Ｌａｕｎｃｈｉｎｇ ｏｆ Ａｍｅｒｉｃａｎ Ａｉｒｍｅｎ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｄｕｒｉｎｇ ＷＷＩＩ

Sixtieth Anniversary of Victory of Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War Commemorated

Launching of American Airmen in China During WWII

Luan Yutao

On September 4， representatives of members of the American Air Force in China during WWII who came back to China to attend the activities in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War， participated in the launching of the book American Airmen in China during WWII at the auditorium of the CPAFFC. The book， jointly compiled by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC)， the secretariat of China Culture Juncture Project Association， the World Flight magazine and the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation， is published by the World Flight magazine.

Present at the launching ceremony were Xu Kuangdi， vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， Li Xiaolin， vice president of the CPAFFC， Mr. Donald Michael Bishop， minister counsellor for cultural affairs of the U.S. Embassy， representatives of the China-US People’s Friendship Association and the aviation circles and journalists of the major military and mass media in Beijing.

At the launching ceremony， Vice Chairman Xu Kuangdi gave a speech first. He said， 60 years ago， the Chinese people received strong support and help from the American government and people in their War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The military and civilians of our two countries fought side by side， fostered profound friendship， and created lots of moving stories. These American soldiers devoted their youth to China’s Resistance War and shed blood on the Chinese soil. Some even sacrificed their precious lives. There are no better witnesses of the friendship between the Chinese and American military and civilians than the “Flying Tigers” and the “Hump Route pilots”. Their stories are still widely circulated among the people of both countries.

In his speech， President Chen Haosu highly praised the deep friendship forged between the people and army of China and the United States in the Anti-Japanese War， and affirmed that the Chinese people would never forget the historical contributions the American Flying Tigers had made. He expressed his sincere sympathy for the American people who suffered the grave losses of human lives and property during the attack of the Hurricane Katrina. On behalf of Chinese non-governmental organizations， he announced a donation of $10，000 to the American friendly organizations and hoped it would contribute to the disaster relief efforts of the American people. He wished the American people happiness and Sino-American friendship further development.

On behalf of the American Veterans Delegation， Mr. Jeff Greene， executive director of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation， thanked the CPAFFC for the invitation，the warm and friendly welcome and the great effort made by the Chinese side in compiling the book.

In his speech， Minister Counsellor Bishop concurred with the book American Airmen in China during WWII which praised the spirit of cooperation of the two peoples during WWII and， thus set a firm basis for the cooperation between China and the United States， who are faced with common challenge in the 21st century. He also highly praised the profound friendship between the two countries and the two peoples.

Wang Ningsheng， proprietor of the World Flight magazine and editor-in-chief of American Airmen in China during WWII， briefly spoke about how the book was compiled and published.

The book American Airmen in China during WWII in a faithful， objective， vivid and moving manner， depicts the brilliant contributions of the American Air Force to the victory of the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese War， the full support provided by the Chinese army and people to the American Air Force in China and the contributions made by the military， the aviation circles and the people of the two countries to the continuity of the friendship fostered during WWII.

At the launching ceremony， President Chen Haosu and Vice President Li Xiaolin presented American Airmen in China during WWII as a gift to the representatives of the American veterans.