Taiwan's island of hot springs and hard history — saltwater hot springs at the ocean edge and the political prison that held the bravest Taiwanese
Green Island (Ludao 綠島) is a small volcanic island 33km off Taiwan's east coast — one of only three places in the world with a saltwater hot spring (Zhaori Hot Spring, pools at the ocean edge where hot water bubbles through coral, waves occasionally washing over them). The surrounding reef has some of Taiwan's best snorkeling and diving. The island is also the site of the Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park — the former Oasis Villa political prison where thousands of Taiwanese were imprisoned during the White Terror (1949–1987).
Green Island was used as a political prison from 1951 to 1990 — initially for prisoners from the 228 Incident (the February 28, 1947 uprising against mainland KMT rule, which killed 10,000–30,000 Taiwanese) and throughout the four-decade White Terror period of martial law. Prisoners included writers, professors, union organizers, and any person suspected of left-wing or Taiwan independence sympathies. The conditions involved hard labor, psychological pressure, and ideological re-education. The Memorial Park was established in 2002, one of the first official acknowledgments by a democratically…