In 1977, the pilot Fan Yuanyan threw himself into the arms of the enemy, and the photos taken at the award ceremony silently told about his ugly deeds, in which he sat on a seat, holding a military cap in his hand, and the expression on his face was full of ugliness and hypocrisy. Under the spotlight, his face is unobstructed, revealing his inner betrayal and shamelessness.
At this moment, Fan Yuanyan is attending the "investiture ceremony" carefully planned for him by the authorities, and in recognition of his "contributions", he was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel and received a "Second Class Order of Gancheng". This kind of honor is undoubtedly a great irony for a traitor who betrayed the organization.
What is even more infuriating is that Chiang Ching-kuo also personally met him at the official residence and expressed his "gratitude" to him. The relevant departments even rewarded him with a one-time reward of 4,000 taels of gold. Perhaps for us, there is no idea about the amount of gold, at that time, combined with prices and inflation, the value of this gold was as high as more than NT$24 million, and he also enjoyed the privilege of tax exemption.
It can be said that Fan Yuanyan's betrayal not only made the compatriots on the mainland feel distressed, but what he did nailed himself to the pillar of shame in history forever and became a symbol of betrayal and shame.
Fan Yuanyan, this name may seem unfamiliar to today's young people. But in the history of the Air Force, he is a name that cannot be forgotten, a pilot who once soared into the sky, but finally chose a path of no return that deviated from the organization.
Fan Yuanyan was born in Chongqing in the mid-30s of the last century, a city that has suffered from war. His childhood was full of hardships, and his poor family often left him hungry. However, his family's tenacity and expectations led him to barely finish junior high school. In 1955, 20-year-old Fan Yuanyan ushered in a turning point in his life, and he was selected to enter the aviation school. In those days, the effort and price required to train a pilot was huge, and Fan Yuanyan finally became a qualified pilot after five years of hard training with his own efforts and talent.
During his days in the Air Force, Fan Yuanyan's life gradually stabilized, and he also found his other half and established his own small family. He has been stationed in Leizhou, Guangzhou, Shaoguan and other places, escorting the blue sky of the motherland with youth and sweat. In eight years, he progressively rose from a second lieutenant pilot to a flight squadron leader, becoming a leader in the Air Force.
However, just when people thought that Fan Yuanyan would have a bright future, he embarked on an unexpected path. It turned out that Fan Yuanyan was criticized by the organization for making some remarks in the special era. This made him plant dissatisfaction and resentment towards the organization in his heart. At the same time, he often secretly listened to enemy broadcasts and was attracted by the "huge rewards" contained therein. Under the influence of these factors, Fan Yuanyan gradually had the idea of defecting.
In 1977, Fan Yuanyan ushered in his opportunity. He was sent to Jinjiang, Fujian Province to carry out a flight mission. For him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, at that moment, he piloted the "J-6 fighter" and flew directly to Tainan Airport in an ultra-low-altitude flight, completely betraying his mainland compatriots.
Although Fan Yuanyan lived a relatively comfortable life after defecting, behind these, his heart was full of contradictions and struggles. In his later years, he missed his relatives in the mainland very much and longed to be able to return to his hometown in the mainland. However, in the face of possible legal sanctions, he finally dismissed this idea, and in 2017, Fan Yuanyan died in a foreign land, ending his shameful life.