aeeble

The International War and Peace Commemoration Park was originally the Kinkaseki prisoner-of-war camp operated by the Japanese military from 1942 to 1945. In Taiwanese pronunciation it is called “Tok-phī-á-liâu,” literally “the barracks where the big-nosed foreigners lived.” At its peak the camp held more than a thousand World-War-II POWs from the Allied nations—Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The prisoners’ forced labor was to mine copper. Harsh discipline, scarce medicine and unfamiliar conditions claimed many lives. The lingering memory of their suffering underscores the vital importance of peace. After the 1997 release of the documentary “A Story of War,” survivor Jack Edwards led former comrades back to Kinkaseki; the Kinkaseki POW Memorial Association then campaigned for a monument inside the former camp area, now Tongshan-li Community Park. On 23 November 1997 a solemn memorial service was held. Because 14 November marks the day Commonwealth POWs arrived, a commemoration is held every November. With the creation of the Shuijinjiu (Shuei-Jin-Jiou) heritage network, the site is now planned as the “International War and Peace Memorial Park,” complete with historical panels, light sculpture and a redesigned monument, linked to the nearby Gold Museum to form a twin-park landmark. Only the original gate pillars and a short stretch of wall survive. The New Taipei City Tourism Department has launched the “International War and Peace Commemoration Park Development Project,” treating the WWII camp as the thematic hub: upgrading landscaping, adding illustrated historical boards, introducing light installations and a central monument that blends local imagery, turning the park into a unique new icon. The city has further integrated the park with Ciyou Temple, Citang Old Street and the popular Gold Museum to create a dual-tourism zone that markets Kinkaseki’s rich cultural and historical heritage, transforming the hillside settlement into an international-class destination.