President Chiang Kai-shek was elected for a third term as the President of the Republic of China on March 21. Commenting on the President's re-election, the Washington Daily News, a Scripps-Howard newspaper, said in its editorial on March 22: "As a symbol, President Chiang continues to voice his determination to be 'a lighthouse of freedom—a beacon of free people giving hope to those who struggle to regain their freedom in whatever country they may be. Our constant effort must be to remain free and ready, so as to hold out hope to others who are in chains.'"
"Such posture can hardly be faulted," the paper added, "and well-wishers in sympathy with Chiang Kai-shek's fortitude will be gratified that he is staying on in office for another six years. He is a time-tested ally who has never broken his word to us."
The influential Oakland Tribune on the same day also hailed the re-election of President Chiang as President of the Republic of China, praising the Chinese National Assembly for having done the right thing in re-electing the President to a third term.
In its editorial, the paper said: "President Chiang under the circumstances is the only man who will give both actual and symbolic leadership to the Chinese people in free China and throughout the world.
"The National Assembly, having itself been elected, serves as the electoral college of free China. The decision of President Chiang to serve a third term came only after he had made it plain he would not serve again if it meant a revision of the Republic of China Constitution which limits presidential tenure to two terms. The Assembly did not repeal or modify any part of the Constitution. But it did decree a state of emergency which it has the legal right to do under the Constitution."
The paper added: "Foreign diplomats were in full agreement that it was entirely legal for such a step to be taken. It was a situation somewhat similar to that in France when the Assembly gave emergency powers to President Charles de Gaulle to act in the Algerian crisis and to meet major domestic issues."
"An Indispensable Man"
The U.S. News & World Report, in its April 4 issue actually published on March 28, described President Chiang Kai-shek as China's "indispensable man" whose mission is still to make a free China his goal.
In a 3-page article illustrated with pictures showing the President and Madame Chiang and the progress made in Taiwan, the national American magazine began with an editorial introduction: "Suddenly, the world is becoming aware of what Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek has done with his ten years of exile on Formosa.
"In that period, Chiang has multiplied food and industrial production, broadened educational opportunity. Asian Communists are watching enviously. He also has built up a tough fighting force of 600,000 men."
It said: "Chiang Kai-shek, now 72, and just beginning his third term as president of Nationalist China, is turning out to be this country's 'indispensable man.'"
"Invading the Communist-held mainland remains Chiang's dream," the article said, "and meanwhile he is building a secure base for such an operation in Taiwan, secure both economically and militarily. After a lifetime of fighting for a free China—against warlords, Japanese and Communists, Chiang still makes a free China his goal."
The magazine recounted the progress made in Taiwan in various fields during the past ten years under President Chiang's leadership and called what he has done on Formosa "amazing." It summed up in conclusion: "What Chiang has done on Formosa has made an impression in the Far East. One way to measure his stature today is in the attitude of other Asian countries.
"Five years ago, non-Communist Asian governments, except those in the Philippines, South Vietnam and South Korea, would have preferred that Formosa be returned to Red China.
"Now, even Nehru of India, who has avoided offending Red China, gives grudging respect to Chiang and his Formosan achievements. Nehru now would oppose any attempt to return the island to the mainland government without the consent of the Formosans. For Nehru, this is considered a radical change."
"Meanwhile, Chiang considers himself the leader of an unfinished revolution. He is not going to give up easily," the article added.
A Freedom Bulwark
The Philippine Herald on March 23, commenting on President Chiang's re-election, said his name has stood out as a "freedom bulwark" in Asia.
The editorial said: "Aging Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, as expected, won re-election as president of Nationalist Chinese republic for a third consecutive term. Chiang's poll victory was quite unprecedented, in that he ran unopposed for the first time in his political career, receiving almost all of the votes cast by the national assembly. The impression of a unanimous endorsement of his continued leadership cannot be more pronounced, indeed."
"Chiang has led the Nationalists as general and president since 1926 and through the critical era of the Nationalist Chinese government's forced withdrawal to Formosa," the paper continued, "a political contemporary of such World War II greats as the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt and former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Chiang's name has stood out as a freedom bulwark this side of Asia.
"Chiang's latest election victory has a powerful bearing on the anti-Communist effort in Asia and should be cause for rejoicing and reassurance among the free nations in this area. For it implies continued confidence of the Chinese people in his leadership, which has been dedicated to a relentless fight against communism. Chiang was overwhelmingly elected on the strength of the battlecry, 'We follow Chiang back to the mainland.' The Chinese people know that if there is at all any leader who can lead his people back to the mainland, it would be Chiang. This, of course, is much easier said than done, but the faith is there nevertheless. And faith can conquer almost anything."
