Prominent Formosans were compelled to sign up as members of a New Culture Association, declaring themselves emphatically opposed to the very thought of trusteeship. Provincial, municipal and local councils, schools and private organizations were expected to subscribe to these declarations. To hesitate was to lay oneself open to charges of Communist subversion. Signatures by the hundreds were recorded on manifestos opposing intervention and these documents were forwarded to Washington or New York to be used as evidence that no “true Formosan” desired independence or trust status for the island.
