A US Vietnam War veteran, now in his 70s, is searching for a son he fathered with a Taiwanese woman in the late 1960s, but never met.
The black American man, Harvey Woods, said he has been trying for many years to locate his son and the Taiwanese woman, with whom he had a relationship when he was stationed in Taiwan from 1966 to 1967.
His daughter, Leah Woods Newton, has enlisted the help of Facebook users to help find the man.
Woods served as a US Airman 2nd Class in the 2165th Communications Squadron at Chingchuankang (清泉崗) Air Base in Taichung.
It was during that time that he met a Taiwanese woman named Ming Ying-chi (or possibly Chi Ming-ying) who lived in the same building where he was residing in downtown Taichung.
Woods said romance soon bloomed and he gave her the nickname “Kiko,” while she reciprocated by affectionately calling him “Mr Woods.”
He wanted her to live in the US with him at the end of his tour in 1967, but she could not do so because of government bureaucracy.
Before he left for the US, he learned that Kiko was pregnant and he promised to find a way to bring her to the US and provide support in the meantime.
His last memories of Kiko were a goodbye hug and kiss at the airport and her nonstop waving as his military plane took off.
Back in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, Woods received his first letter from Kiko and he responded immediately, telling her he hoped they would be reunited soon.
In 1968, Woods’ mother intercepted a letter from Kiko announcing the birth of their son.
Woods’ mother promptly destroyed the letter, including the return address, and refused to reveal the child’s name, which made it almost impossible for Woods to directly contact Kiko or find his son.
In the following years, Woods said, he placed many advertisements in Taichung newspapers, trying to locate Kiko and his son, but to no avail.
Having received no response to his advertisements or any further correspondence from Kiko, Woods decided to move on and later married an American woman.
After nearly 50 years, he one day told the story to his daughter Leah and her siblings, and asked for their help to find Kiko and his son.
“I want to apologize to Kiko from the bottom of my heart and to make it known to her that I never forgot about our son... and that I have never forgotten about her,” Woods said, when asked what he would say to Kiko if he found her.
A Web page — www.facebook.com/mytaiwanson — has been set up to coordinate the search, and people with information about Kiko or her son are asked to directly contact Boston Paul or Shaun Bettinson through the site.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS