It is a scorching hot August 2017 day in Taipei. My mom and I have been invited to the 70-year anniversary banquet hosted by the Taipei Ningbo Townsmen Association, where my great-grandpa, Mr. Hu Qitao, held a prominent position from the early 1950s to 1990s during his exile in Taiwan after the Nationalist government retreated from mainland China. As we walk into the scene of this grand gathering, I hear the Association’s official anthem, whose lyrics were written by my great-grandfather, airs softly in the background. A seven-layer cake towers tantalizingly on stage, and lively conversations swirl around the room, creating a joyous and festive atmosphere. Several high-ranking Nationalist officials walk in escorted by security, which makes me feel a little uneasy.

My mom starts to chat with other attendees, one of whom is Grandpa Yin Wanchun, who was my grandfather’s high school friend as well as my great-grandfather’s colleague at the association. Two other ladies refer to my great-grandfather affectionately as “Uncle Hu”, as their father, Mr. Shen Youmei, a former Nationalist government legislator, CEO of Ningbo Daily, and President of the Ningbo Townsmen Association, was my great-grandpa's close buddy since the 1920s. They reminisce about my great-grandfather, praising his four-decade leadership in the association. The Chairwoman Emeritus of the Nationalist Party, Ms. Hong Xiuzhu, delivers a powerful speech, talking about her dual Taiwanese and Chinese identities, an issue of heated debate in Taiwan. 

After the banquet, Grandpa Yin took my mom and me to the Townsmen Association located on the street with the name “Ningbo West”. I had heard many stories about my great-grandfather growing up through my mom's oral translation of the biographies his children wrote, but standing in front of the very place he spent four decades brought our family history, as well as China's history throughout the 20th century, rushing into the present moment. Like many refugees worldwide, the course of his life was determined by political conflicts outside of his control, making his story one that has lasting relevance to our current time.

In 1906, my great-grandfather was born in the port city of Ningbo to a family that seemed to always be one step away from poverty. Growing up in a fragile urban environment, he first lived through the Xinhai Revolution (1911-1912), a domestic uprising that ended the Qing Dynasty that had ruled China for over two millennia(1). Soon after, regional warlords across China began to fight in a decade-long battle over political and military control, which resulted in a long stalemate. After years of horrendous fighting during which no sides made any gains, in the mid 1920s, Sun Yat-Sen and his successor Chiang Kaishek established the NRA (National Revolutionary Army) and managed to sideline competing generals and consolidate control of rivaling armies to unite against one powerful faction known as the Beiyang(2).

Immediately after high school, my great-grandfather started working as a local court clerk, earning a small but stable income. Longing to fight for peace, he joined the NRA in the Northern Expedition against the Beiyang warlords, quickly rising through the ranks and became a lieutenant colonel. After the expedition, he returned to Ningbo and was employed as an elementary school teacher. In 1937, Japan began a massive invasion against China, forcing a country scarred by the Warlord Era to replay their trauma. My great-grandpa took his family to the mountainous countryside and moved several times throughout the war, often staying only hours ahead of the invading Japanese forces. He soon joined the anti-Japanese resistance and was charged with overseeing supply distribution for a local Nationalist regiment, bringing him prominence within the Nationalist Party. By the end of World War II, he became chief managing director of Ningbo Daily, a major newspaper in his hometown, and a senior committee member for the Ningbo branch of the Nationalist Party, among several other prominent positions. A strong advocate for education, he and his friends founded a secondary school, which is still thriving to this day.

After eight years of barbaric warfare, Japan finally surrendered, marking the end of WWII. But this didn’t lead to peace. The Communists began to take over China over the next four years, forcing the Nationalists to retreat(3). As the People’s Liberation Army came closer to Zhejiang province, executives at the Ningbo Daily received an order from President Chiang to evacuate to Zhoushan and start a Nationalist newspaper called the Zhe Hai Daily. Knowing that staying back in Ningbo would put him and his loved ones at great risk, in May 1949 great-grandpa made the toughest decision of his life: to leave his family behind for the island of Taiwan.

He knew the journey would be extremely risky, as the Taiwan strait was known for dangerous conditions, combined with the harrowing incident of the Taiping Ship, known as “China’s Titanic”, which sank shortly after leaving Shanghai killing over 1000 refugees aboard(4). Before leaving, my great-grandpa turned to look at his house one last time.  His young children stood in the doorway, and my great-grandmother held in her arms their youngest daughter, who was only a month old. It was a tearful affair. As he walked away, the light gray sky turned dark, and heavy rain started pouring. The tragic scene was etched in my great-grandpa’s mind for the rest of his life. He sailed away from the Port of Ningbo, watching the shore disappear in the distance, not knowing if he would ever see his family or homeland again. As their oldest daughter recalled, my great-grandmother sobbed in her bedroom for days.