The Manila Bulletin on the same day also said: "It was unthinkable outside Nationalist China that anyone could have replaced Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek as President and undisputed leader. And evidently it was unthinkable in Taipei and all Formosa as well, for the seventy-two-year-old generalissimo won his third six-year term in office by the greatest election majority in his thirty years of rule. Perhaps, in fact, it was impossible.
"For the first time in his career he ran unopposed in the national assembly, which elects presidents in Nationalist China. Only forty out of fifteen hundred failed to vote for him. He embarks now upon another six year term. Politics is well in hand in our neighboring country to the north."
Rallying Center
Before President Chiang was re-elected, the Philippine Herald on February 11 said: "As for Nationalist sympathizers still on the mainland, Chiang is the only man whom they can consider a spiritual leader, the man upon whom they depend for eventual deliverance from the Communist rule."
It added: "United Nations interrogation officers who served the Korean war can testify to this. Frequently Chinese prisoners of war demanded to be turned over immediately to 'Generalissimo Chiang's Army.' Some even claimed they surrendered only after seeing the generalissimo's battle flags at the front."
The Houston Chronicle also noted in its March 7 editorial that President Chiang had fought Communism longer than any other national leader, he "is too valuable both as leader and symbol to retire at this time."
It said: "Chiang, now 72, is in excellent health and the moderation of his living habits promises that he might well prove to be another Konrad Adenauer who is leading Germany vigorously at 84.
"With Chiang, Nationalist China looks to the future with confidence. Its economic progress has been perhaps greater than that of any Oriental nation. Its armed forces are fit, well trained and have high morale. Under universal military training the average age of its soldiers is only 24, with hundreds of thousands of veterans in reserve."
Robert R. Brunn of the Christian Science Monitor on March 4 wrote that "General Chiang is an almost indispensable symbol of unity and of the will of the Chinese to return to the mainland."
He said: "Many have hoped that General Chiang would retire and allow a successor to build up support. For the Kuomintang is split into factions and with General Chiang's passing from the scene there could be a difficult struggle for power ....
"Yet we must be fair to the Kuomintang rule. Many of its leaders are able, honest, and sincere. They have tried with good administration to erase the memory of a Kuomintang past of corruption. The brightest accomplishment has been a full-bodied program of land and rural reform which is an example for all of Asia. This the Kuomintang leaders feel, too, is qualifying them for 'the return.'"
Representative Politics
The Japan Times on March 22 published an editorial with the title "Chiang Kai-shek Reelected." It said: "The Chinese National Assembly in Taipei yesterday reelected 72-year-old General Chiang Kai-shek to the Presidency for a third term. There was no opposition and the outcome of the election had been regarded as a foregone conclusion for a long time past.
"Thus the leadership of Free China is settled for another six years so far as can be foreseen, and it may be of interest to review briefly the present situation and the outlook for the future as it appears likely to develop.
"As all the world knows, President Chiang's authority is now limited to the large island of Taiwan and a few islets off the Chinese mainland while the vast extent of China Proper and its continental dependencies languishes in the stern grip of the Red regime in Peiping. Victory over the Chinese Reds was reaffirmed recently as the main goal of the Kuomintang, President Chiang's ruling party.
"This was reaffirmed in the manifesto issued by the policy-making Central Committee which nominated General Chiang for reelection as President and General Chen Cheng for reelection as Vice President. The main task of the session of the National Assembly, said the manifesto, was to solidify the leadership of the nation so as to assure victory in counterattack against the Chinese Communists.
"The same manifesto set forth four points as the Kuomintang's political platform. These included adherence to the 'three people's principles' of nationalism, democracy and social well-being and willingness to cooperate with other anti-Communist elements; readiness to carry out economic reforms; continued preparations for 'another victory' should the Communists launch another battle in the Taiwan Straits; and determination to unify all anti-Communist Chinese at home and abroad.
"Because of the present situation, the manifesto declared, the numerical strength of the Chinese Nationalist armed forces must be maintained and their fire-power increased.
"The question is often asked by outside observers of what is sometimes called the 'two-China' situation what chances there are of the Nationalist Government, headed by President Chiang, being able to return in triumph to the mainland?
"The answer seems to be that under the present circumstances these chances are small. But it is the policy of the Government in Taipei to be always ready, so that if an opportunity should be afforded by a wide-spread revolt on the mainland or some other favorable development, the often-discussed counterattack could be launched.
