TAIWAN, MAINLAND UFO SYMPOSIUM CLOSES IN BEIJING

This document, a Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) report dated December 7, 1993, details the conclusion of a three-day symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) held in Beijing. The event was notable for being the first of its kind to be attended by researchers from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. According to the report, nearly 6,000 sightings have been documented across the Taiwan Straits, with some cases defying rational explanation. Wang Changting, Chairman of the China UFO Research Organization (CURO), noted that over 5,000 of these reports originated from the mainland, with several hundred from Taiwan. The symposium participants, numbering approximately 50 researchers, discussed various theories regarding the nature of these objects, ranging from natural phenomena and man-made satellites to extraterrestrial origins. The document highlights that witnesses to these phenomena have included civil and military pilots, as well as workers at astronomical observatories. A specific recent sighting was mentioned, occurring on August 7, 1993, involving two rim-linked, hat-like objects observed over Taipei International Airport for 15 minutes. The report also provides historical context, noting that the first reports of 'flying saucers' in the United States occurred in 1947, with the topic becoming widespread in Taiwan in the 1960s and on the mainland in the late 1970s. Furthermore, it mentions that in 1978, the United Nations called for governments to establish UFO investigation bodies, leading to the formation of CURO in the mainland, which is now affiliated with the China Association for Science and Technology.