Flying Tigers serve as model for ties, ambassador says

The United States and China should try to tell more uplifting stories, such as those of World War II's Flying Tigers, said China's ambassador to the US.

Ambassador Qin Gang made the remarks on Saturday during the opening ceremony of "Remembering Heroes－80th Anniversary of the Flying Tigers and America's Second World War Air Defense of China Photo Expo" outside Washington.

Qin toured the photo exhibition and even got dressed in a Flying Tigers uniform presented by the organizers. At the opening ceremony's dinner, he shared his thoughts with the audience.

"Eighty-one years ago, as China went through the most difficult days in its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, a group of American pilots, bold and fearless, righteous and honorable, flew high above the land of China," Qin said. "I wish to use this opportunity to pay highest tribute to the Flying Tigers and their families!"

The ambassador described the story of the Flying Tigers as one about "the shared fight of China and the US" and a story of "mutual assistance" and "enduring friendship" between China and the US.

"The story of the Flying Tigers is not just a shared memory of China and the US. It is a shining beacon in our friendship, and a glorious mark in the history of China-US relations," he said.

The exhibition, which ran through Monday, was held at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

In 1941, Claire Lee Chennault, an aviator with the US Army, organized the American Volunteer Group, which later became known as the Flying Tigers, to fight against the Japanese invaders together with the Chinese military and civilians.

Fighting side by side

The Flying Tigers shot down more than 2,600 enemy planes, and they flew over the treacherous "Hump Route" to deliver more than 730,000 metric tons of war supplies to China. More than 1,000 Flying Tigers died in the battles.

"The following 81 years since the Flying Tigers have seen tremendous changes in both China and the US, and the world today is totally different from 81 years ago," Qin said.

He noted that the interests of China and the US have long been intertwined, but the relationship is facing unprecedented challenges.

"To go for conflict and confrontation or live in peace, to get stuck in a zero-sum game or to carry out win-win cooperation, these are the questions of the century. The peace we enjoy today has been won by the blood and sacrifices of numerous people and deserves to be treasured," he said.

Qin honored the contributions of Flying Tigers Robert Moore and Harry Moyer at the ceremony. Moore, 103, was one of the air transport command "Hump" pilots who flew the C-46 Commando, a twin-engine transport plane, on 98 missions on the often-deadly Hump Airlift.

The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots to the route over the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains, flying from India to China.

Both Moore and Moyer recalled their days of fighting alongside the Chinese military and civilians, and expressed how moved they were to see people working hard to maintain and deepen the US-China friendship.