The Soldiers

In the late 1980s, martial law and the ban on new politi­cal parties were lifted in Taiwan, ushering in demo­cracy and freedom in society at large. But the military still remained quite conservative. In the early 1990s, contacts and discussions began between the two sides across the Taiwan Strait, and mainland China and Taiwan set up the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Straits Exchange Foundation, respectively, as channels for communication. In the mid-1990s, during Taiwan’s first direct presidential elections, the Chinese military conducted missile test launches and large-scale military exercises near Taiwan, and there was a period of tense confrontation. These photographs, taken from the early to mid-1990s, are an authentic record of the lives and faces of the youthful Taiwanese soldiers who stood ready to defend their country and loved ones during this period of turbulence in cross-strait relations.

Recruits wear rain ponchos and gas masks for a training exercise involving a simulated chemical attack. (photo by Hang Dah-parng)

During combat training, soldiers with fixed bayonets throw smoke bombs as they practice storming an enemy position. (photo by Hang Dah-parng)

The exercise ground is a place where new recruits get the smiles wiped off their faces. (photo by Tien Yu-hua)

On Matsu’s Mt. Yuntai, gentle sea breezes cause soldiers to get sleepy, and all they want to do is lie quietly and enjoy this languid moment. (photo by Tien Yu-hua)

Venomous or not, and no matter how fierce, no snake can escape the brothers in arms! (photo by Tien Yu-hua)

Private First Class Zhang Yisheng, Longtan, Taoyuan, December 1992. (photo by Chang Liang-i)

Private First Class You Wenxiong, Guanxi, Hsinchu, February 1993. (photo by Chang Liang-i)

Private First Class Liang Mingde, Longtan, Taoyuan, January 1993. (photo by Chang Liang-i)