 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific Story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. The drama of the people's whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific War. Here, as another public service, is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. The Guards to the Coast of China. My name is probably high on the list of people to be liquidated if the Japanese should win. It will probably be higher on the list after this broadcast. Call me Winslow. I was the last white man off Formosa. You had better leave while there is still time, Mr. Winslow. That was Fang Xu Li of the Formosa Underground. The war will break out any time. Then you will be interned. He knew. He was a member of the Formosa Revolutionary League. Nomura and Kurosu are in Washington only to deceive America. I was at sea bombed for the United States when the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor. I had been on Formosa since 1937. I went there as an observer to write what I saw. One of the first Chinese I came to know was Fang Xu Li. There is trouble in the wind, Mr. Winslow. I was too new on Formosa to know what he meant, but I soon found out. The object of this new Imperial Subject Movement is to blot out our resistance and to make every Chinese on Formosa loyal to the Japanese Emperor. There are more than five million of us Chinese on Formosa. Ninety-four percent of the population. But the Japanese are well armed. They control all the strategic points and all the communications and the arsenal. We can take the arsenal. Yes. Then we will have ours. Are we ready or strong enough to attempt anything so difficult? Let us remember that we have rebelled 22 times since the Japanese took Formosa. They have put down every uprising. They have slaughtered 200,000 of us since 1895. We have paid a terrible price in blood because we wrote against them before we were ready. Are we to wait until they crush us? Our plans are ready. Good. The Japanese are working to make Formosa impregnable. They have just finished expanding the naval base and the air base at Mako in the Pescadores. They are building new airfields all over the island. Yes, and if we wait, the arsenal will be too strong. We will not wait. At the same time we attack the arsenal, the railroad workers and the miners will strike. My brothers! My brothers! I have been one with you in the revolutionary league all the years of my adult life. There is a strong Japanese army post near the arsenal at Gerand. We know about the army post. It is garrison with well-trained and well-equipped troops. We can win nothing without sacrifice. Yes, and have you forgotten, Fang, that Formosa is a Chinese island that was stolen from us along with the Pescadores? I have forgotten nothing. If we are to attack this time, let us make sure that we will succeed. We are ready. We have 15,000 active members and 100,000 behind us. Only a small part of these can take part in any attack at Gerand. The hour is set. You will report to your leaders and they will tell you... There was no stopping the firebrands. They made their way secretly to Gerand. They attacked in bands. The Japanese counter-attack with furious force. Those who were not killed were captured. The uprisings of the miners, the railroad workers and the peasants were put down. This is our last failure, Mr. Winslow. Now we must go on the ground and work and wait for deliverance. I watched the development of the imperial subject movement in Takao. Takao is the big port in southwest Formosa. The Japanese undertook a vigorous campaign to win over the Formosan Chinese. They tried to get them to take Japanese names. A Japanese name will give you priority in getting shipped on the railway tickets. You will be able to buy better food and you will have equal status with us Japanese. This was the bait. Some changed their names, but those who did found there were no better often before. They tried to control every part of our lives. What we eat, what we wear, where we go, how we walk... ...even how we laugh and cry. I found it was all part of the plan of Japanization of the island. They have changed the names of nearly everything in Formosa. For example, the names of the city. Kilung, the big port in the north, they called Kirun. And Taibei, they called Taihoku. And the Sinju Edrum, they called Shinchiku. I was beginning to understand. And I was beginning to realize how big and how powerful Formosa was. Fang got a job in Taihoku. That's the seat of the Governor General's office, really the capital of Formosa. Also, it's the place where the Japanese military leaders had headquarters. There is little chance now that Formosa can ever be freed without outside help. The Japanese are making Formosa, as they say, into a great immovable aircraft carrier. How many airfields are there in Formosa now, Fang? I do not know the exact number, but there are dozens of them. Dozens? You must remember, Mr. Winslow, that Formosa is a very large island. Christ the size of Holland. Actually, I didn't realize that. Yes, it is nearly as big as the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and Rhode Island put together. That gave me my first real understanding of the size of Formosa. Look at this map. You see, it is 244 miles long. That's about the distance from Boston to New York. And it's 60 to 80 miles wide. Wider than the island of Okinawa is long. And it has an area of nearly 14,000 square miles. 