The Zhe Hai Daily settled in the Zhoushan archipelago 64 miles away from Ningbo. It seemed like an ideal place to stay because of the many rocky formations surrounding the islands that made it difficult for the communist troops to implement an effective attack. Ningbo was overtaken by the communist army soon after his departure. Though at first they were hopeful that the Nationalists would form an offensive and retake the land, these hopes quickly faded. In May 1950, my great-grandpa, alongside 20,000 other citizens and 120,000 troops, sailed to the island of Taiwan, a place that they would call their second home.

My great-grandfather pledged never to get involved in politics in order to protect his family in the Mainland. He served as a senior executive member of the Taipei Ningbo Townsmen Association, helping his fellow townspeople, a large group of refugees that included President Chiang. They held gatherings, hosted fund-raisers, reached out to other Mainland expatriates through job and scholarship assistance, and arranged funeral services. Continuing his passion for education, he also established a daycare on the outskirts of Taipei that became one of the most renowned on the island at the time. Through these ventures, my great-grandfather remained an influential figure in the community and was praised for his generosity, fairness, dependability, and larger than life character.

But despite his seemingly comfortable life in Taiwan, nothing could distract my great-grandfather from his concern over the well-being of his family in mainland China. As all forms of cross-strait communication were blocked, he was never able to check on them; all he could do was send some money and clothes to his family through friends in Hong Kong. His children were targeted by the mainland government, as his oldest son (my grandfather) was forced to leave a government agency, and his younger sons were denied admission to college because their father was a nationalist in Taiwan. 

In the early 1970s, my great-grandfather found out that my great-grandmother had passed away from cancer, yet he couldn’t bid farewell to his wife. Guilt and anguish that had been boiling within him for the last two and a half decades overtook him, and he scaled down his daily public functions for a period of time. Approaching old age, he began to come to terms with the possibility that he may die alone on the island. Yet gradual changes in leadership and policy at both sides of the strait were beginning to bring the dream of reunification closer to reality.

In 1983, my great-grandpa visited his friends in Los Angeles hoping to reestablish contact with his now grown children back in Ningbo. He managed to arrange a phone call with them. It was the first time he had any direct contact with them in 34 years! Finally, in 1984, he reunited with 5 of his children in Hong Kong, which was one big aurora of emotions! He was so shocked to see that his oldest son (my grandpa), who was a college student when he left, already had a head full of gray hair. In 1986 and 1987, he met with all 10 of his children in Hong Kong two more times, catching up on everything that happened during their years of separation. In 1988, under a new cross-strait unification policy, my great-grandfather was one of the first mainland expatriates permitted to step foot back on the mainland, where he received the warmest welcome from his relatives and the local government. In 1990, my great-grandpa, in his eighties and frail, permanently moved back to the town he always thought of as his “real home”.

In the last several years of his life, my great-grandpa finally felt a sense of relief, stability and enjoyment. He lived in a nice apartment, and was cared for by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In 1997, he passed away peacefully in his sleep, with his ten children by his side, dying with a sense of closure and fulfillment.

Great-grandpa’s story, especially his struggles with poverty and later separation from his family, are shared by many other people around the world today. So many peace-loving and hard-working refugees have no choice but to flee their homeland because of political unrest. Looking back, my great-grandpa was very lucky compared to many other migrant refugees who never get the chance to return to their home countries before departing this world. Stories like my great-grandfather’s can serve as a tale of hardship and determination, and perhaps put a much more personal touch to the messy game of geopolitics that often leads to family separation and profound suffering.

My great-grandpa’s long-time residency in Taiwan, which spanned throughout the entire Cold War era, reminds us of the ongoing tensions that threaten the fragile peace between the two sides of the Taiwan strait today. I can only hope that history doesn't repeat itself, and that others in the region will not have to experience the same catastrophic pain my great-grandpa and his family experienced.

As his living descendant, I feel a responsibility to share my great-grandfather’s story with the world, and also to keep it close, as it continues to shape who I am today. Despite facing adverse conditions most of his life, he found purpose by working selflessly for other disadvantaged people. His impact on others as well as the struggles he put up with for nearly his entire life have taught me to be generous and not to take anything for granted. It is largely because of him that I volunteer for my community, as our ancestors live through our deeds.

Walking through the bustling Taipei skyline and catching one last look of the city my great-grandpa once called home, all the great things he did helping people during their difficult times once again appeared in front of me. Much more needs to be done to uphold the legacy he left behind and make this world a better and safer place for our children and grandchildren to live.

Citations

1. Xinhai revolution: Facts, summary, uprising, revolution & aftermath. School History. (2021, February 4). schoolhistory.co.uk/notes/xinhai-revolution/.
2. Northern Expedition | Chinese history. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from britannica.com/event/Northern-Expedition
3. Chinese Civil War | Summary, Causes, & Results. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from britannica.com/event/Chinese-Civil-War
4. \'Taiping\' sinking recalled. Taipei Times. (2008, January 27). taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/01/28/2003399179.