Minister Yiong stated that Professor Ka Chih-ming, Research Fellow at the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, spent a long time painstakingly researching the 20,000 unidentified remains excavated from Dongshi’s Bao’an Shrine after the 1999 Jiji earthquake. He found that they mostly dated to the Lin Shuang-wen rebellion, one of the largest, bloodiest wars fought in Taiwanese soil. It also left a mark on the local memory of Dongshi, imbuing it with great historical value.
The Lin Shuang-wen rebellion was one of the three major uprisings that took place in Qing-ruled Taiwan, initiated by Lin Shuang-wen, local leader of the Heaven and Earth Society, or Tiandihui, in opposition to the Qing dynasty. Most of Lin’s forces were made up of Zhangzhou immigrants to Taiwan. They first attacked Lukang, Bangka, Beigang, and Teukcham, mostly populated by Quanzhou immigrants. Scarred by old feuds, the two parties engaged in what would become Taiwan’s fiercest armed conflict between their ethnicities. Lin Shuang-wen’s army then proceeded to strike Taiwanese Hakka villages. Hakka people from Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, and Liugdui promptly formed civilian militias and joined forces with the Qing army to fend off Lin’s men and protect their homeland.
Minister Yiong suggested Taichung City Government to provisionally declare the sites historic monuments to allow a period of time for the execution of relevant research and assessments. The central government’s HAC is willing to provide project funds for the undertaking. If it is recognized as cultural heritage in the future, HAC will also spare no effort to finance necessary restoration works.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government pointed out that the Lin Shuang-wen Ten Thousand Soldiers’ Burial Mound and Dongshi Society Hall Tower are not statutory cultural heritage, nor are they structures listed as under follow up or general survey by Taichung City. If an individual or organization wishes to report the sites’ value as cultural heritage, a proposal can be drafted and submitted to Taichung City Government as per Article 14 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, and the government will perform review following due process.