At a church in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Tseng Sheng-guang’s mother sees her son for the last time as the young man’s body is placed in a coffin.
He joined other relatives and several Ukrainians who wanted to pay tribute to a man who died thousands of miles from his home while fighting for a country he had never visited before.
“Sheng-guang, son, I want you to know that you are very brave,” he said later. “You will always be my baby and I’m proud of you.”
Tseng, 25, was fighting the territorial defense forces of the Ukraine International Legion when he was killed in the town of Lyman last month. He was the first Taiwanese to die fighting in Ukraine.
In a statement after his death, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Tseng “dedicated his life to Ukraine’s freedom struggle”.
Thousands of foreign soldiers went to the country to join the conflict. Taiwanese among them are few in number and are estimated at around ten.
But the Russian invasion had repercussions on the self-governing island at the other end of the world. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has said it will unite by force if necessary. Taiwan sees itself as independent.
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have angered Beijing after the visit of American politician Nancy Pelosi in August. China responded with military exercises around the island.
Sammy Lin, who befriended Tseng through online platforms, said he was worried that Taiwan could one day suffer the same fate as Ukraine.
“I remember him telling his friends that he couldn’t stand by while the Ukrainian people were being harassed and killed by the Russians,” he said.
Tseng was “one of the fairest people” Sammy said he had ever met.
Image: Reuters
Taiwan has mandatory military service, and those who complete this service are eligible to join Ukraine’s foreign legion.
28-year-old Jack Yao was among those who decided to go. He arrived in Ukraine three days after President Volodymyr Zelensky called on foreign volunteers to join the war. Yao traveled from Taipei to Poland and then set out for the capital, Kiev.
“Last year I was looking specifically at the situation with the Russians bringing a large number of soldiers and tanks to the Ukrainian border. Nobody believed that would happen,” he told the BBC.
“The situation here is similar to Taiwan. I was thinking what can I do to support Ukraine.”
He joined the Georgian Foreign Legion and was tasked with reconnaissance and melee missions. The Russians were still trying to take Kiev when he arrived.
“Since the Russians were in Bucha, there were a lot of bomb and rocket attacks,” he says, referring to the city north of the capital.
“I had a mission and I saw our men die in an explosion. About 50 meters away, the bomb fell behind them.”
In his spare time, he discusses Taiwan with the rest of his military contingent.
“A colleague of mine lived in Taiwan for two years and knew the situation. Taiwan and Ukraine are like brothers. 100 percent the same. They were telling me that you can’t die here because you have to come back and protect your homeland.” said.
Although Yao returned to Taiwan, the others remained in Ukraine. In a video recently released for a charity, two Taiwanese explained the reasons for the decision.
“The main reason we’re here is to defend the safety of Ukrainians,” they say, holding the Taiwan flag.
“We fear that if Russia wins, China will do the same to Taiwan. That’s why we are ready to go to Ukraine and sacrifice our lives and freedom for the safety of the people there.”
Still, not all Taiwanese who came to Ukraine had geopolitical concerns in mind. In June, Li Chenling told the BBC China Service that he was there because he wanted to live an “unforgettable life”.
He added that if Taiwan is invaded, the will to fight will depend on the response of the local government and the United States.
US President Joe Biden recently reiterated that the country would defend Taiwan if China attacked. However, Washington’s official policy is “strategic uncertainty” – that is, it does not commit to defend Taiwan, but it does not exclude this option either.
Last month, Biden said he did not believe the Chinese invasion of Taiwan was imminent. The statement was made shortly after a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Paul Huang of the Taiwan Public Forum says that the general Taiwanese public has mixed views on the possibility of conflict.
“Interestingly, more people seem to be stating that they are not worried,” he told the BBC.
“As we saw in Ukraine, how worried people are about a certain thing has nothing to do with the probability of that event happening, nor does it say anything about preparing for it,” he added.
But according to experts, most Taiwanese do not believe that the island can stand up to China as long as Ukraine resists Russia.
Tseng’s mother, who mourned her death, said she was somewhat relieved by her son’s decision to fight with others for Ukraine.
“Despite my suffering, it is very comforting to know that in the last moments of Sheng-guang’s life, he was fighting alongside a group of the bravest warriors, supporting each other and standing together in the fight for life and death.”
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63956175.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.