After the free world effectively established its collective security organizations, the military expansion of the international Communist bloc has been checked. With a view to coordinating its cold war strategy and propaganda offensive, the Communist bloc has turned to redouble its activities of cultural infiltration, which have now become an important spearhead of aggression.
Since 1956 the Soviet bloc has vigorously stepped up its activities of cultural infiltration in the free world. It has divided the target countries into several categories according to the degree of ease or difficulty with which they can be infiltrated. Different methods of infiltration are applied to different categories of countries thus divided. All media of information are used, such as distribution of foreign language news releases, newspapers, books, magazines, motion pictures, and radio and television broadcasts; and participation in international expositions, athletic meets and other cultural and academic activities. In addition, it would entice the free countries to enter into cultural conventions or agreements under which there would be exchange of students, sightseeing parties, study groups and goodwill missions with the free nations. All forms of tactics are used. The pervasiveness of Communist infiltration is like that of quicksilver poured over the ground leaving no holes unpermeated.
In 1956 alone, the Soviet bloc took part in one hundred international expositions, sent 942 cultural groups or individuals to the free nations, and lured 908 free world cultural groups and individuals into visiting the countries behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviet bloc made 2,110 hours of foreign language broadcasts to the free countries every week, or a total of some 110,000 hours in a year. It is estimated that in Western Europe alone 7,100,000 people regularly listened in Soviet bloc broadcasts. As far as publications are concerned, Soviet Russia alone published 28,000,000 copies of 613 new books in various languages for the consumption of the free countries. There are 45 Communist newspapers within the 15 free countries in Western Europe with a total circulation of 610,000 copies.
Under the impact of this vigorous cultural offensive, 69 free countries were lured by the Soviet bloc into making cultural exchange arrangements of one kind or another. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, West Germany and Canada. Last December the United States signed an agreement on exchanges in the cultural, technical and educational fields with Soviet Russia. The first batch of motion pictures have already been exchanged and shown in both countries. The Soviet ballet troupe is currently performing on Broadway and warmly received by the Americans. On the other hand, the United States is scheduled to hold an exposition in Moscow in July. Whether it will have the same kind of reception there will probably depend upon the climate of the cold war prevailing at that time.
In synchronization with the Soviet cultural offensive, the Chinese Communists in February 1958 reorganized the Bureau of External Cultural Relations into the Commission of External Cultural Relations which is a much bigger organization. The Commission is charged with the particular responsibility of stepping up cultural infiltration. During the year the Chinese Communists sent such groups as the "Tung Huang Art Exposition Working group," "Dramatist Delegation," "Cultural Delegation," "Cultural Promotion Delegation," "Opera Troupe," "Acrobatic Troupe" to Japan, India, Burma, Thailand, Italy, France, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile in an attempt to participate in every international cultural, scientific and athletic activity. The Chinese Communists in turn invited the cultural, art, journalist, medical and lawyers circles in Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America to send delegations to visit the mainland. These same invitations were also extended to senators and deputies, left-wing party leaders and correspondents of these free countries.
According to Chang Hsi-jo's report to the Chinese Communist "Third People's Congress," the number of nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America which have exchanged visits of literary men and artists with the Chinese Communists has increased from about a dozen to more than 40 since the Bandung Conference. A number of free countries have already arranged manifold exchange programs with the Communists including the exchange of students, motion pictures and expositions.
Again, according to Chow En-lai's report to the same "People's Congress," in the past four years the Chinese Communists have established cultural relations with 104 nations or regions and are engaged in friendly intercourse with them.
From the above, we cannot but be amazed by the Soviet bloc's pervading attempts at cultural infiltration which has posed a new threat to the free world in a short span of three or four years. This can be attributed to the fact that the free nations have failed to see through the Communist intrigue hidden in its work of cultural infiltration and so they have willingly become its targets.
Lenin once said: "Culture and education are the weapons of the dictatorship of the proletariat." In reality, culture, as the Communists see it, is not only a weapon of internal dictatorship but also the vanguard of external subversion and infiltration. Its lethal power is perhaps even greater than that of nuclear weapons. This is because the virus of Communist propaganda can destroy the spirit of a free people. Making very shrewd use of the complicated, contradictory human psychology of sympathy, hatred, jealousy, vanity, selfishness, and novelty, Communist culture has a way to persuade other people to accept its tempting slogans and promises slanted to their different social strata and professions. Thus the impoverished masses, visionary theorists, fanatic reformists, naive youths and various segments of discontented elements can fall easy prey to the Communists as their tools of subversion.
This was precisely what had happened in China. Before the fall of the mainland, Chinese cultural circles were also infiltrated by the Chinese Communists. At that time there was the so-called "Left-wing Writers' League" which had been very active in the Chinese literary world. All works of novels, poetry, cartoons, plays and motion pictures written by the members of that League were invariably intended as propaganda for the Communists. They were always used to calumniate the Chinese Government for its graft, corruption, oppressiveness and incompetence, so that a firm foundation could be laid in the minds of the Chinese masses to accept an all-out military aggression of Soviet Russia through the Chinese Communists. On the other hand, there were also some influential cultural institutions in the United States which were infiltrated by the Communists and found to chime in with the clamor of the Chinese left-wing writers. These American organizations whole-heartedly supported the Chinese Communists and violently attacked the Chinese Government. The result was that the position of the Chinese Government became isolated in the eyes of the world. From this it is easy to see the inimical effects of the Communist propaganda through cultural activities. Any country which has been subject to Communist cultural infiltration is like a person whose body is infected with cancer. Eventually it is bound to spread to the whole body.
