic Zone

EU – European Union

FAPA – Formosan Association for Public Affairs

FFF – Formosans’ Free Formosa

FPRI – Foreign Policy Research Institute

FTA – Free trade agreement

GDP – Gross domestic product

GNP – Gross national product

GOP – Grand Old Party (Republican Party)

GWU – George Washington University

HAPA – Hakka Association for Public Affairs

HARM – High-speed anti-radiation missile

HCR – House Concurrent Resolution

Holo – The dominant Taiwanese local dialect, similar to the Amoi dialect

IASC – International Assessment and Strategy Center

ICBM – Intercontinental ballistic missile

IT – Information technology

ITASA – Intercollegiate Taiwanese Students Association

ITS – Institute for Taiwanese Studies

KMT – Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party)

LDP – Liberal Democratic Party

LTH – Lee Teng-hui

LWR – Light water reactor

MAC – Mainland Affairs Council

MIRV – Multiple independently targeted reentry vehicle

MOFA – Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MTSC – Midwest Taiwanese Summer Conference

NATMA – North America Taiwanese Medical Association

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NATPA – North America Taiwanese Professors’ Association

NATWA – North America Taiwanese Women’s Association

NGO – Nongovernmental organization

NMD – National Missile Defense

NSC – National Security Council

NTY – New Taiwan Yen

NUC – National Unification Council

NUG – National Unification Guidelines

OCAC – Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee

PAC – Patriot Advanced Capability

PAP – People’s Armed Police

PFP – People First Party

PLA – People’s Liberation Army

PLAAF – People’s Liberation Army Air Force

PNTR – Permanent normal trade relations

PRC – People’s Republic of China

PSI – Proliferation Security Initiative

QDR – Quadrennial defense review

ROC – Republic of China

SAR – Synthetic-aperture radar

SARS – Severe acute respiratory syndrome

SEF – Straits Exchange Foundation

SRBM – Short-range ballistic missile

SZ – Shenzhou

TA – Taiwanese American

TAA – Taiwanese American Association

TAAGP – Taiwanese American Association of Greater Philadelphia

TAC/EC – Taiwanese American Conference/East Coast

TAI – Taiwanese Alliance for Interculture

TAIP – Taiwan Independence Party

TAUP – Taiwanese Association of University Professors

TBP – Tributyl phosphate

TECRO – Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office

TI – Taiwan Independence

TIW – Tsai Ing-wen

TMD – Theater Missile Defense

TNC – Taiwan National Congress

TRA – Taiwan Relations Act

TSEA – Taiwan Security Enhancement Act

TSU – Taiwan Solidarity Union

UAV – Unmanned aerial vehicle

UFI – United Formosans for Independence

UK – United Kingdom

UN – United Nations

UPenn – University of Pennsylvania

US, U.S. – United States

USCC – US-China Economic Security and Strategy Review Commission

UTT – Union of Taiwanese Teachers

WFTA – World Federation of Taiwanese Associations

WHA – World Health Assembly

WHO – World Health Organization

WMD – Weapons of mass destruction

WTC – World Taiwanese Congress

WTO – World Trade Organization

WUFI – World United Formosans for Independence

WUTA – World United Taiwanese Associations

Photos from Taiwan’s Past

1. Stone monument commemorating Japanese expedition to Taiwan. Erected by General Saigo Tsugumichi, 1874.

2. General Saigo with aboriginals after the Botan tribe incident.

3. A Republic in Formosa. Headline in New York Daily Tribune, May 26, 1895.

4. Banknote of Formosan Republic

5. Postcard commemorating the twenty-first anniversary of Taiwan’s Japanese rule, 1916.

6. Postcard commemorating 1923 visit to Taiwan by Japan’s Crown Prince Hirohito.

7. Thng Tek-chiong, Taiwanese hero executed by Chiang Kai-shek’s troops in Tainan, March 1947.

8. Thomas Liao, pioneer of Taiwanese independence movement.

9. Declaration of Independence by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Taiwan, February 28, 1956, in Tokyo.

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1. Stone monument commemorating Japanese expedition to Taiwan.

Erected by General Saigo. Tsugumichi, 1874.

