Sung Hung-kang and Sung Hung-sheng, from the town of Chilung in Kaokung county, Szechwan, were brought to Taiwan by their grandfather in the middle of last year.
Their grandfather lives in Hungchang New Village, a typical military dependents' village with neat rows of one-story buildings in the town of Tachu, Taoyuan county. Twenty or 30 years ago, native Taiwanese children almost never went there, and the ones who did were often driven out, a person from the area says.
What kind of place is Chilung? "Everyone has to work in the fields," 11-year-old Hung-kang says. "It took more than two hours to get to school and back. You couldn't go home for lunch, and if you didn't fix any for yourself, you didn't get any."
And how does life differ here in Hung-chang? "We used to have to dig and hoe in the fields, and now we only have to clean the floor," Hung-Kang says. "There's more homework here," his older brother adds, "and the TV shows are better." His favorite is a "8,000 Miles," a program about the sights and customs on the mainland.
Their grandfather, Sung Wen-hsiang, a retired air force staff sergeant, has had a rocky fate. When he left the mainland in 1942, his wife was six months' pregnant with his son. He finally made contact with him the year before last, but his son died of illness in September, a month before he managed to go back for a visit. "I never saw him when he was alive, or even when he was dead," he sighs.
His daughter-in-law worked hard to raise the two children his son left behind, but she barely got by and was driven to remarry at the end of last year, to a man who had many children of his own. Their grandfather, back for a second visit, couldn't stand the situation any more. "I made up my mind to bring them back with me."
Raising the children on the less than NT$20,000 a month he receives in veterans' pay is no small burden. But "no matter how tough life may be on Taiwan, it's still better than it is on the mainland." What's more, the children can keep their grandfather company as a widower in his remaining years, and they mean a continuation of the family line. "My wife here just gave me daughters," he says.
One of the brothers is in elementary school and the other in junior high school. Have there been any problems in adjusting from a poor rural area to a prosperous industrial society? "They've got food in their mouths and clothes on their backs," their grandfather says, "so what problems could there be?" But the brothers' fortunes haven't run so smoothly.
In a military dependents' village, where the other children have a strong sense of national identity and an antagonistic consciousness, the boys from the mainland can't help being seen as different. "My classmates call me a commie. They grab our place when we play basketball, and they don't want to sit next to me in class." Hung-kang says he's afraid of them.
His 16-year-old brother can't always protect him. "If it's somebody the same size, I yell right back. But if he's bigger than me, I just take my brother away or else tell the teacher," Hung-sheng says. They rarely leave home, except for school, and they don't have many friends. They can be seen on the neighborhood basketball court sometimes, playing by themselves.
The older brother seems to be in a little better situation and ranks second in his class. "They look down on people from the mainland. I want to prove something to them," he says.
The biggest change for them in the three months they've been on Taiwan is--gaining weight. The older brother has gone from 34 to 40 kilos, and the younger one from 24 to 28.
Will they ever return to the mainland? "We'll go back for fun, but not to live. When I get the money, I want to bring my mother here," Hung-sheng says, with the tone of an older brother.
A family reunion, just like the picture of the four of them on their desk, is their constant dream.
[Picture Caption]
The brothers keep each other company in the military dependents' village they live in. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
The Sung brothers' awards are their grandfather's greatest comfort. (photo by Huang Lili)
The Sung brothers' awards are their grandfather's greatest comfort. （photo by Huang Lili）
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