00:00April 30th, 1975. A final standoff in Saigon, just before communist North Vietnamese forces
00:12claim victory. It's been 50 years since the last U.S. helicopters took off from its embassy in
00:17Saigon, leaving behind many and marking an end to two decades of U.S. military involvement in
00:23Vietnam. More than 3 million Vietnamese were killed, and nearly 60,000 U.S. soldiers died in
00:34the conflict, part of the U.S.'s global war against communism that left no country in the region
00:39unaffected, including Taiwan. The war pitted the Soviet and China-backed North against the U.S.-backed
00:47South. For Taiwan's leader Chiang Kai-shek, South Vietnam was a natural ally, both fighting for
00:53survival against communist foes. Leaders from the two countries often visited each other and
00:58maintained strong economic ties. One significant aspect is that the two countries were large trading
01:05partners to each other, and this is very significant for Taiwan in their early stage of industrialization.
01:15At the peak of the Vietnam War, Taiwan's export to Vietnam, South Vietnam War, around 15%.
01:21While Taiwan never openly participated in the fighting, they provided military assistance
01:27and training to South Vietnam. Sometimes there was more direct help. In 1964, 17 commandos from
01:34Taiwan were reportedly captured during covert operations in North Vietnam. Taiwan was also
01:39critical for the U.S. military, as an official location for troops on leave and as a transit location
01:45to and from Vietnam. Thousands of U.S. troops were stationed in Taiwan throughout the war,
01:50officially serving as trainers and advisors.
01:53The battle against communism must be joined in Southeast Asia with strength and determination
01:59to achieve success there. Or the United States inevitably must surrender the Pacific and take
02:06up our defenses on our own shores. Asian communism is comprised and contained by the maintenance of free
02:14nations on the subcontinent. Without this inhibitory influence, the island outposts, Philippines, Japan,
02:21Taiwan, have no security, and the vast Pacific becomes a Red Sea.
02:31U.S. forces would remain in Taiwan until their full withdrawal in 1979.
02:36Taiwan sometimes paid a price for its involvement. In 1967, Taiwan's embassy in Saigon was destroyed
02:51by a car bomb. The attack left at least 22 people injured.
02:54As the war turned against the U.S. and South Vietnam, its president, Nguyen Van Thieu, continued to make
03:06visits to Taiwan in 1969 and 1973. But eventually, he could fight no more. In April 1975, Thieu resigned as
03:16president and fled the country. And his first destination was Taipei. These photos dated just two days after the
03:24fall of Saigon show the now-former president, Thieu, meeting with Taiwan's interim president,
03:29Yen Jiaghan, future president, Jiang Jingguo, and paying respects to Jiang's father, Jiang Kai-shek,
03:35who had died just weeks earlier. Thieu would spend the rest of his life in exile in the U.K. and U.S.
03:47The war's end led to a refugee crisis. Often referred to as boat people,
03:52most refugees fled to neighboring countries such as Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia as they waited
03:58to move on.
03:59Of course, I want to get to Australia or U.S. or Canadian, you know, where I think I can make my
04:08life better. You know, I have reached my life for freedom.
04:13Some refugees landed on Taiwan's territory. More than 2,000 passed through a refugee camp set up in its
04:20outlying Penghu Islands. A small number stayed, forming the roots of the Vietnamese community in Taiwan.
04:26So at that time, there were around 200 people
04:32who cannot get
04:36the permission to move to any countries at all. Nobody want them. So in the end,
04:42the Taiwanese government allowed them to stay in Taiwan.
04:50If you go to some Vietnamese restaurants here in Taipei, especially in the Mu Cha area, you are likely
04:56to end up in meeting with some former refugees who used to live in Penghua Island.
05:03Taiwan normalized relations with communist Vietnam in 1992, three years before the U.S. did the same.
05:11Fifty years later, Ho Chi Minh City stands where Saigon once fell. Its nearby battlefields,
05:17now tourist attractions. Vietnam, the U.S., and Taiwan all continue to have strong economic and cultural
05:24ties. But the legacy of the war, and Taiwan's role in it, remains woven into history.
05:30Kline Wong and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus
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