My Father’s Insight

Written by Li-Chang Kuo

The earthquake happened in my hometown Tainan yesterday (2016/2/6) and disrupted the joy season of a festival of ‘Chinese Lunar New Year’ for today is the eve of our new year. We can see the grief and moaning people around Taiwan replaced the pleasures.

I can help to recall my father Kun-Cheng Kuo (1926/11/11-1999/1/4) told me the words in the whole night during the ‘Chinese Lunar New Year of 1966’, he repeated the same question he asked me more than one hundred times: “A-Chan, if Papa was out someday or arrested, what will you do?”

I still answered: “Papa, don’t you worry, I will do my best taking care of everyone, protecting grandma, younger brothers….”

Father reiterated that “A-Chan, you must keep practicing these skills of producing super-fine eyelets, this is our only hope to count on!” That just like his last words to command me in farewell, and soon later, he rode the motorcycle he made in the very eraly morning from Kaoshiung backe to Tainan to see my grandma, and he really maliciously arrested by Kuomintang (KMT) polices. My 70 years old grandma begged those polices, one of forceful polices used the over-arm-throw to attack my grandma to break her binding-feet, and jokingly said: “This is buy one and attach another (買一送一)…” Originally, it should be a joy season, but turned into tragedy as fallen to the abyss. There was not a hand reaching to us, but the stones keeping throwing in to the hole.

My father was born in a top rich family of Tainan as the year of Japanese Emperor Taishō died (1912-1926/12/25); coincidently, my grandfather contributed in cash and in kind to help Japanese Colonial Executive accomplishing the Tainan Canal in 1926. However, Japanese Militarists were eager to expand the territory in Southeast Asia, my grandpa rejected Japanese business about ‘Carrying the Comfort Women’, and lost everything as raided by Japanese Militarists in 1937 when my father was fifth grade at primary school. Then my one of older uncles was poisoned to death, another was recruited to die in Papua New Guinea; thereafter, my father was also recruited to the Japan Navy when he was 15 years old, and almost put into death. Afterwards, he almost died in the KMT’s jail. Therefore, my father usually said, “Life is fragile, people should be ‘help one another, share the harvest and cooperation’…”
I am glad the Most High giving me the gift to achieve the commitment to my father. Although he was treated badly by the others, but he always reached his hands to the needy when he had a bowl of rice to eat. Even the KMT’s Chiang Ching-Kuo took office, my father was actually end old resentments to help him to attain the ‘Citizen Diplomacy’(國民外交) since 1973, and completed the conclusion of sister city between Tainan and San Jose in 1975 to build a bridge across Taiwan to Silicon Valley, and gave the hope to many people.

In 1977, Su Nan-Chen won the City Mayor Election, one of my teachers was called into the City Hall Team for the urban planning. A group of people came to see my father to tell him about planning to open the new roads that would produce hundred hectares to build the houses and commercial complex. My father always gentled but he suddenly shouted that “Do not too greed…” and drove away those visitors, then told me that “Your grandfather owned lands more than thousand hectares, but a war came upon our family, nothing left!” Then, told me that “Environment Protection means that do not develop too much, or the mighty power of the earth will counterattack to be a plague!” Nevertheless, he still help Mayor Su to implement the tie of sister city between Tainan and Kansas City in 1978.

After the rampant of those evildoers for years, I realized really many plagues were from the ‘Man-made Disasters’; my father’s insight was right!