Remembering Taiwanese soldiers in Southeast Asia during WWII
On 29 March, Malaysian-born, Taiwan-based filmmaker Lau Kek Huat visited the Australian National University for a special screening of his 2024 award-winning documentary From Island to Island. Running over five hours, the film offers a powerful re-examination of a largely forgotten history: the involvement of Taiwanese people in Southeast Asia during the Second World War as subjects of the Japanese empire.
Lau’s work is known for its sensitive engagement with difficult pasts, and From Island to Island is no exception. The documentary explores themes of historical trauma, fractured identities and cultural conflict among those implicated in wartime violence. Across his broader body of work, Lau has examined topics including Malaysia’s communist past, the 1969 Chinese-Malay riots, and the experiences of Taiwanese immigrant communities.
From Island to Island focuses on the paradoxical position of Taiwanese soldiers who served in the Japanese imperial army in Southeast Asia. Although they shared colonised experiences with local Southeast Asian populations, and in some cases spoke the same languages, such as Hakka and Hokkien, they encountered one another as opposing actors in wartime conditions. Drawing on cross-generational dialogues, family letters, diaries, video testimonies and archival materials, the film invites audiences to reconsider entangled regional histories and the enduring legacy of Japan’s wartime violence. It foregrounds how historical memories continue to shape understandings of the past across generations.
The screening was followed by a panel discussion titled ‘Colonised Combatants: Taiwanese Soldiers in Southeast Asia during the Second World War’. The panel featured Lau Kek Huat in conversation with ANU historians Robert Cribb, Tessa Morris-Suzuki and Li Narangoa, moderated by Ying Xin Show. Panelists noted the timeliness of the film in the context of ongoing global conflicts and reflected on the challenges of remembering and representing this sensitive chapter of history. Discussion highlighted the importance of both historical documentation and individual and collective memory as sites for reconciliation, dialogue and deeper understanding, particularly in the absence of platforms for articulating contested wartime experiences.
The screening of From Island to Island was presented in partnership with the ANU Taiwan Studies Program, the Australian Centre on China in the World, and the ANU Malaysia Institute. The ANU Taiwan Studies Program is a collaboration between the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific and the Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan).