International Memorial Park of the End of World War II Introduction
The International War End Peace Memorial Park was originally the Kinkaseki POW camp used by the Japanese military from 1942 to 1945. In Taiwanese Hokkien, it is referred to as "Took-pi-á-lâu," which originally means "the barracks where the foreign big-nosed people live." At its peak, the camp held more than a thousand World War II prisoners of war, including Allied soldiers from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. These Allied prisoners engaged in labor work during their captivity, primarily mining copper. Due to poor living and working conditions, strict management, inadequate medical care, and acclimatization issues, many prisoners lost their lives there. The site still echoes the suffering endured by the POWs and highlights the significance of peace in the world. After the documentary "The Story of a War" was screened in 1997, one of the surviving prisoners, Mr. Iwasaki, led a visit to the Kinkaseki camp. This prompted the establishment of the Kinkaseki POW Camp Memorial Association, which began efforts to erect a monument in the Tongshanli Community Park, located on the former site of the camp. A solemn memorial ceremony was held on November 23, 1997. Since November 14 marks the day when British Commonwealth POWs occupied the Kinkaseki camp, annual memorial services are conducted every November. With the development of the Shuijinjiu area, the park is now planned to be the "International War End Peace Memorial Park." It will include historical informational panels, light sculptures, and remodeled monuments, connecting with surrounding attractions, forming a dual-park with the Gold Museum, becoming a new landmark. The camp currently only retains the original gateposts and a small section of the surrounding wall. The New Taipei City Tourism Bureau is focusing on the historical and cultural significance of the park and is implementing the "International War End Peace Memorial Park Development Plan," using this former POW camp from World War II as a tourism impression center. Improvements will include landscaping, adding historical informational panels, introducing light sculptures to beautify the site, and creating a monument with central commemorative significance, integrating local elements of Taiwan to transform it into a unique new landmark. Additionally, the New Taipei City Government has completed the integration of the International War End Peace Memorial Park, the Chuanji Temple, and the Qitang Old Street to connect with the visitors' favorite Gold Museum area in Kinkaseki, forming a dual-park tourism attraction in the area, thereby promoting Kinkaseki's rich cultural and historical architecture as an internationally recognized mountain city destination.