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2. General Saigo with aboriginals after the Botan tribe incident.

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3. New York Daily Tribune, May 26, 1895, Front Page.

4. Bank Note of Formosan Republic

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From Formosa Speaks by Joshua Liao

Graphic Press, Hong Kong, 1950

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5. Postcard commemorating the twenty-first anniversary of Taiwan’s Japanese rule, 1916.

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6. Postcard commemorating 1923 visit to Taiwan by Japan’s Crown Prince Hirohito.

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7. Thng Tek-chiong, Taiwanese hero executed by Chiang Kai-shek’s troops in Tainan, March 1947.

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8. Thomas Liao, pioneer of Taiwanese independence movement.

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9. Declaration of Independence by the Provisional Government

of the Republic of Taiwan, February 28, 1956, at Tokyo.

Part I

Launching Formosans’

Free Formosa (3F)

Research Paper by

Florence Chen

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Florence Chen is currently a lawyer at a boutique law firm. She spent four years as an investment banker prior to attending Columbia Law School. Florence also studied finance and international studies through the Huntsman Program in international studies and business, a dual-degree program with the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

Florence completed her senior honors thesis under the supervision of Professor Arthur Waldron. She is very thankful for Professor Waldron’s guidance and for introducing her to Jay Loo. And she is also incredibly grateful that Jay Loo took the time to share his story.

Formosans’ Free Formosa

A Study of the First Taiwan Independence

Movement Organization in America

by Florence Chen

Huntsman Program

Senior Honors Thesis

May 9, 2008

As condensed and edited by Jay Loo

July 31, 2019

文章摘要

在明朝1600年代滅亡的混亂時期當中，有許 多中國人逃到臺灣島，就此成爲臺灣最早的漢族臺灣人。臺灣是到了清朝時代1684年才開始受到中國大陸的朝廷統治，但是由於臺灣的社會結構不穩定、離大陸的距離造成行政訊息不順通、等等許多原因，造成那時候的臺灣發生許多暴動。所以到了1887年，臺灣才正式成爲中國清朝的一個省，真正開始受到清朝政府的直接領導。1895年，中國被日本打敗，就把臺灣交給日本，臺灣就此成爲日本的殖民地，再次遭受到外人的統治，直到1945年世界二戰之後才被還給中國國民黨。但是，臺灣人的這種歷史經驗，經過多年的種種曲折，與中國大陸的歷史經驗相差的距離越來越大，造成臺灣人開始發覺自己明顯與中國大陸人的價值觀、氣質、教養、社會制度、等等文化方面已經大有異處。

1947年，這些臺灣人，因爲認爲臺灣人擁有臺灣特色的民族主義，所以向中國國民黨要求自治權，而中國國民黨以暴力拒絕允許臺灣人追求自治夢想，造成二二八事件的悲劇。二二八事件染發了一些臺灣人的心，鼓舞他們創始台獨運動，請世界各國支持臺灣人的自治權，要求世界各國承認臺灣為一個獨立自主的國家。台獨運動發生在許多不同的國家，而這篇文章就是美國第一個台獨運動組織的故事。

美國最早的台獨運動歷史是由一些臺灣的留學生1956年創立臺灣人的獨立臺灣(Formosans’ Free Formosa)才開始的。這篇文章將會敍説最早期的美國台獨運動的誕生、組織目標、活動等等。當時的這些學生領導所面臨了種種困難，其中有内部的一些問題，還有最嚴重的外來問題，來自外界滿懷敵意的環境。雖然早期的美國台獨運動者必須對付這些許多難題，經過詳細調查，筆者認爲他們還是做出值得讚揚的貢獻。

並且討論一下這些學生領導人所作出的貢獻還有面對的困難。在英語的歷史文學當中雖然有很多人談到臺灣問題，極少數人討論到最早期的美國台獨運動，希望以下的文章能夠促進臺灣歷史學界對這個題目的了解。這段歷史故事也許能夠幫助下一代的臺灣人更加了解臺灣人獨特的歷史經驗。

