Jinguashi
Jinguashi(Chinkuashih;Chinese:Dưa vàng thạch;pinyin:Jīnguāshí;Wade–Giles:Chin1-kua1-shih2;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Kim-koe-chio̍h) is a town inRuifang District,New Taipei City,Taiwan,notable for its historicgoldandcoppermines. It was also known asKinkasekiinJapaneseand was underTaihoku PrefectureduringJapanese rule.
From 1942 to 1945, the town was the location of the KinkasekiPrisoner of War (POW) Camp(Chinese: Dưa vàng thạch tù binh doanh; Japanese: Dưa vàng thạch ／きんかせき bắt lỗ giám thị sở ). Of the 430 Allied POW deaths across all fourteen Japanese POW camps on Taiwan, the majority occurred at Kinkaseki.[1]
Under Japanese rule
[edit]Kinkaseki was an important mining town for theJapanese EmpireduringJapan's rule over Taiwan.United States Navy analysis during World War II found that the Kinkaseki gold mines were among Imperial Japan's largest sources of gold, based on figures from 1937.[2]The mines also produced substantial amounts of copper—7,350 tons in 1936, more than anywhere else in Taiwan—and some silver.[3]The mines were operated by Taiwan KōgyōK.K.(Taiwan Mining Company, Đài Loan 鉱 nghiệp kabushiki gaisha ) and covered approximately 5.5 milliontsubo(18.18 km2).[4]Forced laborers also cleared agricultural land and improved water work;beriberiwas rampant among the prisoners.[5]
The Kinkaseki prisoner of war camp (Kinkaseki #1) was opened on November 14, 1942. The initial POWs arrived from Singapore after itscapture by Japan.Over 1,100 Allied (mostly British) POWs were held in the camp and forced to work in the mines. The camp mines were closed in March 1945, as transport of copper to the Japanese home islands become impossible due to Allied naval power. The POWs were relocated to Kukutsu POW Camp in Hsintien (Xindian District) by late June 1945.[6]
Post-war
[edit]
Following the Allied defeat of Imperial Japan, charges were brought against nine employees of Nippon Mining Company (the parent company of Taiwan Kōgyō) for cruelty and mistreatment of POWs at Kinkaseki. On May 28, 1947, eight of the nine were found guilty by the British War Crime Court Number Five in Hong Kong.[7]The court held the company, not the Japanese Army, responsible for mistreatment of POWs.[8]
A memorial park at the site of the POW camp was opened in 1997.[9]
Although the minerals have since been depleted, the town still attracts many visitors to itsGold Ecological Park,which opened in October 2004. Jinguashi was named a potentialWorld Heritage Sitein 2002.
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Historic gold mine museum -
Outdoor cafe by museum entrance -
Abandoned railway tracks -
Moss covering a retaining wall at the mine, a result of high humidity -
Giant statue -
Valley
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Prentice, David (30 October 2015)."The Forgotten POWs of the Pacific: The Story of Taiwan's Camps".Thinking Taiwan.Retrieved21 December2020.
- ^United States Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (1944).Civil Affairs Handbook: Taiwan (Formosa) - Taihoku Province.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Navy. p. 173.
- ^Sui, Cindy."WW2: Unearthing Taiwan's forgotten prisoner of war camps".bbc.BBC.Retrieved15 June2021.
- ^Hurst, Michael."KINKASEKI CAMP #1".Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.Retrieved2021-01-07.
- ^Ramasatry, Anita (April 2002)."Corporate Complicity: From Nuremberg to Rangoon - An Examination of Forced Labor Cases and Their Impact on the Liability of Multinational Corporations".Berkeley Journal of International Law.20(1): 113.
- ^Ramasatry 2002,p. 114.
- ^"POWs remembered at Kinkaseki event".Taipei Times.2010-11-16.Retrieved2020-12-28.
External links
[edit]
Jinguashitravel guide from Wikivoyage- Jinguashi's Gold Ecological Park(in English)
