Class Wreckage and Class Re-Positioning: Narratives of Japanese- Educated Taiwanese

In 2006, a Japanese television show featuring Japanese youth traveling around Taiwan aired a segment in which a Taiwanese female elder, Grandma Lee, approached the film crew, greeted them in fluent Japanese, and expressed her strong affinity for Japan. “Hello, my name is Lee, and my Japanese name is Sawajima. I love Japanese people, " Grandma Lee told the film crew. She continued, “During the Japanese imperial era, we received much education…. Japanese came to Taiwan and built many things. We are very grateful for this.” After the clip was posted on YouTube, 1 it sparked heated debate within Taiwan. The majority accused Grandma Lee of having no national pride and of having no right to speak for all Taiwanese. Others argued for empathy with Taiwanese elders who were educated under Japanese colonial rule (Liu, 2007).