Tseng Sheng-kuang (曾聖光), a Taiwanese volunteer soldier who died in November while fighting for Ukraine, was honored by the Council of Indigenous Peoples at a memorial service in Hualien yesterday.
Tseng was honored with the highest award of the Contribution to Indigenous Peoples for his sacrifice in resisting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as for democracy, freedom and justice, council Minister Icyang Parod said at the ceremony.
Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), who also attended the event, expressed her condolences over Tseng’s death, and expressed sympathy for Tseng’s mother and wife given the “pain and loss” they must have felt when collecting Tseng’s ashes in Ukraine.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
Hsu said at the ceremony that Tseng’s father-in-law also died in the past few weeks, adding to the family’s sadness.
She said that as a mother, she hoped there would be no more unnecessary sacrifices in the war, and wished that the family finds peace of mind.
Tseng, 25, was an Indigenous Amis from Hualien County. He joined the International Legion of Ukraine’s territorial defense forces and died in battle in Lyman, part of the contested Luhansk region, making him the first Taiwanese volunteer soldier to die in the Ukraine war.
Tseng had served in the Republic of China Army from 2017 to last year.
Tseng’s family went to Ukraine last month to identify his body and deal with matters related to his death. A ceremony was held in Kyiv in his honor.
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