Introduction

Though the issue of Taiwan independence looms large in modern-day politics, the early activities of the Taiwan independence movement have not yet been studied very much by historians. This is especially true for the early Taiwan independence movement that developed in America in 1956 with the founding of Formosans’ Free Formosa in Philadelphia. The following study seeks to study the conditions fostering the early movement for independence, the goals, activities, and accomplishments of the early organizations in America, and the main challenges they faced. This paper argues that despite adverse circumstances, the early Taiwan independence movement in the United States was able to achieve significant goals. Ultimately, of course, the activities of the independence movement in America were not enough to help Taiwan gain independence in the 1950s. To this day, the status of Taiwan remains ambiguous and undecided. By understanding the often untold story of perseverance and dedication from Taiwan’s early student leaders abroad, however, the lessons of old independence activists can serve as inspiration for the current generation.

I. The History of Taiwan

In order to better understand the conditions leading to the rise of the Taiwan independence movement, it is crucial to first briefly study Taiwan’s interesting path throughout history.

Taiwan has been ruled by the Dutch, the Spanish, Koxinga, the Manchus, Japan, and the Chinese Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT). Taiwan’s history has been an incessant struggle for liberty against alien rulers. It is not within the purview of this book, however, to cover Taiwan’s history of agonies. Interested readers may peruse the following sources.

Jonathan Manthorpe, Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan. Palgrave McMillan, New York, 2002.

Murray A. Rubinstein, ed., Taiwan: A New History, Armonk, New York, M. E. Sharpe, 2007.

Ong Iok-tek, Taiwan: A History of Agonies. Avanguard, Taipei, 2016. Translated by Shimamura Yasuharu from the 1970 Japanese edition.

For a description of Chinese Nationalist rule of Taiwan during the years after World War II, George H. Kerr’s Formosa Betrayed (Second ed., Taiwan Publishing Co., Upland, CA 91784 USA, 1992) is an excellent source.

The February 28 incident of 1947 is an important factor in the rise of the Taiwan independence movement. For a concise summary, see Li Thian-hok, America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom (Xlibris, 2010, pp. 427–445).

II. The Taiwan Independence Movement Abroad

The conception of the Taiwan Independence Movement (TIM) is difficult to characterize precisely, especially during its early history, since it was a heterogeneous, amorphous movement filled with personality clashes, disagreements about whether to pursue violent revolution or peaceful reform, and tension between Taiwan and overseas elements.¹ Due to the danger of organizing dissenting political activities in Taiwan, the location of most independence movement activities was abroad, especially in Japan and the United States, though later TIMs also spread to places like Canada and Western Europe. After the suppression of the February 28 incident in 1947, as many as 3,000 political activists escaped to various international locations and began to establish anti-Nationalist organizations.²

Historical ties made Japan a logical haven for TIM. The formulation of Taiwanese identity had begun under Japanese colonial rule, as evidenced by the flourishing of cultural and political organizations representing Taiwanese interests in both Japan and Taiwan. The very first of these organizations, the Taiwanese Cultural Society founded in 1920, was first established in Tokyo and is even argued by some as signifying the beginning of the island’s independence movement since there was never any idea of the organization urging a reunification with China.³ In any case, the historical ties of Taiwanese political organizations to Tokyo, the supportive atmosphere provided by sympathetic liberal Japanese political reformers, the relatively larger numbers of Taiwanese studying abroad in Japan and other conveniences of geographical proximity all help to explain why some Taiwanese political activists would see Japan as a natural place to base an independence movement.

In light of these fairly favorable conditions, some of the very first pro-independence organizations abroad were established in Japan. One of the most prominent of these Taiwanese leaders based in Japan was Dr. Thomas Liao.

