They Chose China (Canada) | Click here to watch
(52 min; 2006; English)
Director: Shui-Bo Wang
In January 1954, months after the end of the Korean War, U.S. soldiers held in POW camps were at last free to return home. A small group, however, refused repatriation to the U.S. and, after being given 90 days to reconsider their decision, 21 American soldiers decided to stay in China. In They Chose China, Academy Award-nominated Chinese documentarian Shui-bo Wang tells the controversial story of these forgotten American dissidents.
Using rare archival footage, as well as period and contemporary interviews, the film chronicles the fascinating history of this group of young Americans who were hailed in China as "peace fighters" and denounced in America as "turncoats" and "traitors."