"The Red Government in Peiping secured power by armed force, and it is largely by armed force that it remains in the saddle. Although the Nationalist forces in Taiwan are believed to be in an efficient condition their numbers, less than half a million for army, navy and air force combined, are not such that, in normal circumstances, they could hop to succeed against the vast armies maintained by the Peiping regime. The forces at the disposal of the Peiping authorities have been put at between three and four million men, and as the Soviet Government has suggested in connection with disarmament plans that Red China's army should be reduced to 1,700,000 men, as in the case of the United States and Soviet Russia, this figure may not be far wrong."
(Editor's note: With regard to the often asked question what chance there is of a triumphant return of the Government of the Republic of China to the mainland, Dr. Chang Kuei-yung, professor of history at National Taiwan University, in an "Asia Speaks" dispatch by United Press International on March 25, compared the present situation to earlier Chinese history and said that "what determines the success or failure of a nation's founder has seldom been the mere use of force." He said: "Victory usually went to the one who could reserve and accumulate enough strength to achieve such a degree of moral and political preponderancy that there would be no chance for the enemy. Thus victory could be won without a prolonged war and with only a moderate display of arms. In other words, a political victory was always decisively won before a large-scale military action was launched. By then only a few engagements were needed to seal the fate of the enemy.")
"It has been repeatedly stated in Taipei," the Japan Times continued: "that there is a possibility of a large-scale revolt against Communist tyranny on the Chinese mainland. Although much satisfaction in felt in various parts of China with the wretched conditions of life imposed upon the people by their Red tyrants, there seems little evidence that they would, or could, rise up in rebellion in sufficient number to shake the stability of the Communist regime.
"Today, it is abundantly clear, the Communist regime is firmly fixed upon the people of the mainland. The slightest resistance to the dictates of the Communist camarilla in Peiping is brutally repressed; not only that the smallest deviation from the Red 'Common Program,' in thought or deed, is visited with punishment. Everything is made subservient to the state, even more completely than in Soviet Russia.
"The recent 'trials' of Bishop Walsh and Bishop Kung Ping-mei in Shanghai on trumped up charges reveal the true character of the Chinese Communists, their fanatical hatred of the United States, of religion and of anything approaching free speech.
"But although the evil nature of the Communist system must be apparent to the great mass of the Chinese people caught in its toils, this fact cannot help them in view of the further knowledge that resistance on their part would be drowned in blood. Liberation of the Chinese people from the terror under which they have fallen is hardly possible today through military action; the only hope—and that is a very thin one—is that the Chinese Communists themselves may gradually come to learn the virtue of democratic ways.
"If the island of Taiwan, under the guidance of President Chiang's Nationalist Government, can supply an outstanding example of the value of representative political institutions, when applied to Chinese needs and aspirations, the lesson may not be entirely lost."
Vivid Contrast
The editorial of the World-Telegram and Sun on March 26, commenting on Scripps-Howard correspondent Jim Lucas' recent series from Taipei, said that the people living condition in Taiwan is "in vivid contrast to the reports that come out of Red China about suffering from scarcity and confiscation."
The paper said: "The Communist-ousted Nationalist government of China arrived on underdeveloped, war-torn Formosa with barely a shirt on its back 10 years ago.
"The very suggestion that it may soon become self-supporting, needing no further economic aid from the United States, highlights a miracle of sorts that has taken place on the island.
"United States Ambassador Everett Drumright, a cautious observer, predicts it—and not without ample substantiation. Scripps-Howard staff writer Jim G. Lucas in recent dispatches has been reporting on Free China's almost phenomenal economic advance.
"National income has more than doubled in the last six years. Power output has increased fourfold, and that figure soon may be doubled. Industrial production has risen 80 per cent.
"Living standards, even though population density is greater than Japan's, are among the highest in Asia—in vivid contrast to the neutral reports that come out of Red China about suffering from scarcity and confiscation.
"Bank deposits, food products, exports and jobs are all going up. So much so that our International Cooperation Administration chief in Taipei, Wesley Haraldson, no longer refers to Formosa as an underdeveloped country.
"Of course American aid over the past decade is in no sense cated. But of the 3 billion we've given to Formosa, two-thirds necessarily has been devoted to military defense.
"Obviously the stability that free China has achieved comes in large measure from the determination of its people and effectiveness of its government.
"The overall contrast with what's going on in Red China will not be lost on the best of Asia. This is a story of a people who believe in themselves."