Why is Japanese colonial rule remembered so differently in Taiwan than in Korea? In this episode, we dive deep into the Japanese colonization of Taiwan to unpack that question. From addressing the land question and carrying out irrigation projects to strategic co-optation of local elites and the brutal Kominka assimilation campaign, we explore how Japan engineered long-term compliance—and how the KMT's postwar repression inadvertently helped to erase anti-Japanese resistance from public memory. With colonization came modernization in Taiwan, but who paid for it? This is the story of exploitation disguised as development, and how selective memory shapes public opinion to this day.

The content of this episode is also available in article form

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