Royal Asiatic Society Beijing – Jonathan Kaiman & Melinda Liu on Researching U.S. aviators in WWII China – 15/11/17

Researching U.S. aviators in WWII China

Once upon a time, China and America were allies. Today Sino-US relations are more complex than 75 years ago, yet Chinese President Xi Jinping himself has mentioned the WWII alliance as an icon of friendship between the two peoples, back when “American pilots were rescued by Chinese people”.

Please join us for a discussion by foreign correspondents Melinda Liu and Jon Kaiman about their historical research into American aviators in WWII China,  Recently Los Angeles Times Beijing bureau chief Kaiman published an evocative article [LINK] on the tribal residents of a remote corner of Sichuan province who believe a blonde-haired, blue-eyed pilot crash-landed near a village, was rescued by locals — and was kept as a slave for ten years. Kaiman is now writing a book on the topic.

On the other side of China, mostly in coastal Zhejiang province, Liu is researching the experiences in China of U.S. airman known as the Doolittle Raiders, who bombed Tokyo in April 1942. Afterwards the US aviators mostly bailed out in Chinese coastal areas where sympathetic local Chinese — one was Liu’s father — helped hide the Americans from Japanese patrols and guide them to safety. Liu, who is Newsweek’s Beijing Bureau Chief, will show her ten-minute documentary “Doolittle Raiders: A China Story”. Alan Babington-Smith will moderate the discussion.

This event is co-sponsored by the Royal Asiatic Society Beijing, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) and the Bookworm

WHAT: Foreign correspondents discuss “Researching U.S. aviators in WWII China”
WHEN:  Nov. 15, Wednesday, 8:00-9:30 PM
WHERE: The Bookworm, Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing.
Tel: 6586 9507 MAP link
HOW MUCH:  Free for members of the RASBJ and FCCC, RMB 40 for Bookworm members (includes welcome drink), RMB 50 for others (includes welcome drink)
RSVP: yoopay: https://yoopay.cn/event/60509388