The Ukrainian military on Monday held a ceremony to honor Taiwanese Tseng Sheng-kuang (曾聖光), who was killed fighting in Ukraine on Nov. 2.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi and more than 100 Ukrainians attended the ceremony at the Garrison Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Tseng’s family was also in attendance, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
Some of the Ukrainians attending the ceremony wore T-shirts that read “Team Taiwan” in Chinese characters, and held the national flags of Taiwan and Ukraine, it added.
A representative of the Ukrainian military presented Tseng’s family with a medal and a Ukrainian national flag recognition of his sacrifice.
Tseng’s body was displayed in a casket, allowing his family and friends to say their final goodbyes, the ministry said.
Representative to Poland Bob Chen (陳龍錦) accompanied Tseng’s family members, who had traveled to Ukraine after learning of his passing.
Tseng served in the Taiwanese military from 2017 to last year before on Aug. 19 joining the Carpathian Sich, an infantry unit made up of foreign and Ukrainian volunteers.
The Hualien native died on Nov. 2 during a combat mission in the contested Luhansk region, making him the first Taiwanese volunteer combatant to die in the Russia-Ukraine war.
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Ukrainian lawmaker Inna Sovsun said that she saw Tseng as a Ukrainian soldier, “not because the circumstances turned out that way, but because he chose it.”
“Tseng had a sense of duty for freedom. For four years, he prepared to defend his motherland from Chinese invaders, but he went to defend a foreign country, which faced the same threat as his,” Sovsun said.
“This is a devotion to one’s work and one’s ideals. We will not forget his courage and his sacrifice,” she said. “His death will not be in vain. Ukraine will win. And when Taiwan needs support, I think Ukrainians will come, as Tseng came to help in a time of need.”
Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik hailed Tseng as a “hero.”
“We salute Tseng as a friend of Ukraine and will remember his sacrifice,” she said.
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