Remains of Taipei Prison Wall

The Remains of Taipei Prison Wall () are located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan, at the end of Aiguo East Road and Jinshan South Road next to the Southern Taipei operations center for Chunghwa Telecom. About 100 meters of wall exist on both sides of the Chunghwa Telecom property.

The walls were built during Japanese rule.

Background

In 1895, China ceded Taiwan to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War. Taiwan thus became Japan's first colony. Many Taiwanese resisted, and anti-Japanese uprisings became common.

In response, the Japanese colonial government built large prisons in Taihoku and Tainan Prefecture to hold political prisoners.

The Taipei prison was based on a radial floor plan, a standard prison design of the 19th century. The prison walls were made with stones from the Old Taipei City Wall, built by the Qing Dynasty at the end of the 19th century. The hand-cut stones came from the quartzose sandstone quarries in the Dazhi (大直) and Neihu areas of Taipei.

World War II Allied prisoners

In 1944 and 1945, Allied airmen who had been shot down or crashed while on patrols over Taiwan were held in the Taipei Prison by the Japanese Army. On 29 May 1945, 14 of these allied airmen were given a mock trial and sentenced to death. They were executed in the prison courtyard 58 days before the end of World War II. When the war ended, the rest of the men were released and returned home.

Name Rank/Unit Home J.C. Buchanan ARM 3c USN Guntersville, Alabama Delbert H. Carter AOM 3c USN Eureka, California Donald K. Hathaway AMM 3c USN Jackson Heights, New York John R. Parker AMM 3c USN Dunedin, Florida Wayne W. Wilson ARM 3c USN Harry H. Aldro PO 2c USN San Francisco, California James R. Langiotti PO 1c USN Orlando, Florida Freddy McCreary ARM 1c USN Barber Hill, Kentucky Charles E. McVay PO 2c USN Pine Bluff, Arkansas Ralph R. Hartley Lieutenant USAAC Bridgewater, Maine Bobby L. Lawrance Sgt USAAC Winston-Salem, North Carolina Merlin W. Riggs Sgt USAAC Three Rivers, Michigan Harwood S. Sharp Lieutenant (JG) USAAC Oakland, California Harry U. Spivey Sgt USAAC Atlanta, Georgia

Remains of Taipei Prison Wall

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