Memory of Dongmen Police Station
Reenacting Japanese Colonial Era through Oral History
Police who Lived through the
“White Terror”
Police officer
in the early post-war period
HUANG Chun-Mu (1934~) was born in the 9th year of the Showa era. He served as a police officer during the early days of Taiwan's retrocession. From 1959 to 1969, he worked at the Dongmen Police Station, which at the time had a manpower establishment of 9 officers and 1 patrol. His main duties at the Dongmen Police Station included rotating daily shifts at the station, receiving reports, handling traffic accidents, patrolling the jurisdiction for two hours per day, and conducting household checks.
He recalled the working conditions of household checks, mentioning that regular citizens were checked every two months, while those with criminal records were checked monthly. During household checks, officers intentionally entered households to assess the indoor conditions, which was helpful in identifying suspicious activities such as gambling.
During his tenure at the Dongmen Police Station, which coincided with the early days of Taiwan's retrocession, HUANG was involved in collecting and destroying Japanese textbooks. Later, the Taiwan Garrison Command was established in Taipei, training underground operatives, marking the onset of the “White Terror” era. At that time, all agencies had underground operatives. HUNAG recalled an incident where a colleague spoke positively about the Communist Party during a conversation in the police station's office. The next day, the colleague was summoned by the Taiwan Garrison Command. Upon returning, the colleague addressed all colleagues (including secret underground operatives): “Guys, I'm just throwing it out there, please be kind and help me out.”
Neighbors
Resident of Dongmen Police Station
Neighborhood: Fear for Police in the Era
ZENG Ying-Lan (1932~), currently 79 years old, born in the 7th year of Showa era, has been living next to the Dongmen Police Station since she married into her husband's family, now residing near the Shengde Temple. ZENG spent her childhood during the Japanese rule, and her impression of the Japanese police is one of reverence and fear. She was very afraid that the police might take her away. Another vivid memory she has of the Japanese police is their frequent cleaning of the gutters.
Living around the Dongmen Police Station, she has no impression of the interior of the station at that time. However, in her memory, there was once an air-raid shelter opposite the police station (other oral history interviewees did not mention this), and at that time, bicycles were not allowed into the East Gate Market; they had to be parked outside.
Police officer
of West Gate Police Station
Officer of West Gate Police Station:
Identifying History and Former Colleagues through Old Photographs
WANG Mao-Yuan (1926~), currently 85 years old, born in the 15th year of Taisho era, did not actually serve at the Dongmen Police Station. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, due to the large-scale deployment of Japanese police to the Southern Ocean for the war effort, additional personnel were needed at the police stations. WANG then served as an internal staff member at the West Gate Police Station, where he got to know the police officers who were serving at the Eest Gate Police Station at that time.
Looking at old photographs, he recalls that in the front row, the first person on the right, named CHEN Zong, is deceased and was a Taiwanese police officer. He had only one badge on his shoulder, indicating “patrol.” The two individuals in the middle of the front row each had two badges, indicating “chief of patrol,” equivalent to today's chief of the police station. Most of the individuals in the photograph were Taiwanese police officers or clerks, with only the chief of patrol confirmed to be Japanese.