After the February 28 incident in 1948, Thomas Liao was forced to escape from Taiwan to Hong Kong. There, Thomas Liao and his brother Joshua Liao worked together to distribute publications advocating Taiwan independence. Thomas Liao worked with Hsieh Hsueh-hung to found the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Taiwan in Hong Kong in March 1948.⁴ On September 1, the group of Taiwanese refugees filed a petition with the United Nations on behalf of the 7 million Taiwanese people in their homeland, demanding that Taiwan be held under United Nations trusteeship until a plebiscite could be held for Taiwan, to allow the Taiwanese people to determine their future. Liao’s nephew and others were able to establish a branch of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Taiwan in April 1949, though it was infiltrated by Nationalist agents and shut down in May 1950.⁵

As more and more Nationalist refugees migrated to Hong Kong, however, it became evident that Hong Kong would no longer be a safe place to conduct independence movement activities. In January 1950, Liao was again forced to flee, this time to Tokyo. Hsieh Hsueh-hong, on the other hand, decided that Taiwanese independence would be most feasible in cooperation with the Chinese Communists, so she escaped to Beijing instead.⁶

Meanwhile, Liao immediately resumed independence activities in his new location of Japan. In February 1950, Liao established the Formosa Independence Party there in Tokyo.⁷ On September 1, 1955, two dozen representatives from various prefectures of Taiwan declared the establishment of the Provisional Congress, electing Liao as president. The Provisional Government then declared independence on February 28, 1956, in memorial of the ninth anniversary of the February 28 incident.⁸

Due to his many efforts toward furthering independence during this early time period, Thomas Liao was perhaps the most prominent figure in the early independence movement.⁹ However, the movement was never consolidated under his leadership; instead, it was split into many different branches.

One major organization that split from Liao’s Provisional Government was an organization founded in February 1960 by Ong Joktik (王育德) and other Taiwanese students studying in Japan. The group was at first called Taiwan Chinglian (Youth) Associates, though the name was later changed to be the Formosan Association. This organization focused more on steady propaganda work and secret organization with the publication of its newsletters Taiwan Chinglian in Japanese and Formosa Quarterly in English.¹⁰ The fragmentation of the Taiwanese Independence Movement in Japan was in large part due to instances of personality clashes involving Liao. Also important was the existence of very different opinions as to how to proceed with achieving independence for the Taiwanese people.¹¹

It is also important to note that being based in Japan was not favorable to garnering more international support since in the post–World War era, war-torn Japan was not really in a position (nor did it have the political capital) to speak out on behalf of the Taiwanese.

Thus the other major base of TIM operations was the United States, with organizers and participants consisting primarily of graduate students from Taiwan.¹² Since the United States emerged as one of the two major powers in the Cold War era, if the clout of the American government had been aligned with Taiwanese goals for self-government, there could perhaps be a greater possibility of success for the Taiwan Independence Movement. A number of factors acted as barriers to this.

III. The Early American TIM Movement

Since the most prominent leaders in the Taiwan independence movement in these early stages were based in Japan, most studies on the independence movement have focused on these more eye-catching activities. Leaders like Thomas Liao were often cited on the international stage, and so historians tend to focus more on the unfolding of events in Japan when thinking about the early Taiwan Independence Movement. Meanwhile, the beginnings of the early American TIM are often overlooked by historians. However, just like its Japanese counterpart, the early American TIM activists were able to make significant, and perhaps more lasting, contributions to the overall independence movement abroad.

The Birth of Formosans’ Free Formosa

In the period from 1950 to 1960, the number of Taiwanese students in the United States grew from only about 50 to at least 554. The American Taiwan Independence Movement grew as the number of Taiwanese students abroad increased, since the movement in the United States during this early period was almost exclusively comprised of Taiwanese students.¹³

During this time, it was very difficult for Taiwanese students to leave the island to pursue studies abroad in the United States, so it was often only the best and the brightest who were able to do so. In August 1955, five such Taiwanese students studying in America were introduced to each other and quickly became close friends. Four of the five were students at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia: Dr. Tom Yang (楊東傑) was the eldest of the five and studying radiology, John Lin (林榮勳) and Edward Chen (陳以德) were both pursuing graduate studies in international relations, and Echo Lin (林錫湖) was pursuing a doctorate in chemistry. The youngest of the five was Jay Loo (盧主義), who was studying medicine at nearby Temple University.¹⁴

These five Taiwanese students were drawn together by their common experiences in Taiwan and enjoyed getting together every weekend. Invariably, they found that their topics of discussion often tended to gravitate toward issues of politics in their homeland. In the foreign country that was America, they were finally able to openly debate Taiwanese politics, a topic that had been taboo in Taiwan whether under Japanese or Nationalist Chinese rule.

