“123 Freedom Day” Taiwan's Shadowy Involvement in the Korean War - Part Two – S2-E15

The Korean War would almost certainly have ended much earlier but for the tricky question of what to do with Chinese POWs. The 21,000 Red Chinese soldiers captured were finally given a choice: go home to China...or go to "Free China" on Taiwan, the ROC. The choices made by these captives were not, however, free from influence. Every side in the conflict had an angle that would benefit themselves, and each tried to steer the POWs to making the "right choice." Some of this "steering" involved drastic measures such as forcibly tattooing political slogans -- or, worse, cutting such tattoos off. Here's the somewhat forgotten tale of why Taiwan once annually celebrated "123 Freedom Day."