President Ma Ying-jeou paid respect Wednesday to all those who sacrificed their lives for the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
"During the most grueling time of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1939, Mr. Tan Kah-kee led over 3,000 ethnic Chinese young people from Southeast Asia to return to China to build the Burma Road – a vital support line for the defense troops," Ma said. "Their journey back took almost two weeks and spanned across multiple regions. The construction under enemy fire took over 1000 of their young lives."
Ma said that the overseas Chinese contributed immensely before, during and after the War. The government commemorates them and remains forever grateful.