Director General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Toronto Catherine Y. M. Hsu on April 19th visited University of Toronto’s Chief Librarian Larry Alford and presented him a gift to the University Libraries—a photography book titled “The Republic of China And WWII,” published by the Hsu Chung Mao Studio in Taiwan. Attendees of the presentation ceremony included Hana Kim, Director of Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library (CYTEAL) at University of Toronto, Stephen Qiao, former Acting Director of CYTEAL and Alicia Wang, Deputy Director of TECO Toronto.

DG Hsu pointed out that the book was produced by Taiwan’s veteran journalist Hsu Chung Mao and his team after three years of efforts. The book was published with a limited edition of 999 copies only and each copy carried a serial number. The collected photos were all retrieved from the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States and were converted into colour images from the original black-and-white ones after a thorough research on historical materials. The final work reclaimed valuable historic shots and rendered them even more compelling. DG Hsu also mentioned that last year was the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan and World War II. The Government of Republic of China (Taiwan) and its embassies and missions around the world hosted a series of events commemorating the historic moment so as to bring back historical truth and underscore the ROC’s wartime sacrifices and contributions, sending the world a message of war preventing and peace seeking.

Chief Librarian Alford recognized the way the ROC government commemorated World War II and the War of Resistance Against Japan. Alford also highly praised the precious collection of historical photos on the photography book and the delicate colorization technology used in reproducing the photos. The book would be kept at CYTEAL and open to the public to have a glimpse of it. It will also be exhibited at proper time.

Ever since TECO Toronto signed an agreement with the CYTEAL in 2011 to set up a contact point of the virtual Taiwan Academy at the Library, both sides has maintained close cooperation. In September 2015, Director General of Taiwan’s National Central Library (NCL) Shu-hsien Tseng and Chief Librarian Alford signed a memorandum of cooperation on "Taiwan Resource Centre for Chinese Studies" (TRCCS). It marked the first TRCCS established by the NCL in Canada, providing resources such as digital collections and database. In addition, NCL also worked with the CYTEAL to digitalize the famous Chinese rare books of the Mu Collection (慕氏藏書). The collaboration helps to deepen academic exchange and promote Chinese Studies in Canada.

TECO Toronto DG Hsu presents photography book “The Republic of China And WWII” to University of Toronto Main Libraries

The valuable historical photos on the photography book “The Republic of China And WWII.”