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They Chose China

2005 52 min
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In this feature documentary, Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Shuibo Wang (Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square) aims his camera at the astonishing story of 21 American soldiers who opted to stay in China after the Korean War ended in 1954. Back home in the United States, McCarthyism was at its height and many Americans believed these men were brainwashed by Chinese communists. But what really happened? Using never-before-seen footage from the Chinese camps and interviews with former PoWs and their families, They Chose China tells the fascinating stories of these forgotten American dissidents.

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They Chose China

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In this feature documentary, Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Shuibo Wang (Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square) aims his camera at the astonishing story of 21 American soldiers who opted to stay in China after the Korean War ended in 1954.

Back home in the United States, McCarthyism was at its height and many Americans believed these men were brainwashed by Chinese communists. But what really happened? Using never-before-seen footage from the Chinese camps and interviews with former PoWs and their families, They Chose China tells the fascinating stories of these forgotten American dissidents.

Foreign Countries War, Conflict and Peace Politics and Government History All subjects
  • participation
    David Hawkins
    Della Adams
    Lin Adams
    Jessica Adams
    Richard Westbrook
    Bai Xirong
    Shaolei Veneris
    Shaoxia Veneris
    Lu Wenxin
    Cheng Shaokun
    Hao Zhanjun
    Li Honglin
    Liu Xuanzhen
    Lu Bin
    Pan Chongyuan
    Qian Meide
    Su Yunbao
    Wang Youfen
    Wu Dashou
    Wu Henian
    Wu Jun
    Xia Fangmin
    Zhou Shanqun
  • director
    Shui-Bo Wang
  • producer
    Claude Bonin
  • executive producer
    Éric Michel
    Paul Saadoun
  • associate producer
    Joanne Carrière
    Véronique Rabuteau
  • editor
    Ragnar Van Leyden
  • director of photography
    Sylvestre Guidi
  • production manager
    Jelena Popovic
    Li Pei
  • research
    Pascale Bilodeau
  • original music
    Peter Chase
  • narration - writer
    Shui-Bo Wang
    Donald McWilliams
  • narrator
    Shui-Bo Wang
  • stock shot research
    Pascale Bilodeau
    Elizabeth Klinck
    Tanya Fleet
  • archives off-line conform
    Valérie Précourt
    Guillaume Millet
  • translation
    Li Yu
  • subtitles
    Li Yu
    Kathleen Fee
  • interpreter
    Xiaodan He
  • sound engineer
    Zhang Yong
    Sylvain Vary
  • voice director
    Kathleen Fee
  • voice casting
    Kathleen Fee
  • voice recording
    Kathleen Fee
  • recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • voice
    Joanna Noyes
    Kelly Ricard
    Luis de Cespedes
    Paul Stewart
  • sound editor
    Daniel Toussaint
  • re-recording
    Luc Léger
  • digital editing technician
    Ochelle Greenidge
    Carole Lalonde
    Martine Forget
  • image processing
    Pierre Landry
    Louise Overy
  • titles
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
    Françoise Laprise
  • post-production co-ordinator
    Jean-Pierre St-Michel
    Andrée Delagrave
  • administrator
    Maryse Chapdelaine
  • administrator - assistant
    Isabelle de Bellefeuille
    Nathalie Cloutier
  • project coordinator
    Brigitte Couture
  • production team
    Catherine Frebourg
    Clarisse Gatti
    Marie-Christine Gely
    Sandra Moella
    Malik Menaï

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Education

Ages 14 to 17
School subjects
Civics/Citizenship - Ideologies History and Citizenship Education - Civil Rights and Freedoms
Have a discussion to see if the class agrees that some of the men stayed behind because they were going to have a better life than if they returned to the United States. Ask students if they would make the same decision and why. One of the POWs said he does not "think we have the right to interfere in a civil war in another country when it's not even close to our own shore". What do students think about that comment given the circumstances today (war in Afghanistan)? Should North America interfere with foreign domestic conflicts?
They Chose China
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