Nostalgia 鄉愁

"Nostalgia" is a poem written by a Chinese poet from Taiwan (余光中). Written during the Cold War, it encapsulates the sentiment of many living on the island at the time.

小時侯﹐鄉愁是一枚小小的郵票:
我在這頭﹐母親在那頭。

長大後﹐鄉愁是一張窄窄的船票:
我在這頭﹐新娘在那頭。

後來呵﹐鄉愁是一方矮矮的墳墓:
我在外頭﹐母親呵在裡頭。

而現在﹐鄉愁是一灣淺淺的海峽:
我在這頭﹐大陸在那頭。

During childhood, nostalgia was a small stamp:
I was on this side, mother was on the other side.

Having grown up, nostalgia was a slender boat ticket:
I was on this side, my bride was on the other side.

Then, nostalgia was a short grave:
I was on the outside, mother was on the inside.

And now, nostalgia is a shallow strait:
I am on this side, the mainland is on the other side.

It is natural human tendency to recollect the past, whether it be positive or negative. Today, Peace Memorial Day, people on Taiwan commemorate the 64th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, during which thousands of Chinese civilians were slaughtered at the command of Governor-General Chen Yi. Society must learn from the past in order not to repeat mistakes. The days of martial law are no more and a whole generation has no first-hand experience whatsoever of those dark days, because the people of 21st Century Taiwan live in a vibrant, but young, democracy. The era of White Terror undoubtedly has scarred a whole segment of society, many of which have never liberated themselves from this state of pain. The pro-democracy advocates of the 1960s and 1970s have achieved the morally worthy goal of a free and democratic society, the first of its kind in East Asia to boot. It is important to remember the past, but it would be a pity to dwell on the past, because it can blind us to the beauty of the present.

A major force that drove the era of White Terror was the assumption of an internal threat. Even today in political discourse, politicians seem to accuse the other party of betraying the people on Taiwan. If there is anything that government officials in Taipei can do to truly memorialise peace it is to stop politicising everything in an us-against-them framework. Just for one day, can the 23 million people on Taiwan stand in solidarity with one another?