TAIWAN FAMINE RELIEF FOR CHINA

Ai Li-Shan

During the great famine in China during the late 1950s and 1960s few are aware of the help that was sent from Taiwan to China. I was unaware of this until years ago I found a cover with a postal chop asking people to donate to help the famine victims.

The cover was mailed from Tamshui to Taipei, March 9, 1961. The chop reads “$1 per person saves 1 person in China” (from famine). I would suspect that the money was forwarded through the Red Cross in either Hong Kong or Japan, but have no evidence as to how the money was transferred. This chop is not often found, but would make a nice addition to a famine relief topical collection.