Are Formosans Brothers, Cousins, or Enemy Aliens?
The immediate application of the new constitution after December, 1947, was understood by Formosan leaders to be the final test of Chiang’s “sincerity” and the Chinese Government’s policies. Warnings were going up everywhere that Nanking would have to extend to Formosa some semblance of equal treatment or risk the emergence of a belligerent “autonomy faction” which could easily be transformed into a Formosan faction demanding “independence.” This might be the signal for a minor maritime war on Chiang’s flank while he endeavored to hold the Nationalist lines across north China. There was no agreement among Formosans as to the best course of action. Joshua W. K. Liao published bitter attacks upon Nationalist policy which had turned Formosa over for exploitation by factions within the Party and Government. He warned that past history suggested the dangers of Formosan separatism; the Formosan desire to be reunited with postwar China was very rapidly wasting away. On December 20, 1946, Form
