2007 is an important year for Taiwanese. At the start of the year, we marked the 60th anniversary of the February 28 Incident, which was commemorated by a series of reports on television. The 20th anniversary of the end of martial law came at mid-year, and was marked by the re-release of numerous books and songs banned in that era. And, believe it or not, November 2 was the 20th anniversary of the opening up of travel to mainland China to visit relatives. But the media paid little attention to this last anniversary, which is surprising when you consider that a million veterans have gone back to visit their hometowns over the last 20 years.

In the Nationalist government's chaotic retreat to Taiwan in 1949, few of the million soldiers it brought with it-most of them young enlisted men-had the chance to say goodbye to their families. In the years that followed, so little information passed between the two sides that neither the soldiers nor their families knew whether the other still lived

Separated from their families, most put down roots in Taiwan. Some married and had children, others spent their lives alone. Some struggled with poverty, others lived well. But whatever their circumstances, all longed for their loved ones and hometowns more and more as they aged. Short letters were far from enough; they wanted to see their homes and families.

In 1987, on the Mother's Day before martial law was lifted, a group of old veterans marched through the streets of Taipei wearing shirts inscribed with the words, "Missing home." As they marched, they played the tune "Mother, Where Are You?" and expressed the hope that the government would lift the ban on visits to family in the mainland.

Everyone, regardless of their ideological leanings and political views, was moved by the veterans' tears and could not deny them this basic human desire. Changes soon followed: President Chiang Ching-kuo announced the lifting of martial law in July of that year, and began permitting visits to the mainland in November, reopening cross-strait travel for the first time in 38 years. In the first year, half a million people traveled from Taiwan to the mainland to visit family and for sightseeing.

Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the old veterans have now visited innumerable times, bringing their Taiwanese wives and armloads of gifts with them. They have acknowledged family, talked about old times, mourned for the dead, renovated tombs, built bridges, repaired roads, helped out the poor, and constructed schools to ease regrets and pay back old debts. But their hometowns have changed dramatically over the years, and many of their dearest relations have passed on. In effect, the towns they remember no longer exist.

Though time may be the master of all, its passage eventually wiping away all our joys and sorrows, we feel that the veterans' moving and bitter memories of home should be preserved. We hope too that the politicians will take a lesson, that they will learn to keep the public's good in mind and avoid a repeat of this tragedy.

These few photos were selected from images on the theme of veterans returning home that were submitted by the public at the request of the Association of Mainlander Taiwanese. In late December, Ink Publishing will be releasing a larger selection of the photographs collected.

Another veteran from Zhoushan went back after many years to discover his wife had long since remarried and had a family. Though he returned to Taiwan to avoid disrupting their lives, the image of his wife's bowed head and tears remains with him.

Perhaps some veterans are lonely in Taiwan. Perhaps they have a houseful of friends and relatives in the mainland. Even so, there may be many frustrations and conflicts stewing beneath the surface. In the photo Wang Chang-ken attends a wedding in his role as family patriarch.