14,000 square miles. His finger traced over the map as he talked. And you see, the eastern half of the island is very mountainous. Some of the cliffs rise 3,000 feet from the water on the east coast. I see. But the western side is different. It is a large plain, and it goes right down to the water. You see? How high are these mountains along the east side here? This one here, or this is Mount Morrison. It is 13,000 feet high. And there are 15 other peaks, more than 10,000 feet high. I went up to the northern port of Kielung. Nine years ago, we could accommodate only 15 ships at the ducks here. When we finish our expansion program here, we will be able to accommodate about 40 ships at one time. This was a Japanese port commissioner. Are you expecting to step up your shipping here at Kirun? We must look to the future. Of course. I see you have both an inner and outer harbor. We must have a safe anchorage against the typhoons. Kirun is the northmost port in Formosa, isn't it? Tamsui to the west of here is a little further north, but it is not as good a harbor as Kirun here. How far is it from Kirun to Japan? It's just over 600 miles to Nagasaki. But of course it is 13,000 miles to Tokyo. And you seem very interested in Kirun here. That was the tip-off. I knew when I boarded the train that a secret police would be on my train. The main railroad runs down the western side of the island over the broad western plains. As we headed southward toward the air drum at Shinjyu, or Shinchiku as the Japanese call it, I had the feeling that I was being watched. Just before we got into Shinchiku, a somber young Japanese and civilian clothes came up and sat down beside me. You have a match, please? Oh, yes, I ought to have. There. Thank you. Smoke? No, thanks. Not just now. I determined to find out if he were a Japanese agent. Oh, I was just about to ask the conductor for some information. Perhaps you can help me. Perhaps. I'm going to Shinchiku. When will we get there? Shinchiku? I knew the way he said it, but he knew I had bought a ticket for Tekau way down to the south of Formosa. We will be in Shinchiku in about one hour. Thank you. He looked at me quizzically. After a while, he got up and walked down to the conductor. When the train stopped at Shinchiku, I picked up my bag and headed for the door. He had already got off. I could see him out there smoking apparently unconcerned and walking up the platform. I didn't get off. The train pulled out without him. Around Shinchiku, I got a good look at the air drum with its many fields. Shinchiku on the northwestern part of the island was the strong air base in the northern part of Formosa. As the train rolled southward over the western plains, I began to realize how densely settled Formosa was with its population of more than 6 million. And more and more I realized that Formosa was not only a gigantic immovable aircraft carrier but equally important was the supply base for the army which was looking to the south. That branch that we just passed leads over to Roku on the west coast of Portuguese merchant proceeding beside me. If you want to go to Roku, you would transfer the last stop. How far is it over to the coast? Oh, perhaps 15 miles. Is Roku a fair-sized port? Well, yes, yes. Not as a biggest Kiruna being the northern or takah or in the south, but a good-sized port. I see. You see it is just about in the middle of the west coast. Yes, I was just thinking about that. All of the good ports are on the west side of the island. There are three ports on the east side, but it is so mountainous over there. There are not very good harbors there. I made a mental note. I would have to see all those harbors. As soon we will be in Kagi. There is an air base there. A big one? I don't know about, hmm, almost as big as the air drum up at Shinchiku. Yes, you will see many airplanes around Kagi. Very interesting. Very interesting. The railroad ran along 10 to 20 miles inland from the west coast, connecting all the important ports and air drums. I turned to the Portuguese again. Seems the Japanese have developed a good system of communications on Formosa. Hmm, in some ways, yes. I wondered what he meant. Well, this railroad runs the length of the island on the west coast here. And there is another railroad down on the east coast, but there is no railroad connecting between them. Is that so? There are highways across the island of the coast, but no railroads. Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps building a railroad across the mountains to the east coast is too difficult. Kagi was like Shinchiku. Many flying officers around, many airfields and many planes in the air. Down here, in this part of Formosa, the Japanese have the greatest air strength. I watched the planes wheeling overhead. Almost directly west of here, in the Pescadero island, there is a big air drum at Makau. I had heard of Makau. There was a Japanese naval base there besides the air drum. And south of here, 10 miles from Takau, there is a big air drum at Okayama. I could picture the setup. Three strong air drums like points of a triangle. Two of them on Formosa and one at Makau in the Pescadero. This is very interesting. This part of Formosa, very interesting. We rolled southward. Takau was busy, construction work, ships in the harbor. I walked down to the waterfront. Takau is a better port than Kiru on the north coast. This Japanese was obviously proud of Takau. Now, you see those new breakwaters out there? They protect the outer harbor. Yeah? Ten years ago, we had room for only seven vessels at the warps and for seven more in the harbor. Now we can take care of 30 or more. And construction