A Camp Unknown (彼岸他方), a documentary that explores Taiwan’s humanitarian efforts after the Vietnam War, opened on Sunday, telling the story of more than 2,000 refugees who found safe haven in Penghu County.
The film chronicles Taiwan’s participation from 1977 to 1988 in sheltering refugees from the war, taking care of more than 2,000 refugees brought on 51 vessels to Penghu.
In a discussion of the documentary and the history it narrates between executive producer Liu Chi-hsiung (劉吉雄) and director Awei Liu (劉建偉) at Sunday’s premiere, the director said the film sheds light on a part of history that is little known and rarely talked about.
Photo courtesy of Public Television Service via CNA
The refugees fled Southeast Asia at the end of the war in 1975 and were sheltered in Penghu as they awaited approval to emigrate to other nations, Awei Liu said.
While there, they were given occupational training and employment opportunities along with basic food and shelter, he said, adding that records show that 106 babies were born in the refugee camps during those years.
Liu Chi-hsiung said he spent almost 20 years researching the history depicted in the documentary and was helped by recording interviews with people involved in the effort to care for the refugees.
Photo courtesy of Public Television Service via CNA
It also took almost 10 years for the documentary to be completed, the executive producer said.
The 55-minute documentary is to air on Public Television Service tomorrow at 10pm.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe