October is a month of special significance in Free China. For one thing the anniversary of the Revolution of 1911 falls on October 10. It was this revolution which toppled the oldest monarchy in Asia and created in its stead the youngest republic on this side of the Pacific. A second memorable date in October is President Chiang Kai-shek's birthday on October 31, his seventieth this year. Offhand, it would appear that they are two separate events, but actually together they tell of the Chinese people's valiant struggle for modernization and independence and of its national leader's life-long dedication to the Republic of China's cause and its people's welfare.
It was often thought that all Dr. Sun Yat-sen did was to sparkplug the Revolution of 1911 and bring about the downfall of the decadent Manchu Dynasty. He did much more than that. For he had outlined for the Chinese nation a definite program which envisages the rise of a modern nation that is not only independent but also democratically-run and has a high standard of living. All three aims may sound somewhat commonplace today, but they were definitely revolutionary ideas half a century ago. That was Dr. Sun's vision, which remains a great challenge to all Free Chinese today, especially now that the. Chinese Communists have seized power on the mainland and turned it into a Soviet satellite, a class dictatorship and a vast slave labor camp.
Writers could be easily tempted to liken the Revolution of 1911 to the American Revolution of 1776. True, there was a great deal in common between the two. The latter, however, was primarily a War of Independence of the colonies against the mother country, while the former is a revolution in the full sense of the word. For the Revolution of 1911 represented a three-in-one attempt to win for the Chinese nation not only independence in its relations with other nations, but also a political New Deal in that the people would be the masters, and also a mild form of socialist economy in which the tillers would own their land and private enterprise would be allowed to exist side by side with state capital marshalled to speed up. China's industrialization. It certainly could not be the kind of state of affairs which the Chinese Communists have perpetrated on the mainland, where the Red regime has become nothing but a vassal to the Kremlin, where the farmers received land one day only to have it taken away from them the next day to be collectivized, where private enterprise, now largely "jointly operated" with the Communist satrap as the senior partner, is marked for extinction in a matter of a few more years, and where the light of freedom has been snuffed.
When Dr. Sun died in 1925, he enjoined his surviving comrades to carryon the struggle for the revolutionary cause. One of the comrades who took Dr. Sun's deathbed command to heart was President Chiang, then still a youthful revolutionary trying to whip a bunch of zealots into military officers at Whampoa near Canton.
Today, just as it is impossible to talk about the Revolution of 1911 without mentioning Dr. Sun, it is impossible to talk about the post-1911 period without recounting President Chiang's contributions and achievements. It was he who led the Northern Expedition to unify the country in 1926-1927. It was he who initiated the best 10 years in China's modern history in 1927-1937, a decade known for its material rebuilding and spiritual rebirth. It was he who inspired the nation to resist Japanese aggression for eight long years in 1937-1945. It was he who launched the Republic of China on constitutional government in 1947-1948. Had it not been for President Chiang's determination and foresight in making Taiwan a base, the Republic of China would have experienced greater difficulties in carrying on the fight against Communism and Communists.
Free China stands out as a beacon of hope to all Chinese who refuse to be Soviet slaves or Communist stooges. They are not confined to those now on the island of Taiwan, nor even confined to those living in foreign lands. Vast numbers of suffering Chinese on the mainland must feel deep down in their hearts that just as every dark night must yield to daylight, this nightmare cannot last for ever. In their thoughts, which they may not even dare to share with their own family members for fear of innocent children informing on them to the Communist cadres, they know that sooner or later deliverance will come to them. It can be taken for granted that President Chiang's indomitable spirit is an all-important reason for their confidence, nay, faith, in the future.
In their 5,000-year-long history, the Chinese people have undergone similar tyrannies such as the Chinese Communists have imposed on the mainland today. None of them lasted long. The days of the Chinese Communists are therefore numbered but they can be further shortened- by the united efforts of all those who have been fortunate enough to stay outside the Communist clutches. Above all, they need to follow in President Chiang's footsteps. Let the President's life-long dedication to China be a source of inspiration to them all. In this respect, the Chinese intellectuals have a particularly heavy responsibility. Much of the blame for the mainland debacle could be squarely laid at their door. Now, thanks for President Chiang's Gibraltar will power they have a chance to redeem themselves. It is up to them to prove that they are equal to this responsibility. They should demonstrate their worth by working long and hard here and now and not wait till sometime in the future when they are back on the mainland again.
So long as there are enough people who care, there will always be the Republic of China. It is a cause for thankfulness that Free China can look forward to President Chiang's leadership for many, many more years to come.
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Rewards should not be extravagant; penalties should not be excessive. Extravagant rewards will reach small men. Excessive penalties will hurt the virtuous men.—Shun Tse
Translated by Edward Y. K. Kwong
Suez and Its Implications
The present Suez dispute between England and France on the one hand and Egypt on the other is the world's gravest crisis since the Korean War. As this goes to press, the disputants over this boiling issue seem to have sufficiently cooled down as to remove any immediate possibility of war. However, unless an equitable solution can be found, the gravity of the world situation growing out of the present dispute and its complications will remain undiminished even if a war could be avoided momentarily.
