At the height of a fratricidal wrangling across the Taiwan straight, a Taipei-based C-46 passenger airliner (Civil Air Transport No. B-908) crashed as a result of a failed hijacking to Red China. It was on June 20, 1964, all 57 onboard were killed, including the high profile founder of Cathy Organization (Singapore), Motion Picture and General Investments Ltd. (Hong Kong), Loke Wan Tho-the target of this attack. Ignoring the death threat from the Red China, Loke’s Taiwan trip for the 11th Asian Film Festival infuriated Beijing. Before Loke’s VIP group went aboard in Taipei, two “Navy officers” had already boarded in Penghu, each men brought a thick USN Radar Operator Manual in his carry-on luggage, containing was a 9mm FN Browning hi-power pistol in a cut-out in each manual. But when the aircraft overflew Taizhong, the hijacker’s plans went very wrong, so they shot both pilots in order to accomplished mission at any costs.
Among the debris on the scene, one of the hollow manual was found by an experienced CIA agent. On the bombshell clue, he furtively traced back to the 2nd Navy Shipyard in Penghu, then down to the saboteurs on the passenger list. Surely such outcome was a relief for the powerless CAT employees, CAT’s name seemed to be cleared, and its insurance might cover all the losses. But, they had no idea that the Chiang Kai-Shek’s image as a nation savior, this was required of the military not to reveal their absolute loyalty to Chiang’s authoritarian rule in order to support a fidelity outwardly. Soon all the evidences were erased by the secret police, even CIA-boss of CAT-was closemouthed about the conspiracy. Thus CAT was made the scapegoat for its “pilot’s error”, and it had backtracked since ever.
In retrospect, the democratic tide in Taiwan runs with unsuspected power and depth. During Chiang’s reign, there were many ways one can land in state political prison, one of the victims under “shotgun blasting Commie hunt” was my neighbor Lee (李我炎)-future assistant of deputy secretary general of the UN. However, as a lucky toddler, I was carefully protected by my parents. In 1961 my mother took me in CAT’s new CV-880 jet to visit my grandma in Hong Kong, among my new toys I brought back home was a little drum made in Red China-with a Red Star on a drumhead. When my dad spotted the “politically incorrect” logo, he cut off that drumhead. Like far-reaching free expression, aircraft seems rare and jaw-dropping sights then. Amid aircraft types used in Taiwan, I crossed through their service lives in different ways, where I had close encounters with Convair 880, Boeing 737, Beechcraft Super King Air 200, Republic F-84 Thunderjet and North American F-86 Sabre, etc. in my early days in Taiwan.
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