Taiwan Today

Premier Sun Yun-suan opened the 12th National Development Seminar with a call for the help of Chinese schol­ars and experts from the world over in solving the Republic of China's pressing problems. The seminar began on July 12, and was scheduled to end on July 24th. Valuable suggestions have been made at past seminars. Many have been incorporated in the government's policies. This meeting finds the nation wres­tling with a variety of problems in economics, education, social affairs and diplomacy. Conferees will not agree on all steps that the government should take. But those from abroad have the broader view. At home, it is all too easy for us to be provincial, and this is a tendency that requires correction. Premier Sun admitted that Taiwan's economy has yet to take a turn for the better. In addition to worldwide business stagnation, Taiwan faces problems of transition from light, labor-intensive in­dustry to that of a heavier or more so­phisticated nature. For a while, the Republic of China was doing better than South Korea. Now we seem to be slipping behind our neigh­bors, although the difficulties facing both countries are roughly similar. Results of education are not entirely satisfactory despite heavy emphasis placed on schooling. As the Premier said, one urgent need is the upgrading of pedagogy. Great progress has been made in the development of institutionalized democracy. How do we go on to perfect the electoral process at a time when we are faced by threats and intrigues from the Communists? Free China seeks the friendship and cooperation of the free world. There is need for a diplomatic breakthrough in the face of Communist united front conspiracy. In the larger sense, the series of De­velopment Seminars illustrates the dif­ference between the Republic of China and the Chinese Communists. This country and its government are open-minded. We reach out for and wel­come the ideas of others. We want to learn and grow; we have no preconceived idea of perfection. On the other hand, the Communists are caught in the web of Marxist­ Leninist-Maoist tautology. They cannot originate new ideas themselves and they cannot accept them from others. Communism has perpetuated the decadence of dynastic China. It resists change just as fiercely. Who even mentions the "four modernizations" today? They have become a dead letter; the mainland has returned to hopeless backwardness. Free China is forging ahead with its concepts and ingenuity, and borrowing from the free world whenever it can. No country has a monopoly on progress. The 12th National Development Seminar gives every promise of being as constructively helpful as its predecessors.