“Ho’s fearless undertaking is testament to the common values of peace and cooperation that eventually led to the Allied success,” Ma said. “The historical significance of his achievement is especially pertinent as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the deadliest conflict in human history.”
Ma made the remarks while presenting the citation to Ho’s daughter at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
As ROC consul-general in Vienna, Austria, from 1938 to 1940, Ho issued visas to more than 2,000 Jews. Fearing persecution by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, which annexed the country in 1938, Austrian Jews sought help from the ROC.
Ho’s courageous decision, which bucked the trend of indifference at the time, allowed visaholders to travel to safety in Shanghai. This act saw him mentioned alongside Oskar Schindler, the German businessman who saved 1,200 Jews by employing them in his enamelware and munitions factories during the Holocaust, and posthumously awarded the Israeli title Righteous among the Nations.
The president said the belated honor is an appropriate tribute for Ho and a fitting way to commemorate the ROC’s victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). “His selfless sacrifice in the face of adversity serves as a salient reminder that beauty of humanity can shine even during the darkest hours.”
Other praiseworthy examples during the eight-year conflict include businessman John Rabe of Germany, as well as missionary Wilhelmina Vautrin and physician Robert Wilson of the U.S., Ma said. “During the Rape of Nanjing [December 1937 to January 1938], these foreign nationals saved over 200,000 Chinese civilians from Japanese brutality.”
And in 1944, Belgium-based ROC scientist Tsien Siou-ling helped 97 youths from that country escape German death sentences, earning her a Hero of the State medal presented by the Belgian government after the second world war, he added.
The president said these actions reaffirm the fact that compassion and humanitarian aid exist without borders. “There is no question that the world is a better place because of the bravery of people like Ho, and we are eternally grateful for their efforts.” (YHC-JSM)
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