was still going on. Are you expecting a great increase in traffic through this port? We are only a little more than 200 miles north of the Philippines here. I remember they called Formosa Taiwan, and that Taiwan was supposed to mean the stone Amy at the south. Our commerce is growing. That is why we must have more port facilities. I looked around as we stood there. New warehouses, oil tanks and military installations. Oh, what is that they're working on over there? Oh, that is our naval base. I had come to Formosa in the first place to observe and to write. At that time, I had little interest in Formosa's political problems. But the more I learned about it, the more I sympathized with the Chinese underground. Through Fangxu Li, gradually, they took me into their confidence. And through them, I learned about Formosa. Hello, Mr. Winslow. It was the same Japanese who had asked me for a match on the train. The last time I saw you, you were going to get off the train at Shinchiko. Oh, yes, yes. What are you doing down here in Takao? I have business here. Yeah? Yes. What are you doing down here? Oh, I'm interested in the business. Oh, I'm interested in this commercial development, all this construction. The progress here is very encouraging. Yes. Are you in the salt or soda or fertilizer business here? Not exactly, no. In the paper business or the canning industry? No. Perhaps I could be of some service to you. You are a stranger on Formosa, are you not? Yeah, I'm a stranger. Is there anything you would like to know about or see? Oh, no, I'm just sort of taking it easy. Of course. Well, perhaps we will meet sometime. I hope so. Good day to you, Mr. Winslow. Good day. I knew that from that time on I would be watched. I would not be seen with any member of the Chinese underground. The Japanese knew most of the underground leaders and kept a close watch on them. Information filters into the background headquarters from every part of the island. Very soon now, the Japanese will announce that all promotions between the ages of 20 and 24 will be conscripted to work on the highways and railroad. Leave their homes to work for the Japanese? Yes, thanks. They tried to conscript us for the Japanese Army in 1938, but we forced them to give up that plan. They are going to make all the railways double track. Oh, that won't take years. They are going to draft our young men for four years. That means that they are planning to improve the north-south military highway and the highways across the island that connect the two-way road. Yes, and probably to build more airfields. That's the way the information came in. By the time it was publicly announced, the active underground workers were ready to sabotage the plan. The project was undertaken. The railroads were double-tracked. The highways were improved. And new roads were built in the north, the central and the southern parts of the island. But the plan to conscript the Formosan youth for slave labor failed. And on the elaborate maps kept by the underground, the new roads and the old improved roads were carefully chartered. Here, you see, here is the north-south military highway. And here are the new roads crossing the island. All possible information about the roads was noted on the maps. All these roads have been built for the rapid movement of heavy tanks and armored units. You see, that will give you some idea of the plans that Japanese have for Formosan. This was a well-educated, experienced Chinese military officer. They have developed this system of communications so that no matter where the island is attacked, they will be able to move units to that point. Of course, from what I've seen of the island, with the steep cliffs going right down to the water on the east side, it seems to me that the place most likely to be attacked would be here, on the west coast. That is right. All the invaders of Formosan have attacked along here. But they first took the Pescadores islands here in the straits between Formosan and the China coast. How far are the Pescadores from the west coast of Formosan? About 20 miles. The straits are 90 miles wide, but the Pescadores are very close to Formosan. The conquerors occupied the Pescadores and used them as a base for their attack on Formosan. I decided to go to the Pescadores. Now that the Japanese have your name, you will never be able to get permission to visit the Pescadores, Mr. Winslow. Fang had been there many times. The only way you will be able to go is in a small boat. Why, there's stormy weather in the strait, nearly two-thirds of the time. I will go with you. We headed out from Formosan in the black of night. Fang and I and two other Chinese. We should be there in a few hours. The seas battered us unmercifully. It is very difficult to tell one island from the other in bad weather like this. There's so much alike. Well, wouldn't it be better to wait until daylight? No. They might discover us before we could land. Oh. But trying to land in the dark, we might go in just where there are some Japanese. All right, Lou. Jump off. Down into the surf and carry in this line. Yes, Fang. We pulled up on the shore upon Howe Island while the sky was still gray. Now, Lou, you and Wang, stay here with the boat. We may not be back for a week. Yes, Fang. We will be here, Fang. We walked inland. That is the old castle over there. It chotted into the sky over the village. Soon we will be able to see the administrative offices and the naval yard. My greatest surprise came when I saw the naval yard. This has been a Japanese stronghold