The group of five friends shared similar complaints about the Nationalist government and the mainlanders who migrated to the island in droves during and after the Chinese civil war. They discussed the initial excitement and celebrations organized to greet the Nationalists and their disappointment upon seeing a ragtag group of soldiers in disarray during the retrocession of Taiwan in 1945.¹⁵ They recalled the pronounced differences in values and culture between mainlanders and Taiwanese, since after years of Japanese rule, the Taiwanese were much more accustomed to rule of law and enjoyed better standards of civilization. A popular anecdote shared among Taiwanese was how some mainlander refugees would steal bicycles, but because they did not know what the bicycles were for, they would carry them away upon their shoulders. They described their anticipation of increased Taiwanese autonomy after the Japanese surrendered, and the resulting bitter disappointment when policies of discrimination and nepotism in political and economic spheres were implemented once again.¹⁶ They recounted their anger as elementary school children witnessing fellow classmates being brutally beaten by the Japanese, and their feeling of deep sadness when, in middle school, the Nationalists again unfairly punished Taiwanese classmates; it seemed that the Taiwanese were doomed to always be treated as second-class citizens. Taiwan’s sad destiny seemed only further confirmed as they witnessed Taiwan’s descent into a harsh rule of law often deemed as White Terror after the February 28 incident.¹⁷

Each of the five students had their personal encounters with the Nationalists, all of them unfavorable. John Lin had perhaps the most negative perception of Nationalist rule because of a traumatic personal experience in which he was arrested and almost jailed because of a student protest when he was the student council president at the National Taiwan University. But it was the youngest of the five, Jay Loo, who pushed the group to take the next step and formulate the opinion that Taiwan independence was not only the right thing to do, but was also feasible.¹⁸ As Loo recalled in an interview, when he first got to America and discovered Fred Riggs’s Formosa Under Chinese Nationalist Rule, one of the few books available on Taiwan, he became enthralled by the objective historical analysis he was encountering for the first time and started to read just about every book on Taiwan [he] could get his hands on.¹⁹ Loo’s knowledge of Taiwanese history and the latest political commentary on the island’s status helped him win most of the group’s debates on Taiwanese politics, much to the chagrin of his older friends. John Lin and Edward Chen were usually reluctant to admit that the younger Loo’s arguments were more logically sound, especially since their expertise was in the area of international relations. Often it was Tom Yang, the senior figure, who would side with Loo to keep the rest of the group from dismissing Loo’s arguments just because of his younger age.²⁰

In that fall of 1955, the group of five students would get together every weekend and discuss Taiwan politics. Soon the group was convinced that Taiwan ought to be an independent state ruled by Taiwanese, and they were determined to help make this dream a reality. Although at first some in the group were pessimistic about how much they could really accomplish to further the goal of Taiwanese independence, they were galvanized into action when Loo’s letter to the editor on Taiwan was published in the New York Times in December 1955 soon after he submitted it.²¹ In the letter, Loo asked Americans to help Taiwanese people fight against the Nationalist dictatorship, warning that failure to do so would be dangerous to American interests since continued Nationalist rule could result in Taiwan being more susceptible to falling under Communist rule.²² The publication of Loo’s letter in the New York Times showed the five Taiwanese students that not only was it possible to voice an opinion in America, it was also the case that Americans might listen and support their cause. It was this event that empowered them, and on January 1, 1956, in Philadelphia, the five friends founded Formosans’ Free Formosa (3F, or 臺灣人的自由臺灣) as the first American organization giving voice to calls for Taiwan independence.

Goals and Activities of the Formosans’ Free Formosa

The goal of Formosans’ Free Formosa was to educate and persuade people to support Taiwan independence. The audience of the group included Taiwanese students, the American people, and the wider international community.

First, the organization aimed to educate its fellow Taiwanese students in the United States on the history of Taiwan and persuade them that independence was the right course of action. To achieve this, a newsletter written in English was created and sent out to Taiwanese students across America. The newsletter was typewritten and personally mailed to various contacts for distribution on school campuses with other Taiwanese students. Within each issue, the group would describe various aspects of Taiwanese history, always with a