Draft:The Original Taiwan Province National Security Council Security Department Detention Center

Originally known as Taiwan Province National Security Council Security Department Detention Center, the place is now located at No.36, Xining South Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, also commonly known as East Hongan-ji, was one of the most important sites to interrogate political criminals during 1950s’ to 60s’, during Taiwan’s White Terror period. The East Hongan-ji kept records of the criminals captured from the February 28th Incident as well as the April 6th Incident. In September, 1949, Taiwan Province National Security Council, Security Department was founded, and had since taken East Hongan-ji as a detention center. Due to its vicious environment, limited cell space, rampant mosquitoes, and torture with extreme cruelty, criminals detained here often experienced unimaginable torment, and some of which were secretly executed. Therefore, this detention center was also named “Purgatory Shura.” In 1967, following the Garrison Command, the detention center was moved to a new location on Bo-Ai Road, Cheng-Zhong District. After the architecture was demolished by the landowner, new commercial buildings, such as Lions’ Plaza were established on the same location.

History

In September 1945, the Government of the Republic of China established a “Taiwan Province Garrison Command” in Chongqing, which was affiliated to the National Government Military Commission, and appointed Chen Yi, the Taiwan Province Chief Executive as the Command’s Commander in Chief, then stationed in Taipei City on October 17th. In 1946, following the restructuring of the Military Commission, the Command then belonged to the Ministry of National Defense, and was equipped with an investigation room for societal inspections and anti-espionage tasks. In January 1947, the investigation room was removed and rearranged to be a part of Section 2. In May, after the establishment of Taiwan Province Government, and under the official order of the Ministry of National Defense, the Garrison Command was therefore converted as “The Plenary Taiwan Province Garrison Command.” Section 2 was then transformed into the Intelligence Service Center, taking responsibilities for collecting data, executing anti-espionage tasks, and more. In February 1949, the “Taiwan Province Garrison Command” was restored, appointing Chen Cheng, the Chief of Taiwan Province as the Commander in Chief. The Intelligence Service Center was therefore restored and shifted back to Section 2, taking responsibilities for data collection, training staff members, executing anti-espionage tasks, containing instigations, and more. In September, to adapt to the changes coming from the Republic of China government officially migrating to Taiwan, the Executive Yuan established a “Southeast Military and Administrative Executive Office,” converting the Taiwan Province Garrison Command as “Taiwan Province Natural Security Council.” The first commander was lieutenant general, Peng Meng-Chi. Due to the changes of the political system, the Commander of the National Security Council was then taken over by the Chief of Taiwan Province, Yu Guo-Chen, while the practical, administrative affairs were still operated by Peng Meng-Chi. In April, 1950, due to the removal of the Southeast Military and Administrative Executive Office, the Taiwan Province National Security Council then became affiliated to the Executive Yuan and was supervised by the Ministry of National Defense.

Under the Taiwan Province National Security Council, there were various sections, which included one section, two rooms, seven bureaus, one group, and more staff institutions. There were six service troops, seventy-eight affiliated units, and seven command units. After the establishment of the National Security Council, the second bureau was therefore transformed to the Security Bureau, its responsibilities included collecting intelligence information, preventing espionage, taking care of general security and managing police, the duties also expanded to interrogation, detention, and examination of special activists. Besides, the National Security Council was specialized in taking charge of public safety and discipline in the entire Province, so it had the capacity to command relevant security institutions, such as Taiwan Province Police Force and Military Police Force to execute security missions in order to balance governance and security responsibilities. In July 1958, due to streamline policies, the Republic of China began to simplify security institutions, making the National Security Council, Taipei Garrison Headquarter, Taiwan Defense Headquarter, Taiwan Province Civil Defense Command, and more, become altogether “Taiwan Garrison Command,” abbreviated as Garrison Command, and was a part of Ministry of National Defense. The Garrison Command continued to be set up with a Security Bureau. In May 1991, the National Assembly officially terminated the Temporary Provisions Against the Communist Rebellion, and therefore removed the Garrison Command in August 1992.