since 1901. It is so important that it is one of Japan's six naval districts. I could see standing there while the early travelers had established harbors first in the pescadores rather than in Formosa. You see, that is the ship building yard down there. And there is the big dry dock. The dry dock was big enough for large warships. You see, Mr. Winslow, this is an advanced naval operating base. I had no idea as I stood there looking it over that from here and from the southern ports of Formosa the powerful Japanese attack would be launched on the Philippines about a year hence. That is triumphant point over there, Mr. Winslow. Throughout the days we were on the island there were war planes overhead. Torpedo bombers, dive bombers, fighters and some heavy bombers. You can see, Mr. Winslow, that the Japanese think of Formosa and the pescadores not only as an outpost for defense, but also as an advanced base for attack. That was clearer than ever before. These islands control the straits between Formosa and China. And Formosa, with its many airfields, controls the ceilings from Japan to the Philippines and the Netherlands, Indies. And one more thing on Marcos served to impress me. This is the tomb of Admiral Courbert. He was the commander of the French fleet when the French came here to fight the Chinese. With the Japanese here now, this grave is like a symbol of the defeat of the white man and the dominance of the Japanese in this part of the Pacific. When we got back, Japanese troops were pouring off transports into cowl. War vessels were standing off outside the harbor and cargo ships were coming and going. Tanks and armored cars rumbled up the docks in a grim procession that led northward out of the city. I stood there with a deep foreboding within me. Oh, Mr. Winslow. It was the Japanese I had met on the train. Hello there. I have not seen you for some time. No. Very interesting, this harbor. Is it not? I decided to take the bull by the horns. Could all this activity here in Takao be related to the discussions of Mr. Kurosu and Admiral Nomura in Washington? This activity began long before Mr. Kurosu and Admiral Nomura went to Washington. He was being cagey. Perhaps I could show you around Takao? This was a trial balloon. Thank you very much. Perhaps you can do that when we meet again. He got the point. Well, good day to you, Mr. Winslow. Good day. One of the foremost underground had watched the Japanese talk to me. From now on you can expect to be watched constantly. You're an American. You will regard every move with suspicion. I decided to stay and watch. I went up to Taihoku. Fang went with me. You see, thousands and thousands of troops have been brought in. It looks as if they mean business. Look, look, look, Mr. Winslow. There's the Japanese. They wanted to talk to me the other day down at the crowd. I just caught a glance of them as he turned and hurried away through the crowd. I can't believe Fumosa while there's still time, Mr. Winslow. The war will break out any time. In the underground headquarters we talked for days. They have established 100 centers for the training of Formosans. We have information that they have already registered 450,000 Formosans to be sent to these centers. I took the first ship out of Kirun. The arrangement was that Fang, by way of his underground connections through China, would keep me informed on what was going on inside Fumosa. The Japanese make such unexpected gains in their drive through Malaya and the Indies and the South Seas that they are now increasing the fortifications of Formosans. They are converting Formosa into a bristling fortress and reservoir of raw materials. Fang is being closely watched. All able-bodied Formosans between the ages of 19 and 43 are being conscripted. But due to our work, they are only being admitted into the Japanese ranks in small groups and then mixed with the Japanese troops. Fang has been in hiding for six weeks. With the American successes in the southwest Pacific, the Japanese are now conscripting nearly all Formosans between 14 and 40. They fee an invasion. A great part of Shinchiku Erdromes is in ruins as a result of the Big American Array November 23, 1943. No one has seen Fang for months. The messages came in month by month. Takao had been bombed. Nokiame Erdrom and Mako and Kirun and a dozen other strong points. And the Japanese were bringing in more equipment and constructing a maze of fortifications. But not one word from Fang, not one word from months. Then just a few words. The same Japanese agent who watched you has been assigned to watch me, but I shall not stop. One more message came, but not from Fang. The copies of the messages Fang sent to you have fallen into Japanese hands. That was the last word that I received out of Formosa. But on Formosa there are still tens of thousands of others like Fang. Yes, they have waited a long, long time to be liberated. And they will rise out of the underground when the invasion of Formosa comes. You have been listening to the Pacific story presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cross currents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific story, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. To repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific story, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific story is written and directed by Arnold Marquess. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. Your principal voice was that of Lou Merrill. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company.