October 21, 2015
No. 229
Three children of the late Dr. Robert O. Wilson, an American surgeon who treated victims of the Nanjing massacre during the War of Resistance against Japan, will visit Taiwan between October 22 and 27, at the invitation of the Republic of China government.
The three guests of honor—Elizabeth Wilson Hissing, Marjorie Wilson Massey Garrett, and Robert O. Wilson, Jr.—will be accompanied by three other family members. Together they will participate in activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, and attend a tribute highlighting their father’s outstanding contributions.
President Ma Ying-jeou will present an official tribute and a War of Resistance commemorative medal to the Wilson family. In addition, the Wilsons will attend various events, including two exhibitions: The Truth of the Second Sino-Japanese War at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, and Taiwanese during World War II and the Transformations in 1895 at the National Museum of Taiwan History in Tainan. Other excursions include the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101, which should give them a better understanding of Taiwan’s recent political and economic developments, and traditional culture.
Born in 1906 in Nanjing, the late Dr. Wilson went to the United States to receive his education and returned to China in 1935 to assume a position in the surgical department at Drum Tower Hospital, Ginling College. When Japanese troops captured Nanjing two years later, Dr. Wilson insisted on staying, making him the sole surgeon in the hospital, where he saved thousands of Chinese nationals. He joined the ranks of several Westerners, including US missionary Wilhelmina “Minnie” Vautrin and German businessman John Rabe, establishing the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, which sheltered countless Chinese nationals from Japanese atrocities. As a result, he was bestowed the Order of Brilliant Jade, Sixth Class by the ROC government in 1938.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory and the retrocession of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also invited relatives of Wilhelmina Vautrin, John Rabe, and the late US Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and President Dwight Eisenhower to Taiwan to attend related activities. This visit by the children of the late Dr. Wilson also helps underscore the government’s appreciation of foreign friends who made great sacrifices during the war on behalf of the people of China. (E)