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.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai