Staff Writer, with CNA
Nestled in the dense forests of the Central Mountain Range in Taitung County lies the wreckage of a World War II Consolidated B-24 Liberator, where Liu Jui-cheng (劉瑞成) and his friends went to pay tribute to the 25 people who died in the 1945 crash.
“We hope this piece of history will not be forgotten,” said Liu, a history enthusiast and a retired Republic of China Air Force major general.
Historical records show that just days after the war ended, on Sept. 10, 1945, one of two US B-24s carrying 20 freed Allied prisoners of war (POWs) on route to Manila from Okinawa flew into the tail of a typhoon and crashed in these mountains, Liu said.
Five crew, as well as 11 US, four Dutch and five Australian POWs, were aboard. The Liberator belonged to the 494th Bomb Group.
“It is important that we learn about this history and honor the men who died here,” Liu said.
Following a prayer by Liu and his friends, the retired general said debris from the plane and other remains are strewn across the mountainside.
Beside the shredded steel sheets and rusted ruins, Liu said there were a number of stone mounds near the crash site, which could have been temporary burial sites for the dead men.
A recovery team of Taiwanese and Japanese soldiers were sent to the area on Sept. 18, 1945, Liu said.
A second recovery team on Sept. 30 was caught in a typhoon, and 26 people died, he said, adding that a third team was sent in October to bury the bodies.
In 1947 and 1948, the bodies were recovered for reburial in Hong Kong, and a some were taken to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in the US, Liu added.
“Besides the POWs, there is also little mention of the 26 rescuers who died here in the mountains of Taitung,” he said. “I believe we all owe it to them to honor their memories.”
He called on the government to erect a monument near the site to honor the dead.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS