On August 11, the Kuomintang (KMT) today held the opening ceremony of the “Flying Tigers 80th Anniversary and ROC-US Cooperation Memorial Exhibition” in the lobby of the first floor of the Central Party Department. Chairman Johnny Chiang put on the memorable Flying Tigers leather jacket to deliver a speech while former President and Ma Ying-jeou wore the Flying Tigers memorial coat to the scene.
The KMT said that Madame Chiang Kai-shek, known as “the mother of the Chinese Air Force”, played a key role in the establishment and operation of the Flying Tigers, and that the event coincided with the 80th anniversary of the Flying Tigers. This is why the KMT national headquarters had been chosen to hold a special exhibition on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Flying Tigers and the ROC-US cooperation against Japanese Aggression.
Former President Ma said that he was a flying tiger fan himself, and believed that the Flying Tigers had contributed to both sides of the offense and defense of the military, including shooting down 297 Japanese aircraft in 11 months, reducing the number of Japanese air strikes by 55%, the number of people killed and injured by 52%, destroying buildings by 82%, and so on. The outstanding military performances allowed the return of the ROC’s airspace.
In the opening remarks, Chairman Chiang stated that this year, for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Flying Tigers, the KMT party central and relevant organizations of Mr. Hsu Chung-mao cooperated on the Flying Tigers 80th Anniversary commemorative series of activities, in order to evoke the memory of historical friendship between the Republic of China and the United States, review the glorious victory of resistance against Japanese aggression, and remember the martyrs who sacrificed during the war.
