Remains of Taipei Prison Wall



The Remains of Taipei Prison Wall (臺北監獄圍牆遺蹟) are located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan at the end of Aiguo East Road and Jinshan South Road adjacent to the Southern Taipei operations center for Chunghwa Telecom. Approximately 100 meters of wall exist on both sides of the Chunghwa Telecom property. The walls were built during Japanese rule.

Background
In response to continuous anti-Japanese uprisings throughout the early period of Japanese rule (1895–1945), the Japanese colonial government built large-scale prisons in Taihoku (modern-day Taipei) and Tainan to hold political prisoners. The remains of the Taihoku prison serve as a tangible witness to modern Taiwanese prison history.

The layout was based on a radial floor plan, a standard prison design of the 19th century. Although only the north face and portions of the south face survive, one may still perceive the heavy atmosphere of the punishments meted out here. The prison walls were made with stones from the Old Taipei City Wall, built by the Qing Dynasty at the end of the 19th century. The stones were carved completely by hand from the quartzose sandstone quarries in the Dazhi (大直) and Neihu areas of Taipei.

World War II Allied prisoners
During the period of 1944–1945, Allied airmen who had been shot down or crashed while on patrols over Taiwan were held in the Taipei Prison by the Japanese Army. On May 29, 1945, 14 of these allied airmen were given a 'mock trial' and sentenced to death. The execution took place inside the prison courtyard only 58 days before the end of World War II. When the war ended, the rest of the men were released and returned home.