Nasser was either a fool or an ignoramus when he sought to counter the Anglo-French moves with an appeal for help from the Russians. Anyone with an elementary knowledge of history will know how eagerly the Russians have been attempting to penetrate to the southland, especially in the region of Middle and Near East. Since the Czarist days, innumerable attempts have been made' by the Russians to penetrate this area. So far England and, to a lesser degree, France and, quite recently, the United States have been the chief deterrents of Russia's southward expansion. Nasser's invitation to Moscow to help defend the canal is a godsend to the land-hungry Soviet imperialists. There is no question of their accepting. The only question is how to stop them from grabbing the canal for themselves.
For Nasser has sown the wind and shall reap the whirlwind. He cannot betray his country's interests and those of the Arabian nations friendly to him to a greater degree than if he were a traitor at heart. For the Russians are great believers in the French proverb: "J'y suis, j'y reste." Nasser's purchase of the Czech arms looked innocent enough at the first glance. But the large numbers of technicians and advisers that came with the arms shipments to show the Egyptians how to handle' the new weapons will most probably, if given time, take over control of- the Egyptian armed forces. Nasser got his arms at a bargain price, and he bartered for them with surplus cotton which he found difficult to sell in the world market. This, too, looked innocent enough. But when this is considered, together with the barter agreements Nasser has made with the Chinese Communists and other Russian satellites, it amounts to letting the Communists monopolize, Egypt's cotton, her main revenue-producing item. In due course Egypt will find that control of her finance and economic power has slipped away from her hands. In asking Russian pilots to come to take the place of the European pilots that have left the service of the Suez Canal, Nasser is planting in his own home and with his own hands Soviet agents who could easily take over control of the waterway for Moscow in an emergency. With the canal in her hands, Russia's control of Egypt's financial, economic and military power would be complete. Nasser could not do more for the Russians even if he were planted in his place as a special agent for them.
An equitable solution may yet be found that will both satisfy the Egyptians' aspirations and protect the interests of Britain and France, though such a possibility is remote. For the impasse, we have no one to thank but Sir Anthony Eden, the opposite number in the present dispute. When Nasser first announced the nationalization of the canal, Eden countered immediately with a threat of war. Britain and France have since mobilized sufficient forces' to deal with the situation, yet Nasser is becoming more and more intransigent all the time. What is more, it is' Nasser that is talking now about war and not Eden. Someone has fumbled miserably. It is no other than Anthony Eden.
A complete case could have been made out of Britain's dependence on the canal and the necessity for her to fight for it. If Eden really wanted to fight for the canal, sufficient forces could be mustered at the two ends of the waterway in a few days and they could have occupied the canal in less time than for Nasser to say '·By the beard of the Prophet." With the Suez in his pocket, Anthony Eden could then afford to talk to his heart's content at any international conference. Or he could even afford to be generous and give Nasser a treaty substantially the same as the formula evolved by Secretary Dulles at the first 18-nation conference held in London. By such a quick, bold, and decisive move, Eden could have saved the vital waterway for Britain and earned for himself a feather in his cap.
Instead, he spent days and weeks in making threatening gestures, in trying to work up enthusiasm for the support of a tottering empire with arguments which hardly appealed even to his fellow countrymen. He can still fight for it, but the situation is now vastly more complicated and there is little chance for a quick victory. The British people, however, know the Suez. It is one of those places that is easy to take but hard to garrison. This consideration might have slowed down Eden's hand. Whatever it is, Eden has lost an opportunity to render a signal service to his own country and the free world at large.
At this writing a second 18-nation conference is being held in London. It is reported that the United States government is going to supply dollar funds for subsidizing Western Europe to purchase American oil. At best this is a temporary palliative. It will not solve the oil problem for Europe in the long run. Nor will it solve other economic ills of Western Europe that may grow out from the loss of the canal. Economic sanctions against Egypt are being mentioned. They should be introduced immediately to show the world's condemnation of Nasser's hasty acts.
Viewed in its proper perspective, the Suez Canal concerns the destiny of the entire world. If the mad man Nasser is given further opportunity to betray his national interests and Russia is given the time to fasten her hold on Egypt, all the countries in the middle and Near East that seek security from NATO and the Baghdad Pact will be outflanked and outmaneuvered. All of a sudden, the countries in the Middle and Near East, including Greece, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and so on will find themselves clutched in the Russian pincers. One and all either they will become a Communist state, or they will be quickly overrun by native Communists trained in Moscow. Non-Communist white men will have to withdraw from the area and from Africa. Countries in Western Europe, deprived of their colonies, trade and oil supply, will die on the vine. With Communism will come oppression and slaughter more ruthless than those of the darkest days of the Inquisition and of Attila. So the Suez concerns not only the fate of England and France but also the destiny of all Western Europe and, through it, that of the entire world. For the security of Western Europe and the world, some way must be found to wrest the control, of the canal away from the mad man Nasser.