Artifact: Healthy Baby Medal 1968(?)
Over the Christmas break, I went home to visit my family. While deep cleaning, my father came across this peculiar piece of metal. Logged between (probably) some garbage and souvenirs in our basement, was this tarnished medal:
My father shared that it was actually a healthy baby award given to my aunt when she was born. Apparently, they gave them out as an incentive for people to have kids. Sparking my curiosity, I did some more research. Turns out, this medal can give a lot of information into the social and political climate in Taiwan in the 60s.
What's inscribed on the medal?
The front:
In large characters on the front, says 健康 which translates to "Healthy." The ribbon of text on top roughly translates to "Healthy Baby/Health Award." On the top, the curved text is written as 基隆市衛生課 which translates to "Keelung City Health Department."
The back:
On the back starting from the left, shows the date the medal was manufactured, 四十三年度 which translates to "Year 43." This is most likely a reference to the the refers to the Showa 43 or 1968.
On the right side, the inscription 基隆市 translates to "Keelung City," most likely where the medal was awarded.
In the centre-top, it reads 組免状 or "Group Exemption Certificate," which probably is in reference to official exemption or release documents issued by the colonial government.
In the centre bottom, it might say 台ア市 which is likely "Taipei City." The middle character is actually a Japanese character ア (katakana "a"), which was sometimes used in abbreviated inscriptions during the Japanese period in to substitute 臺 (another way to write 'Taiwan').
Historical Context
The Emergence of Nursing
Wartime socio-economic difficulties, poor sanitary conditions, and limited access to medical resources jeopardised the health of pregnant women and their babies in the 1940s.[1] After World War II, Taiwan underwent the “Restoration Period,” where rigorous medical advancements were made to help improve pre-natal health. In 1952, Taiwan established their first dedicated prenatal and postpartum education unit called “Taiwan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Commission” (TPMCHC) where they subsequently restructured into the “Taiwan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Research Institute in 1959.[2] These units were imperative to imploring a higher standard of health for Taiwanese mothers. They were responsible for training midwives, and a comprehensive system to promoting maternal and child nutrition. In the 1950’s, children were still being delivered by unqualified midwives or untrained people, which resulted in high maternal and neonatal mortality.[3] The units enlisted under the TPMCHC were imperative in delivering babies safely, as well as training locals in proper procedure and sanitation to prevent infection and infant mortality. To prevent malnutrition, government sanctioned milk stations were established in health centres in Taiwan so that the poor and malnourished could still afford to feed their baby a cup of hot milk everyday for 14 years.[4] These stations also gave milk powder and nutritional products to those who needed it, created a comprehensive government support system for women and children.
Political Landscape of Taiwan
Maternal and children’s health policies were also influenced by the population policies in Taiwan. Most acknowledged was a de-facto policy that encouraged population growth based on the Guomindang/Kuomintang’s (GMD/KMT) need for population growth to support a counterattack on mainland China.[5] A popular slogan, “One is never too little, two is just enough,” (“一個不嫌少，兩個恰恰好”) was used to urge families to strive for 2 kids. Unlike Japan, the GMD’s intention towards Taiwan was likened to a giant military base.
The “Restoration Period,” or “Retrocession of Taiwan,” broke a fifty-year long colonial rule since the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki that ceded Taiwan to Japan. Prior to this, technological and cultural advancements were made in Taiwan to turn it into a ‘model colony,’ and showcase to the rest of Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.[6] As a result, the technological advancements and improvements to quality of life continues to play an important role in Taiwanese memory – more so than the act colonization. As a result, the singing over of Taiwan back to China posed many problems. Above all, there was mutual disdain between the Taiwanese and the GMD. The leader of the GMD at the time, Chiang Kai-shek, appointed Ch’en Yi as the governor of Taiwan. Yet, Ch’en and many other Chinese Nationalists sent to Taiwan regarded the Taiwanese as traitors tainted by Japan’s colonial rule.[7] Not surprisingly, the Taiwanese who were equipped with the most contemporary Japanese technology, regarded the Chinese as dirty, dishonest and technologically backward.[8] The February 28 incident (or 228 incident) launched Chiang’s reign of terror called the “White Terror,” forever burned into Taiwanese consciousness.
Medicine and technology go hand-in-hand. These pre-natal medical advancements came during a time where the GMD government was under a lot of scrutiny from the Taiwanese natives. I will leave it up to the reader to consider the timing and nature of the program during this 'Restorative' period, and whether it was actually a program meant to improve quality of life.
So, what about the medal?
The medal is a great representation of how messy the restoration period between the Japanese rule and Guomindang rule became. Even though by the 1960’s, Taiwan was ruled by the Chinese government, the Japanese katakana found on the medal, as well as the dating methodology shows that Japanese culture remained prevalent in the nation even after thorough attempts to de-Japanify the nation.
Although I set out to find out why the medal was made, this question remains unanswered. What policies were in place to create the medals? How can we locate them? I hope to find the answers soon.
Thanks for reading.
[1]National Taiwan University, “臺大校友雙月刊,” Ntu.edu.tw, 2024, https://ntualumnibm.ntu.edu.tw/bm.bimonthly.article/detail/sn/2335?.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Han Cheung, “Taiwan in Time: When Taiwan Suffered from Overpopulation - Taipei Times,” www.taipeitimes.com, June 14, 2020, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2020/06/14/2003738180.
[6] John Copper, “Taiwan - Early Nationalist Rule | Britannica,” in Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/place/Taiwan/Early-Nationalist-rule.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
