It was a dry, January morning in Taipei, and the assembled crowd grew a little restless. The constant fighter and transport plane sorties out of the capital seemed to have slowed momentarily, but the stream of refugees from mainland China have not. Dozens of families in ragged clothing and children under police escort streamed by, gawking at the middle-class crowd in Sunday clothes on the way to their temporary housing units in the newly-reorganized New Taipei City. Some of the more sheltered of the crowd wrinkled their nose at the smell of horse manure emanating from the nearby animal exhibit as they stood in the center of the Taipei Zoo.

Suddenly, a military 8x4 screeched to a halt nearby and let down a hay-covered ramp. A lumbering elephant emerged out of the compartment, adorned in ROCA insignia and flanked by a ceremonial honor guard. Ah Mei, named for his majestic beauty, flailed his trunk at the unfamiliar surroundings, eliciting surprised gasps from the crowd. Luckily, his old acquaintance and effective co-leader of the Formosan Clique Sun Li-jen followed shortly behind, reaching out his hand to calm the elephant down.

Seeing the "Rommel of the East" in all his personal glory, the crowd burst into applause, which Sun eventually waved down in preparation for his remarks.

Today, in the midst of the Chinese nightmare, we celebrate an embodiment of Republican values, of Formosan values, and of Chinese values. Ah Mei has served with distinction with the Chinese Expeditionary Force against the Japanese imperialists, fighting valiantly in the foothills and jungles of Burma, and undergoing the terrors of captivity as a prisoner of war. He is now the last of his kind alive, of those elephants that served the Chinese nation with our unit.

More recently, he was brought to Formosa with me, continuing to serve in our great army. However, it is time for him to rest. While we continue the fight against the separatist terrorists, who continue to murder and maim indiscriminately in pursuit of false dogwhistles, they will be pushed back in due course, and tranquility will be restored to this island for the sake of its people.

Ah Mei will be formally retiring from the Republic of China Army by October, leaving at the rank of General. He will be kept in this very zoo, where his space will be open for visitation by the general public and old comrades who wish to pay their respects to a national hero. On behalf of the Republic of China, farewell Ah Mei, and thank you for your service.

At the end of his speech, the crowd clapped more than it typically did, even accounting for the general popularity of General Sun and the perhaps-filtered nature of the people in the crowd. It was clear that the elephant would become a favorite of the Taiwanese people going forwards, no matter the fate of its government.