A photograph and film exhibition showcasing the interaction between presidents of the Republic of China (ROC) and the US organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is to open today.
The exhibit will be held through Oct. 13 and is aimed at promoting greater awareness of the nation’s foreign policies and its long and amicable relationship with the US, the ministry said.
The material for the exposition was sourced from the ministry’s records, as well as from the media, the Presidential Office, Academia Historica, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Culture and Communication Committee and others. In total, 180 photos from between 1949 and this year will be on display.
PHOTO: CNA
One of the photos to be shown in the exhibit depicts a meeting between former US president Dwight Eisenhower and former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in Taipei on June 18, 1960. The meeting was the first and only time that a US president has visited Taiwan while in office, the ministry said.
The two leaders first met in the Cairo Conference of 1943, to which Eisenhower was accompanying then-US president Franklin Roosevelt.
The meeting of World War II allies, attended by Roosevelt, Chiang and then-British prime minister Winston Churchill, focused on Allied strategy against Japan and the rearrangement of post-war Asia.
Seventeen years later, the two former commanders of two separate theaters in the World War II — Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, and Chiang was the supreme commander of Allied forces in the China theater — met again in Taipei at Chiang’s invitation, the ministry said.
During the 24-hour visit, Eisenhower and Chiang met twice to discuss global issues and, more importantly, to reaffirm that the ROC and the US would tirelessly seek to pursue freedom, democracy, and peace, the ministry said.
In the Sino-American Joint Communique released on June 19, 1960, both heads of state “pledged once again that both their governments would continue to stand solidly behind the Sino-US Mutual Defense Treaty” and “deplored the outrageous and barbaric practice of the Chinese Communists in shelling [Kinmen],” the ministry added.
Eisenhower also gave a speech at the plaza in front of the Presidential Office Building that evening, drawing a crowd of 500,000, the ministry said.
It added that throughout history, there have been multiple aerial altercations between the ROC and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the Taiwan Strait, as well as maritime clashes, some of which lead to the 1954 shelling of Kinmen.
Eisenhower had been committed to keeping peace in the Strait and had even threatened nuclear strikes should the PRC seek to take Taiwan by force, the ministry said, adding that the former US president’s strategies had contributed greatly to cross-strait stability and peace.
The 1960 meeting symbolized the firm alliance of the ROC and the US and was an event that deserved its important place in Taiwan’s foreign diplomatic history, the ministry said.
Washington had maintained diplomatic relations with the ROC since its founding and continued to recognize the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China after it relocated to Taiwan in 1949.
From 1949 to 1979, Washington had seven presidents, while Taiwan went through the presidencies of Chiang, Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦), and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the ministry said.
It added that even after the US switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC in 1979, Washington maintained ties with Taiwan as detailed in the US Taiwan Relations Act.
The ministry said it hoped the exhibit would help visitors understand more about Taiwanese diplomacy and the nation’s long-term friendship with the US.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it