The Taiwan Province Security Council Security Bureau was equipped with four sections, while the third section was responsible for interrogation affairs, specialized in investigating spies, Taiwan Independence, and relevant political incidents. All across Taiwan, there were twenty-four Intelligence units and a Major Police Brigade. The Security Council was responsible for the initial investigation and interrogation, so there was a need for spaces to interrogate and detain captured criminals. The Major Police Brigade’s Detention Center was then called Higashi Hongan-ji Temple (Japan’s Shin Buddhism's School of Otani-Ha, Taipei location). Since the start of investigations from the Taiwan Province Garrison Command, the tasks and missions were performed in Hongan-ji Temple, (nowadays known as No.36, Shi-Ning S. Road, Taipei City.) and criminals were detained at this location. In 1947, when the February 28 Incident took place, there were records about detaining criminals at this location as well. In April 1949, when the April 6th Incident happened, a number of protesting students were  also detained here. The Commission for the Suppression of Espionage referred to its Clause of Eliminating Taiwan Province’s Espionage, claiming that, after the interrogation of these students from the relevant units, they would send important “bandit criminals” to the Taiwan Province Garrison Command’s Second Bureau. The ones who committed minor crimes could be released on bail, but had to be reported and verified by the Second Bureau.

The Taiwan Province Security Council’s Security Bureau, as well as the Garrison Command’s Security Bureau, borned after the 1958 merging, both took Hongan-ji Temple as major detention center to detain and interrogate political criminals, making this detention center an important location during the 1950s to 60s Taiwan White Terror period. The government staff called the location “the Big Temple”, and Taiwanese citizens called it “King Yan’s Palace.” In 1967, due to the fact that Shi-men Ting gradually became a commercial area. The Garrison Command then relocated to Bo-ai Road, Chengzhong District (today’s No.172, Bo-Ai Road, Taipei City). Even though the Chinese Taoism Association and the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China both expressed interests in taking over the detention center of the Security Bureau, in the end, the Ministry of Finance’s National Property Administration sold the property to a non-government purchaser. After the new landowner demolished the establishment, the Lion’s Plaza Commercial Building and more were then established.

Space and Management

The Hongan-ji Temple was constructed in November, 1928 (Showa Year 3), which was located in 5th Floor, 2-chome, Kotobuki Town, Taipei City, and originally, the architecture was made of wooden structures. However, in December 1950 (Showa Year 5), it was destroyed by fire. After re-establishment of the architecture, in October 1936 (Showa Year 11), it was newly constructed again, and this time, the house was made of reinforced concrete, its appearance of Indian style Buddhist temple; as for the interior, the design remained traditionally Japanese.

According to the archives, the Taiwan Province National Security Council’s Detention Center occupied 2,615 ping and was a wooden-barred prison with a basement, and had three floors above ground. After the Sino-Japanese war, the intelligence institution took over the place and made it an interrogation center, also revamped the interior space, establishing cells on both sides of the corridor, with four interrogation rooms, and twenty cells in total. Each cell was only about 3 ping but had to accommodate around 20 people, which contributed to the fact that some of the detainees had to remain standing while sleeping. During those times, due to the fact that the cells were always fully lit, making it hard to tell day and night, which had caused  significant emotional distress and confusion of time for most detainees. On the second floor were a few rare, independent cells that other detention centers at the time didn’t have. Each of these individual cells was 3 meters wide, 6 meters long, and the ceiling was half a meter higher than the main corridor, its space narrow and dark. Cheng Meng-He, who was detained twice in a cell like this, recalled that in December, 1948, he was first detained at this location, and at the time, there were 5 cells in total. The one he was placed in was about 5 or 6 ping, but had to accommodate over 30 detainees. During those days, he had once shared a cell with writer Yang Kui and protesting students from the April 6th Incident. In 1952, when he was detained for the second time, the arrangement of the cells had significant changes, and Cheng Meng-He was detained in a “half floor,” where the Japanese used to place urns of human ashes. At the time, such a space was converted into an independent cell, which only had the space of one tatami. It was hard for anyone to stand in there, and one would be surrounded by three patches of walls, while one side of the space was lined with thick wooden bars. On this “half floor,” the cell appeared in an U shape, and the view outside of the wooden bars were extremely constricted. It was 20 to 30 meters across from the other cell, and his cell was a cement wall away from the cell next to him, which didn’t allow any access for anyone to communicate with others.

The environment of the Detention Center was extremely vicious. The cells were overly crowded, the space raged with mosquitoes and bugs, the torture more brutal than ever. The detainees here oftentimes endured extreme tortures time and again, which included torture rack, water cure, electric chair, sweatbox, and more. There were even secret executions, and therefore the place was also called “Purgatory Shura.” Huang Shi-Gui recalled that he was once “put on a plane”, made to kneel on set squares, making his body sweat and was covered with grease all over his body that he was barely able to walk. As for Lu Chao-Lin, he remembered that the moment he was captured and brought to the Security Bureau, the tortures began right away, such as torture rack, water cure, electric chair, and more. He also underwent the sweatbox and was not allowed to sleep or drink a drop of water.