The day Fan Yuan-yen flew his Red star MIG-19 jet to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland his name became a household word.
Today he is the Republic of China's hero, openly recognized, cheered and affectionately mauled by fans wherever he goes.
The 42-year-old former Chinese Communist airman has banked the ROC government's traditional reward to defecting pilots from the mainland - US$566,368, the value of 5,000 ounces of gold - and it earns US$4,483 a month in interest.
The government has paid Fan about US$400 a month since he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Chinese Air Force a few days after he defected July 7, 1977.
But the handsome, soft-spoken farmer's son leads a much more sober and austere life than most people on this economically booming island.
Fan is often invited out to lunch, dinner and breakfast, but when he eats alone outside the government hostel where he lives he invariably orders a US$1.50 meal.
Fan has augmented his government issued wardrobe with two suits, two shirts and a sweater. He has received many gifts, including 10 shirts which he doesn't wear because they're "too fashionable." He said the collars are twice as long as any he ever saw on the Chinese mainland.
Also among the gifts are four watches, including a gold Rolex, but he always wears his US$30 Seiko. "I like the gold watch all right," he said, "but it makes me feel uncomfortable and silly."
Fan loves window-shopping. "Just looking at the different kinds of goods that fill the stores and watching customers buy them without ration cards is enough pleasure," he said.
Fan's constantly smiling face has appeared on television hundreds of times and he is recognized easily. When government officials received a few phone calls threatening his life they assigned a permanent bodyguard to him.
Fan doesn't worry about the threats because he is always surrounded by crowds of fans. "Crowds are my best protection," he said. "I think if anyone tried to hurt me, the crowds would tear him apart."
Friendship Force exchanging envoys
The Friendship Force of the Republic of China is expected to start to exchange "family ambassadors" with American homes in the United States next September, said A. C. Sammy Yuan, director of program.
Yuan, vice chairman of the Taiwan Visitors' Association, said that the Friendship Force is a new, non-government sponsored cultural exchange program and effort to improve international relations through reciprocal visits by residents of the United States and other countries.
The program was announced by President Carter at the Conference of State Governors last March. Mrs. Rosalynn Carter serves as the national honorary chairperson for the project which has been echoed by more than 30 countries around the world.
"If you can open your home or find another Chinese host to receive an American for four days, providing food and accommodation," Yuan said, "then with US$250, you can apply to join the eight-day people-to-people exchange program."
The eight-day program will contain four-days of cultural and sports activities in the city and four days of free time which can be used to meet friends individually.
Yuan said four or five exchanges had been arranged between the U.S. and other countries last year since the first exchange of 381 residents of Atlanta and 380 residents of the city of Newcastle in Britain on last July 4.
By 1980, when the program is fully under way, some half million people from around the island will be changing places with residents of U.S. cities. By that time, the Friendship Force expects to average one trip each month from each state.
Eventually, the Friendship Force of the Republic of China hopes to have as many as 10 to 12 exchanges a year. The exchanges will be done with large groups of between 200 and 400 persons.
Official guests number 1,957
A total of 1,957 foreign guests visited the Republic of China at the invitation of the government in 1977, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another 8,128 foreigners came to Taiwan at the invitation of civic organizations.
Top visitors were King Tupou IV of the Kingdom of Tonga, Prince Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, Queen Mamohato B. Seeiso of Lesotho and many U.S. Congressmen.
Charles King, acting spokesman of the ministry, said commercial centers for promotion of Chinese products have been set up in the capitals of Oman, Bahrain and Jordan and that a consulate general has been opened in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
The spokesman said 238 missions involving 40,293 persons organized by the government and civic groups went on overseas trips in 1977 to participate in international conferences on culture, science, sports and trade.
Seventeen cultural and economic cooperation agreements were signed with foreign countries.
Budget fares offered to U.S.
The Ministry of Communications gave Pan American World Airways the go-ahead to start selling "budget fare" tickets for travel from Taiwan to the United States.
