[ 英文摘要 ]

The purpose of this research is to understand the formation and change of the identity of Taiwanese POW camp guards and the way they think about national identity. In-depth interviews were used to describe the life stories of these guards. The results of this investigation are as follows:

The concepts of national identity of the guards were changeable rather than fixed. Generally, the deciding factor in the guards’ choice of national identity is the recognition of political systems associated with survival benefits more than the identification of ethnic culture associated with emotional attachment. The guards described their own national identity as: “the flag is determined by the ones who govern”. When Japan’s colonial government was overturned, the identity of guards turned toward to the new KMT (Chinese Nationalist) government in Taiwan. They did not regard the Nationalist government as an external or foreign one. However, the way in which this “Chinese government” treated the Taiwanese people was similar to Japan’s colonization of Taiwan and made Taiwanese people feel like “second-class citizens”. In recent years, with the transition of Taiwan’s governing power, Taiwanese people had great expectations of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but now, with the disappointments of Taiwan’s politics and economy along with the booming of China’s political and economic power, the former guards consider that eventually Taiwan will be governed by China. Some people accept that, China being such a strong country, people will enjoy basic security of life if it reigns over Taiwan. The message being delivered is that, in considering their needs of basic security and survival, the ultimate goal of the guards in terms of national identity is to choose a powerful player on which they can rely.

This study is focused on a group of people with specific experiences and encounters. Rationally, the results of this study cannot be applied to all Taiwanese people who were colonized by Japan. However, through the study of this special group, we can understand how people who have undergone such experiences can change their identity, and it can help us gain a broader knowledge of the formation of and changes in identity.