Mindful of our painful experiences and confronted by the Communist cultural infiltration in the free world, we cannot but issue a warning to the free world. Our warning is: any cultural intercourse with the Communist bloc will bring no benefit to the free countries but only lead to the following harmful consequences
1. It provides the Soviet imperialists the opportunity to broaden their cultural infiltration and propaganda, thus accelerating the virus of Communism.
2. It strengthens the Communist elements lurking in the free countries, thus enabling them to intensify their activities.
3. It increases the daring of the pro-Communist elements by giving them moral encouragement.
4. It undermines the morale of the staunch anti-Communists, thus increasing the difficulty of their work.
5. It shakes the confidence of the masses in freedom and democracy, thus helping the Communists to make use of them.
Communist aggression is usually carried through internal rebellion and subversion within the victim country. The spiritual force of such a rebellion and subversion is derived from cultural infiltration. It need hardly be said that the aim of Communist cultural intercourse with the free countries is to strengthen the basis of cultural infiltration. It is bent on sapping the morale of the people of the free countries with the ultimate object of overthrowing their governments. The cultural and art groups of the Communist bloc have visited most of the free countries. It is obvious that the cultural invading units of the Communists have enjoyed free access to these countries. Nothing is more dangerous to the security of the free world than this.
It is a pity that even now some free countries are naive enough to think that cultural intercourse with the Communist bloc may carry the civilization of the democracies into the Iron Curtain and open the eyes of the peoples behind it so that they would not blindly follow the Communists. This is wishful thinking on the part of those who know little about the conditions in the Communist countries. We must realize that in the free countries people are free to listen, free to speak, free to make on-the-spot investigation and free from censorship of publication. But there are no such things in the Communist countries. Whereas the cultural groups sent by the Communists to the free countries can do their work of spreading the virus of Communism without the least hindrance, those sent by the free nations to the Communist countries are like going into an air-tight tent. Once they are in the iron curtain, every word they speak and every move they make will be cunningly watched. The people with whom they come into contact are not only deprived of their freedom of speech and press but also subjected to secret surveillance even when they talk between father and son, husband and wife, brother and brother and among friends. They live no life of their own. All that they have done or possessed, such as family, job, money, faith, wisdom, and life are for the Communist Party. They are Communists not merely at meetings and elections or when they are engaged in political activities. Even while they are eating, studying, making love, thinking and writing, entertaining and conversing, they are working for the Communist Party. To them the people of the world fall into two categories, either comrade or enemy. All non-Communist organizations or individuals are regarded as class enemies and counterrevolutionaries. The Communists may welcome you with flattering words and broad smiles and take you to certain specified places for "free" visits, but this is a prearranged trap into which you may fall unconsciously. The result of all this is that those free people who visited the Communist countries not only have found it difficult to carry the civilization of the democracies into the Communist countries, but, basing upon the false and superficial impressions they have gained there, they will make all kinds of erroneous reports and thus unwittingly serve as the tools of propaganda for Communists.
In sum, to have cultural intercourse or exchange with such a country as Soviet Russia or with such a regime as that of the Chinese Communists in the hope of opening the eyes of the people in Communist countries is like asking a tiger for its skin and ushering a wolf into the house.
We wish to appeal to the statesmen and cultural leaders of all free countries to see clearly the one characteristic of the Communist Party: All Communist behaviors ill their external relations are for infiltration and subversion and for the realization of world revolution. We must, therefore, be exceedingly careful in dealing with the Communist countries in order that we may not be used as their tools.
It may be pointed out that since Soviet Russia seized power by violence in 1917, she has never stopped expanding her domain. According to Kirkpatrick's "Year of Crisis," apart from the Communist countries, there are 1,200,000 Communists in the free countries of the Far East; 160,000 in the Middle East, Near East and South Asia (including India); 30,000 in Africa; and 3,000,000 in West Europe. In total, there are nearly 5,000,000 Communist party members in the countries of the free world.
Besides, the Communists have 14 front organizations, such as "World Peace Council," ""Women's International Democratic Federation" etc. Then there are millions of fellow travelers in the free countries. Take the United States for example. According to the report of the Un-American Activities Committee of the House of Representatives quoted in an article written by Mr. Adlai Stevenson and published in the New York Times on November 24, 1958, the Communists have 600 front and "front of front" organizations in all parts of the United States. At any time, these organizations can send to the President of the United States 50,000 letters within 72 hours. It may be recalled that when the United States decided last year to take a firm stand on the situation in the Taiwan Straits, the Communists mobilized a part of this strength with the result that more than 7,000 letters were addressed to the White House and the State Department causing considerable confusion in the state of American public opinion at that time. From this we can see that under the guise of cultural exchange with the democracies, the Communists and their front organizations have received full facilities in building up their relations among themselves and in strengthening their infiltration activities. This, indeed, is a serious threat to the security of the free world.
