GARRISON ON TACHENS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27565, 24 January 1955, Page 9

GARRISON ON TACHENS

No Evacuation By Nationalists

(NX. Press Association —Copyright) (Rec. 11 pan.) NEW YORK, January The commander of the United

States Seventh Fleet sailed towards the Formosa Strait today amid reports that the evacuation of 8000 civilians and other noncombatants from the Tachen Islands had begun. A United Press dispatch from Taipeh said the Seventh Fleet commander, Vice-Admiral Alfred Pride, sailed suddenly from Hong Kong aboard his flagship, the cruiser Helena, with an escort of four destroyers. Three American aircraft-carriers are believed to be heading for the Formosa Strait from the Philippines. The United Press correspondent said there were persistent reports that the 10,000-man Nationalist defence garrison on the Tachens would be evacuated. But all the official statements said the outpost, 200 miles north of Formosa, would be defended “to the last man.”

The Chinese Nationalist Premier, Mr O. K. Yui, announced that the .Nationalist Government was “flrmly opposed” to the idea of evacuating the Tachens as Nationalist aircraft took off to continue their bombing of Communist vessels and military targets off the mainland coast for the fourth consecutive day. Mr Yui told a press conference that he had heard nothing about the reported American offer to help evacuate the Nationalist garrison from the Tachens.

“We are flrmly opposed to such a step,” he said. Usually reliable Nationalist sources said the Nationalists were evacuating non-combatants from the upper and lower Tachens to prepare for a “bitter fight” in case of a Communist invasion. Sources said the first evacuation ship left yesterday. The Nationalist Air Force said its planes were continuing “round-the-clock punitive operations.” They said a stream of reports was pouring into headquarters all day and night telling of “successful” rocketing, and strafing of Communist ships along the 300-mile stretch of mainland coast between the Chekiang and Fukien provinces. Nationalist Air Force sources said six waves of planes this morning hit Toumen and Yikiangshan, which was recently lost to the Communists, and sank eight 500-ton Communist ships. Two hours later Nationalist planes scored hits on two Communist gunboats and damaged eight junks at Sungmen, south of Yikiangshan, the sources said.