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World

Feature: History of "Fallen Tigers" enlightens Sino-American cooperation today

2021-06-18 15:26:33

SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- "The more I learned about this story, the more fascinated I was by this cooperation between the Chinese and the Americans that often happened at this grassroots level. I thought it was a story worth telling that needs to be told," Daniel Jackson said at a Wednesday event for the publication of his new book titled "Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America's Missing Airmen in China during World War II."

In his book, Jackson sheds light on the stories of downed American airmen, who were rescued, sheltered, and protected by the Chinese people, who risked everything in helping hundreds of "Flying Tigers" evade capture at the hands of the Japanese army and return to Allied controlled territory.

American volunteer pilots fighting Japanese troops in China during World War II (WWII) are better known in the country as the Flying Tigers.

"Cooperation during WWII is something that both China and the United States find unambiguously good ...the good thing the world needed to move on and grow and become a more peaceful, prosperous place," Jackson said at the press conference held in Livermore, U.S. state of California.

The cooperation during the war also showed the world today what's possible. "We can work together. Even when we don't get along with everything, we can find the things that we can work together on," Jackson said.

"We don't have to be the same to cooperate. We can push past our differences and that's something that I saw on this," he added.

The people of the two countries have come together and fought together for a greater good beyond different languages, cultures, politics in history. Jackson noted that there are a lot of greater goods that need to be fought for in the world today.

"We've done it before and we can do it again. There's a shared memory on both sides that is extremely important and profoundly impactful that still has roots throughout both countries," he argued.

The event was co-hosted by the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco and the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation. Participants reviewed the historical legacy of fighting side by side of the two countries during World War II.

"Looking back at the days when we fought together 80 years ago, there is an enlightenment for today. Cooperation is most conducive to achieving the best interests of both countries," said Wang Donghua, Chinese consul general in San Francisco.

According to Wang, the event also showed the common hope of people in the United States that the two countries can live and cooperate in peace on a win-win basis, rather than malicious competition or even confrontation and conflict with each other.

During the war, more than 200 "Flying Tigers" airmen were rescued by the Chinese people, and thousands of Chinese people lost their lives for the rescue missions.

"Americans need to be presented with the facts. There are so many things we can share when we just look back 80 years," said Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation.

He stressed that politics might change in a day, but friendly relations are from the people's heart, "they last forever. They last to the next generation." Enditem

 

Editor:Jiang Yiwei