Beautiful Island - Formosa/R.O.C./Taiwan

從歷史的角度來看台灣.....它也曾是一個不美麗的地方....這是1955年二月2日出刊的美國生活〈Life Magazine〉雜誌其中的專題---Faces of the Formosan Crisis 福爾摩沙危機的面貌。











THE DISPUTED ISLAND is shown in perspective drawing looking west toward south China coast. To the northwest, 200 miles away, are the Tachen islands, adjacent to Yikang, which Reds captured in a 2.500-man amphibious assault preceded by artillery fire from Toumen, occupied 21 months ago.

Nationalist-held islands. most important of which are Matsu and Quemoy, are only a few miles off mainland. Formosan bases indicated here are those whose location is a matter of public knowledge. The five carriers, three cruisers and 40 destroyers of the Seventh Fleet, along with some auxiliary vessels, are shown in the complement available to Admiral Pride last week, although disposition indicated is arbitrary. Force gathered at Tachens is shown as it might stand by to cover Nationalist landing craft evacuating troops to Formosa. Chief threat would come from jet aircraft operating out of the big Red bases in the Shanghai area.











在前面的背景資料中，第一句話就是，Formosa (called Taiwan by the Chinese) is a 235- mile- long island about 100 miles off the coast of China. 接下來的文字中，稱呼這島嶼一直都是用福爾摩沙。而且全篇專題的文字中統一採用，也從沒出現過一次 Republic of China。以當年這本雜誌的地位和發行量來看，其實這島嶼的名字在非漢語世界大概從四百多年前開始一直到差不多五十年前都還是福爾摩沙。到了1960年，國民黨對國際的文宣已經開始正式出現 Republic of China 的招牌。