Taipei, May 17 (CNA) A documentary in tribute of a U.S. engineer who made great contributions to the reconstruction and economic development of Taiwan during the early post-war years premiered in Taipei Thursday, bringing back memories of the 1950s.
The 60-minute documentary titled "Valery S. de Beausset and U.S. Aid to Taiwan, " is dedicated to de Beausset, who worked for J.G. White Engineering Corp. and served as both distributor and advisor for U.S. aid from 1950 - 1957 and was instrumental in drawing up a list of priorities for granting American aid.
J.G. White Corp. was the U.S. contractor that oversaw U.S. aid, which amounted to approximately US$ 1.48 billion from 1951-1965 with an annual average of US$ 100 million, under the authorization of the U.S. Economic Cooperation Administration (EAC) and Taiwan's Council on U.S. Aid (CUSA).
During his stay in Taiwan, De Beausset, who is now 92 and lives in Michigan, helped with the reconstruction of Taiwan's transportation system and the restoration of the productivity of Taiwan's national industries. He was directly involved with projects to expand electrical power dams, the reconstruction of the rail network, the constructions of harbors and airports, and gave advice on the development of more than 30 industrial enterprises.
"Taiwan once again plays an important part of our lives at this old age, " Lee-Tai de Beausset, one of two daughters representing the de Beausset family in the premier, read from a letter written by her 85-year-old mother Connie de Beausset, who also described her nine years in Taiwan as "the most exciting and rewarding of our early married life."
"Val's method of working was to stay behind the scenes. He never tried to take credit for any work he did with the very capable and dedicated Chinese engineers, businessmen and government officials. But there's no denying his gratification and deep pleasure to have this recognition and appreciation for his work, " she wrote.
The documentary is the first film made by the National Taiwan University Library (NTUL), which started contacting the de Beaussets in 2004 about the film. In 2006, the de Beaussets donated their collections of photographs and color films, which were all taken in the 1950's, as well as personal letters and news clippings, to the NTUL for the making of the documentary.
The film serves as both a tribute to the contributions of de Beausset and as a reminder to the people of Taiwan that "we owe what we have today to an American engineer who should have been recognized long ago, " said NTUL Director Hsiang Jieh.