“The historic event marked a pivotal moment in the ROC history,” Vice President Wu Den-yih said at the opening. “The five-day operation commencing Feb. 9, 1955, saw 18,000 civilians and military personnel evacuated with the help of the U.S. 7th Fleet from Dachen Islands off Zhejiang province in mainland China.”
According to Wu, along with the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty (1955-1980) enacted by the U.S. Senate soon after the evacuation, the event is testament to the rock-solid ties between the two countries.
“While the government is committed to seeking peaceful and prosperous development across the Taiwan Strait, we must ensure national security by safeguarding freedom and human rights,” he said. “We will continue close cooperation with like-minded partners around the world to uphold this ideal.”
Yonghe is the largest of 35 Dachen immigrant communities in Taiwan. Staging the exhibition in the district is particularly symbolic for the former residents of the islands and their Taiwan-born families, including former Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih and ex-Presidential Office spokesman Luo Chih-chiang.
The display, comprising Arrival in Taiwan, Battlefield Memories, Cultural Legacy, Far from Home and Tracing Roots, wraps up March 20. (YHC-JSM)
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