In 2010, Kim Liao traveled to Taiwan to learn the truth about her family. After WWII, her grandfather Thomas Liao (Liao Wen-Yi) became the leader of the Taiwanese independence movement, his land was seized, his relatives were arrested, and his nephew was sentenced to death. With their lives at stake, Thomas’s wife Anna brought their four children to America to start a new life—never speaking a word about Thomas again.
When Kim arrived in Taiwan six decades later, she was shocked to learn that the KMT government had erased much of the story of Taiwanese independence from the official historical record. For years, Taiwanese citizens were kept in the dark about the violence that transpired during four decades of martial law, with the silenced voices of the White Terror Period mirroring the silencing of the Liao family’s story.
Despite this suppression, she learned that former independence leaders had preserved this history in their memories and personal archives. With their help, Kim discovered two stories: her family's story of love and loss, and Taiwan’s fight for freedom.
Praise & Reviews:
“From its astonishing opening lines, Where Every Ghost Has a Name grabbed me by the collar and never let me go. Both a poignant memoir and a riveting mystery, this is a deeply moving, meticulously researched debut.”
— Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit
“This work is not just an important contribution to Taiwanese history, but also a profound account of the wide-reaching personal sacrifices that resistance against authoritarianism entails.”
— Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island
“In Where Every Ghost Has a Name: A Memoir of Taiwanese Independence, author Kim Liao takes us on her journey across the Pacific Ocean, from Long Island to Taiwan, in search of her exiled grandfather’s past. It narrates hardship and sacrifice but also the triumphs and strength of human agency to maintain a sense of purpose and identity even in the most impossible situation.”
— Anru Lee, author of Haunted Modernities: Gender, Memory, and Placemaking in Postindustrial Taiwan
"By unearthing the stories of her grandfather Thomas and his brother Joshua, her grandmother Anna, as well as her Uncle Suho, who was at one point sentenced to death, and many others who were sent to prison, Kim brings to light an extraordinary story of grit and perseverance."
— Hyphen Magazine
"This captivating work of creative nonfiction is a valuable read for Taiwanese Americans and for anyone who has wrestled with family secrets, their identity, or their place within their family lineage."
— TaiwaneseAmerican.org
Press & Interviews:
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Interview with Taiwanese American (September 1, 2024)
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Featured Profile in 27 East (September 3, 2024)
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Interview with Hyphen Magazine (September 13, 2024)
A Bit of Historical Context
This book took over a decade to write, because it recounts the search to excavate suppressed history and reconstruct formerly erased family narratives.
To research this book, I was named a Fulbright Creative Arts Scholar in 2010 and traveled to Taiwan for a year to interview former freedom fighters and search for artifacts from the past. The challenges were formidable, as Taiwan had undergone 38 years of martial law (1949-1987) and during that time (known as the White Terror Period), movements advocating for democracy were strictly forbidden. Anyone deemed less than loyal to the Nationalist KMT (Kuomintang) Government (led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek when he lost control of mainland China to Mao Zedong and the communists) was subject to arrest, torture, murder, exile, or being placed on a government blacklist.
As such, the history of activism toward self-determined government and Taiwanese independence, as well as personal accounts and artifacts from that period, was largely erased and suppressed by the government.
In 1987, martial law was lifted, and in 1996, the first two-party democratic presidential election was held. Since 2016, Taiwan has been led by presidents elected by the DPP (democratic people’s party), who trace a direct lineage to the successful Taiwanese independence movement of the 1980s whose activism led to the end of martial law. That group traces an indirect lineage to my grandfather, Thomas Liao (Liao Wen-yi), who authored much of the philosophical and political rationale for democracy and Taiwanese independence— along with his older brother, Joshua Liao (Liao Wen-kui or Wen-kwei).
To be clear, the Taiwanese independence movements that I researched and whose peaks and valleys I attempt to reconstruct in the book were within Taiwan, relative to the colonizing totalitarian rule of the Republic of China Nationalist KMT government during the martial law era. None of this relates to Taiwan’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China government, though it is my belief that understanding the nuanced history of Taiwan will help us understand its uniquely peculiar international position in terms of diplomatic relations (or lack thereof) with other countries.
Recently, much has been made of PRC’s claim to Taiwan as a “renegade province,” citing Taiwan’s historical role as a province of China from the 1800s (under loose Qing dynasty rule until 1895, when Taiwan was given to Japan as a colony in a treaty ending the Sino-Japanese War) and from 1945-1949 (under Republic of China KMT rule). Yet Taiwan never was and has never been under the control of the People’s Republic of China.
So as we consider Taiwan’s place in the world, it can be helpful to remember that it was once a strategic outpost supported by the American military as one of the last bastions against communism in east Asia. While American presidents were praising Chiang Kai-Shek as the leader of “Free China,” here’s what was actually going on within the beautiful island of Taiwan.
Hope you enjoy the book and continue the conversation about Taiwan with others who are interested in learning more!
