Keelung to Ishigaki Ferry: Taiwan’s Forgotten Yaeyama Stories – Snack 07

To celebrate the new Yaima Maru ferry service (yaimaline.com/en) connecting Keelung with the Yaeyama Islands (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaeyama_Islands), Taiwan’s nearest neighbors, we uncover stories of Taiwanese migrants there in the Japanese colonial era. On jungle-clad Iriomote Island (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iriomote_Island), some suffered brutal conditions in the coal mines. On nearby en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishigaki_Island, Taiwanese settlers helped transform the island’s agriculture. They developed its pineapple industry and also introduced water buffalo, whose descendants can be seen today pulling tourist carts.