Budget fare tickets are 40 to 50 per cent cheaper than the normal fare.
There will be 100 per week and the airline will choose the date of the flight.
Passengers will make reservations 21 days in advance and pay as soon as their reservations are confirmed.
PanAm will inform passengers of the date of departure 7 to 14 days in advance.
Cancel1ations are allowed, but only half of the ticket price will be refunded.
Mainland refugee gets rich on noodles
A former refugee from the mainland is worth NT$10 million now. He is Tang Hai-yen, 45, of Szechwan.
Tang fled mainland China in 1962, pretending to be dumb.
After reaching Taiwan, he got a job teaching at a Taiwan school for the deaf and dumb. He married a dumb girl there.
They left the school to open a noodle stand.
They worked hard and made a good profit. Tang bought a three-story apartment building in Tainan. His business branched out to Taipei and Hualien. He opened another noodle shop in Kaohsiung.
Tang and his wife now have noodle shops in four cities. They lead a happy life and have written a success story among freedom-seekers.
4,572 schools enroll 4,478,957
There are nearly 4½ million students in free China out of a population of 16.5 million.
Statistics of the National Education Data Center show there are 4,572 schools in the country with enrollment of 4,478,957.
Ranging from kindergartens to universities, these educational establishments are manned by 173,674 teaching and administrative personnel.
Students of primary schools and junior middle schools, who receive education at government expense, number 3,400,283.
College students total 146,272 and those studying in senior middle schools and vocational schools 480,280.
Experts to help tourism development
The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications will invite experts to help plan the development of tourist resources.
Sixty-five per cent of Taiwan is made up of mountains, rivers, forests and seacoasts that can be developed as tourist attractions.
The government will invest in construction of public facilities and the private sector in entertainment facilities.
Taiwan had 1,110,182 visitors last year, an increase of 10.1 per cent over 1976.
There were 933,936 foreigners, up 9.4 per cent, and 176,246 overseas Chinese, up 14.3 per cent.
The 561,166 Japanese led the way, making up 56.55 per cent of the total.
Americans were second. The 141,873 accounted for 12.78 per cent.
Of the overseas Chinese, 147,873 came from Hongkong, representing 84 per cent.
Sign language book published
"Chinese Sign Language" is being published by the Ministry of Education to promote standardization of sign language in Taiwan.
With 1,850 sign ideograms shown, the book will contribute to education of the deaf and dumb.
Starting in 1975, materials were collected in Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.
Abstract nouns such as morality and conduct were a problem.
English sign language has been adopted for names of countries.
Festivals are expressed by the month and date.
“Information, please” answers now depend on a computer rather than directories and are faster. (File photo)
Writer's life is a busy one
"I prefer to do things as the mood strikes me," said Chang Hsiao-feng, a writer whose works set forth the problems of modern men against a classical Chinese background.
Her plays and other writings focus on social responsibility, the purpose of life and the contemporary mission of the Chinese. Her beliefs combine Christianity with Chinese humanity.
“My favorite activities are usually unplanned - contemplating life beneath a tree, visiting a produce market at 4 in the morning or lying in bed reading a novel," she said.
In daily life, she grasps each second, She listens to tapes while taking a bath, reads or thinks about her dramas while waiting for a bus or riding in a car, and teaches her two children poems from the T'ang dynasty.
The 36-year-old writer made a name for herself at 19 when she won the Chungshan Literature Award for her essays, “The End of the Carpet," about daily life and feelings.
Computer answers telephone inquiries
A computerized telephone directory inquiry system was placed in operation as the Taiwan Telecommunications Administration celebrated its 31st anniversary on Telecommunication Day.
Use of the computer enables operators to find one of Taipei's 1.2 million telephone numbers in 5.6 seconds compared with the previous 10.2 seconds.
About 60,000 requests for numbers are received daily.