Unrest over a Principal's Mishandling of a Cultural Clash Ignites Student Uprising in 1927
Protesting High School Students in Taiwan Making Headlines
By Han Cheung / Contributing reporter
May 5 to May 11
A small spat between Taiwanese students at Taichung First High School and a Japanese chef's family skyrocketed into a major issue during the first fortnight of May 1927. It all kicked off on April 30 when the chef's wife discovered that the lotus starch used in that night's meal contained rat droppings, yet she chose to stay silent until the food was already served. The students suspected her silence was intentional and demanded action.
The school's Japanese administrators sided with the chef's family, labeling the students as troublemakers and imposing stricter rules on them, even going as far as having Principal Kokuro (also known as Kojin) Shimomura move into the dorms to monitor them.
This heavy-handedapproach only intensified the chaos, and the authorities eventually called in the military police to encircle the campus while they negotiated with the parents. Student protests followed suit, and by May 16, just two-thirds of the student body, which comprised 97 percent Taiwanese students, showed up for class.
In an act of defiance, Shimomura expelled 36 students, with more than a dozen choosing to resign.
This seemingly minor incident served as a reflection of the deep-seated animosity between the Taiwanese and Japanese colonizers. The political and cultural resistance movement was nearing its zenith, with Taiwanese intellectuals advocating for local autonomy and promoting ethnic and cultural pride.
A CULTURAL CHOAS
Last week's feature highlighted the establishment of Taichung First High School in 1915 as an attempt to establish equality, as it marked the first secondary institute in the colony to accept Taiwanese students.
The three high schools in Taiwan remained racially segregated with separate systems and curricula until the 1922 Taiwan Education Act overhauled the education system to align with the colonial government's plan to assimilate the Taiwanese into loyal Japanese citizens. Five more high schools were set up across Taiwan that year, and all schools were required to accept both Taiwanese and Japanese students. However, if a city had two high schools, the student body at one usually consisted primarily of Japanese students, while the other was predominantly Taiwanese.
A TALE OF TWO LEADERS
Taichung First High School's initial two Japanese principals, Shinichi Tagawa and Hideo Azukisawa, were well-liked figures who reportedly treated the students fairly and did not discriminate against them.
When Emperor Hirohito visited Taiwan in 1923, Second High preferred that he visit them first due to their predominantly Japanese student body. Azukisawa was incensed, arguing that ethnicity should not determine the order of visits, and engaged in a heated argument with Second High's principal. Azukisawa's stance earned him a great deal of respect from the Taiwanese students.
Hsieh Tung-min (謝東閔), who attended the school until 1925 and later served as the first vice president under Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), recounts that the students had already attempted a strike under Azukisawa's leadership. The students had initially planned to stay at a hotel during their graduation trip, but discovered that the hotel was under renovation and did not have enough rooms. The Japanese teacher allegedly claimed it didn't matter since they were Taiwanese chankoro, a highly offensive term.
The furious students trashed the hotel, fought with their Japanese classmates, and refused to attend school until Azukisawa finally intervened and scolded the teacher. These types of reactions by Taiwanese students to discrimination were not uncommon, as Chu reveals several other incidents in her book.
Shimomura, who arrived in 1925, was far stricter than Azukisawa. For example, he banned students from speaking in Taiwanese (which is also known as Hoklo) on campus and required them to speak Japanese fluently. Shimomura also had a heavy Kyushu accent, leading to further tension among the students.
Considered a competent educator, Shimomura made an effort to be fair, but the students greatly disliked him. Following the strike, Shimomura's reputation was tarnished, and he ultimately quit.
RECALLING THE CONFLICT
Taiwan Minpao (台灣民報) reported on the events in "The truth behind Taichung First High School's student strikes," in its May 29, 1927 edition. It claimed that the chef’s wife was allowed to live in the school under the condition that she work for her meals, eat after the students, and vacate if any problems arose. The wife failed to adhere to the school's rules and even brought her children along. Her presence led to numerous disputes with the students living in the dorms.
After the rat-infested lotus starch incident, the students complained to the Japanese dorm supervisors, who dismissed their concerns and accused them of causing trouble. The fifth-year resident advisor, who was Taiwanese, resigned in protest.
Upon hearing this, Shimomura abolished the dorm's self-management system and declared that orders from dorm supervisors were absolute. On May 6, Shimomura gathered the students, delivering a stern warning that he would neither fire the chef nor expel his wife, and that any further protests would be met with punishment. The following day, he took up residence in the dorms, causing the students to set off firecrackers indoors at night.
The police then rounded up the students' parents and demanded they bring their children home, but the parents stood their ground. On May 12, Shimomura threatened to forcibly remove the fifth-year students if they continued to defy his orders. The second, third, and fourth-year students followed suit in protest. The alumni association and other civic groups tried to negotiate on behalf of the students, but to no avail.
One of the negotiators was Chang Shen-chieh (張深切), an anti-colonial revolutionary who later admitted to orchestrating the strikes. He was arrested for his role in the strikes and ultimately acquitted, only to be jailed on other charges.
The first wave of expulsions occurred on May 23, with 10 students affected. Some students returned to school on June 1, but their reception from some teachers was less than friendly, as they believed the students did not deserve reinstatement. This fueled another round of protests, particularly against teachers who often exhibited biased attitudes towards the Taiwanese. On June 13 and 14, the school handed down additional expulsions, effectively ending the conflict.
Taiwan Minpao frequently published articles critical of the school's actions, but Shimomura remained steadfast in his decision.
Taiwan in Time, a weekly column about Taiwan's history, highlights important or noteworthy events in Taiwan's past that are either currently being celebrated or have links to present-day events.
1. Principal Kokuro Shimomura, a Japanese administrator at Taichung First High School, was known for his strict approach, particularly his ban on students speaking Taiwanese on campus in 1925.2. Shimomura's heavy-handedness intensified a cultural chaos that was already brewing, as Taiwanese students pushed back against Japanese colonizers' attempts to assimilate them.3. The political and cultural resistance movement was nearing its zenith in 1927, with Taiwanese intellectuals advocating for local autonomy and promoting ethnic and cultural pride.4. In 1925, Shimomura, then a newly appointed principal, faced a student uprising after he failed to address a sanitation issue related to the school kitchen, which led to students' suspicion that the problem was intentionally overlooked, reflecting the deep-seated animosity between the Taiwanese and Japanese colonizers.