Before the Second World War, the so-called "socialist" forces controlled only 13% of the world's territory, 9% of its population and 7% of its industrial production. However according to Shepilov's report to the20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, the international Communists now control more than 25% of the world's territory, 35% of its population, and 30% of its industrial production. This is the result of Communist expansion by taking advantage of the free world's fear of war during the post-war years.
When we think of the expansion of the Communists, we must bear in mind two things. First, if it is merely confined to materialistic control on the surface, the problem is not serious. For a Communist regime imposed by force can only enslave the people's body and exploit their labor for a time. Such control cannot conquer the spirit and will of the people. As long as the people do not submit themselves psychologically, they will one day regain their freedom. However, under the cultural infiltration of the Communists, the kind of control established by the Communists is mental and spiritual. Once the thoughts of the people were poisoned by Communist culture, they can never be rescued from their enslavement. Second, the Communists started their expansion with only 7% of the world's territory, 9% of its population and 7% of its industrial production. Now they have controlled as their capital for further expansion 25% of the world's territory and populations and resources several times bigger than before. If we do not now stop the Communist cultural infiltration in time and permit it to pave the way for political subversion and military aggression with their redoubled strength, then in a few years we can imagine how big a percentage of the world's territory, resources and population will come under the control of the Communists. Should the balance of power further tip in favor of the Communist bloc, there will be then no guarantee for the survival of the free world.
From the above analysis, it will be seen that cultural exchange with the Communist bloc will only provide the chance of cultural infiltration and propaganda for the Communists. It will only help to intensify their intrigue and spread their invisible influence. This kind of invisible cultural aggression is even more harmful than the visible military aggression. Moreover, the Communists can achieve their end more effectively under the smiling slogan of "peaceful co-existence." If the free world wants to arrest the external expansion of the Communist bloc, it must first stop the subversive activities of the Communists. If we want to frustrate the subversive activities of the Communists, we must first check the Communist cultural infiltration. And if we want to check such cultural infiltration, we must cut off cultural intercourse with the Communist bloc.
Personally I am of the opinion that if we want all the free countries to sever their cultural relations with the Communists, it is essential that the cultural circles of all free countries must have a new appraisal of their present role. Very often people think that culture and arts are above politics; that there may be opposing camps in politics but there should be no such division in the field of culture; and that if such division exists it is the role of the cultural worker to eliminate it. Perhaps at another age or under different world conditions this view is correct. Unfortunately, at present, the cultural activities of the Communists are only to serve their political purpose and to control the heart and soul of the people. They are the tools for strengthening Communist propaganda and subversion. We must realize that any cultural intercourse with Communists will be used by the Communists as their means of propaganda in the cold war. Of course, a part of the art objects or books exhibited or exported by the Communists may bear no relationship to Communism, such as the Tung Huang arts and reprints of classics displayed by the Chinese Communists. Nevertheless, they are used to advertise the Communists' progress in printing and other fields so as to arouse the admiration of the people for them. Moreover, the Communists use cultural relations as a stepping stone to establishing political relations and undertaking subversive activities. Because of this, the Communist cultural activities have already abandoned the ideals of truth, beauty and perfection which are held dear by all cultural workers. The Communists will only pervert any cultural enterprise under their control to augment the force of international Communist expansion. Hence the present role of our free cultural workers is to defend the noble ideals of truth, beauty and perfection so that our cultural enterprise may be free from the enslavement of the Communists. If the cultural workers of the free countries realize this, they will certainly stop their cultural intercourse with the Communist bloc. They would instead increase the cultural exchange among the free countries themselves, strengthen the cultural bastions of the democracies, unite together to engage themselves in creative and constructive work in order to counteract the Communist cultural infiltration, to remove the poison spread by the Communists and to liberate the enslaved cultural workers behind the iron curtain. These positive tasks, I dare say, are the most important to defeat the ideology of Communism. I cannot go into further details in this connection because of the limit of time.
At this point, I feel proud to add that the Republic of China is one of the few countries least affected by the influence of Communist cultural infiltration. This fact proves that our cultural workers-those who make up my audience today-have a clear understanding as to the role they are called upon to play at this time. All of you, I may say, have not only had a brilliant record in the past in fighting the cultural infiltration of the Communists but also have made an invaluable contribution to the defense of democratic culture. I wish here to pay you my sincere tribute. Since the majority of the free countries have not given up their desire to engage in cultural intercourse with the Communist bloc, the task of how to awaken them to the danger of Communist cultural infiltration and how to help them recognize important role of the cultural workers is indeed an urgent assignment for all cultural workers of our country at the present time. It is for this reason I brought up the subject of Communist cultural infiltration in the free world for discussion today.
Editor's Note - This is a translation of the text of the speech delivered by His Excellency Huang Shao-ku, Minister of Foreign Affairs, before the China Association of Literature and Arts May 4, 1959, Taipei.