志异 Draft by Drama box December 2014 (english) | Page 21

Phoon Yuen Ming

These examples illustrate that when livelihood contradicts
politics, there is no more illusion which is the priority. Similarly,
those who were most devout took pains to stay under the radar
became forgotten, while those who were exposed and made to
escape became the emblem of ‘revolution’. What is worth noting
here is that when revolutionaries are no longer at the heart of

21
The Issue of Displacement

Revolution is not a dinner party but there are mouths to be
fed. The group in Indonesia duly followed the party principle of
‘overcoming mountains and seas’ to strengthen their bodies and
minds for revolution by undergoing the hardships of living in
exile. In this context, to ‘overcome mountains and seas’ was to be
engaged in farming, woodcutting, rearing livestock and fishing.
In his novel, He Jin described the work of growing fruits and
vegetables as well as rearing poultry in vivid detail. These were
insightful accounts based on his actual experience. Wong Soon
Fong, in his memoir, also mentioned his involvement in fishing
and the fishery trade on a few islands overlooking Malacca,
where he also established a communications point for the party.
But after more than two years of meticulous planning, it had to
be abandoned due to suspected enemy surveillance. The exiles
also managed several chicken farms of considerable scale in
Bandung and Bogor. Once, an epidemic in the chicken farms
threw the group into chaos, and the rectification campaign was
hastily concluded while members held an emergency meeting to
deal with the crisis.