Statement in the plenary meeting of the resumed session of the eleventh General Assembly by the representative of China Dr. Tingfu F. Tsiang September, 1957
Mr President, Your Royal Highness:
I wish, first of all, to express the deep appreciation of my Government and people to the members of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary for the magnificent report which they have submitted to the United Nations.
Ambassador Shann of Australia, the rapporteur of the Committee, in presenting the report on Tuesday morning, stated:
"Imputations which have been made that the Committee took instructions from any source whatsoever are an insult to men who approached their task with an attitude sincerely judicious and fair-minded."
Whatever people may say about the report, my delegation feels that the objectivity and the fair-mindedness of the members of the Committee are manifest in every paragraph and page of this document. Whether we read it carefully or casually we are impressed by the industrious search for the facts, the scrupulous care with which the facts are sifted and the careful and judicious manner in which conclusions are drawn. No authority on historical inquiry can find fault with the methodology of the Special Committee.
In the course of my long service in the United Nations I have read many reports from committees and commissions, as well as from the Secretary General and members of his staff. Looking back upon this mass of literature I find three reports stand out in my mind. One is the Report of the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea, document A/575, issued on 21 July 1948. Another is the one on Forced Labour, made by the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director General of the International Labour Office, document E/2815, issued on 15 December 1955. The third is the present report of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary, document A/3592. It is, of course, impossible to forecast what future historians will say about these and other documents. For the present moment at least I feel that the report of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary is the single greatest U.N. document issued up to today.
I have said that the methodology of the Committee is above reproach. In addition, the report is inspired by the ideals and principles of the United Nations. It is a service to the universal cause of truth, justice and freedom. The report, by itself, has contributed to human progress.
The Soviet Union and the puppet regime of Hungary today denounce the report. They have gone even so far as to smear the characters of individual members of the Committee. Their propaganda has put forward the same old labels. Moscow and Budapest say that the Hungarian revolution last October and November was the work of Fascists, reactionaries, landlords, followers of Hothy, running dogs of western imperialism, etc. Mr. President, I have noted that in the entire post war period, whenever the Soviet Union has met with opposition, it has put one or another of these labels or a combination of them on its opponent. In the early postwar years the Soviet Union did well with such tactics. There were then in the free world considerable numbers of people who fondly thought themselves "liberals" or "progressives" and who wished to see good things in the Soviet Union and communism. A few of these people were conscious fellow-travellers: the vast majority of them were, however, unconscious helpers of the Soviet cause. In those years whenever the Soviet Union labelled an opponent feudal or reactionary or landlordish or monopoly capitalist or imperialist, these "progressives" or "liberals" would say, "There is much to the Soviet case" or "The Soviet side is reasonable." Taking advantage of this type of "liberal" or "progressive" trend of public opinion in all free countries in the world, the Soviet Union managed to reap much profit.
Now, Mr. President, the international climate has changed. The peoples of the world have been educated by the falsehoods spread by Soviet propaganda. The deeds of international communism have drowned out Moscow's words of propaganda. This time Moscow and Kadar will fail in selling their propaganda lies in regard to the revolution in Hungary.
The report of the Special Committee leaves no doubt about the nature of the events of last October and November. After diligent search the members of the Committee failed to discover anything feudal, reactionary, landlordish or monopoly capitalist, or any signs of United States, United Kingdom and French instigation among the Hungarian revolutionists or with their political program.
From the facts collected by the Committee we know that the participants in the uprising were mainly students, workers, soldiers and intellectuals, many of them communists or former communists. In paragraph 112 of the report the Special Committee has this to say:
"In studying the Soviet thesis regarding the grounds for intervention, it is also appropriate to recall that some of the fiercest resistance to Russian troops occurred in typically working-class districts of Budapest, of Ujpest and of the Csepel Island. Workers in the steel factories of Dunapentele declared that they would defend against invading Soviet forces the plants and houses which they had built with their own hands. When these Soviet forces succeeded in crushing the armed uprising, it was again the Hungarian workers who continued to combat by mass strikes and passive resistance, the very regime in support of which Soviet forces had intervened. In every case, the workers of Hungary announced their intention of keeping the mines and factories in their own hands. They made it abundantly clear, in the Workers' Councils and elsewhere, that no return to pre-1945 conditions would be tolerated."
The Committee has given us in the report a number of documents of the nature of political platforms. In Chapter IA, we find the Sixteen Points of the Building Industry Technological University, adopted on October 22 as well as the Proclamation of the Hungarian Writers Union of October 23rd. In the annexes to the chapter, we have the Appeal adopted by a meeting of Budapest technological students held on 19 October 1956, the Appeal issued by DISZ members of the Medical Faculty of the University of Budapest of 22 October, the Ten Points of the Petofi Club of 22 October, the Appeal of the Revolutionary Committee of Hungarian Intellectuals of 28 October, and the Aims of the League of Working Youth of 22 October. In these political platforms of the various groups which took the lead in the Hungarian Revolution of October, there is not a single world in favour of the landlords; we find no demand for the estates to their former owners. Neither do we find any hint or echo for the return of factories or mines or railways to their former capitalist owners. The Special Committee rightly concludes:
"Those who took part in it insist that democratic socialism should be the basis of the Hungarian political structure and that the land reform and other social achievements should be safeguarded."
Furthermore, no matter how carefully we scrutinize the political platforms of the leading groups of the revolution, we do not find a hint or trace of any desire to favour any kind of foreign imperialism whatsoever. In international relations, the revolution was against the presence of Soviet troops in Hungary, as well as against the exercise of Soviet control in Hungary. In this connection the Committee tells us:
"The Committee has not found that those feelings and aspirations were antagonistic to the Soviet Union as a State or to the Soviet people as individuals or that they excluded sympathy of a great many Hungarians for a number of features of the Soviet economic and social system. Although the idea of neutrality has been put forward, the precise implications of such an international status were not defined; it appeared to the Committee to be only one of the expressions of the desire of the Hungarians for vindicating the sovereign independence of a country virtually subject to military occupation. Hungarian leaders who appeared before the Committee or whose statements have been examined have asserted the necessity for their country to maintain with the Soviet Union correct, and even friendly, political and economic relations and have indicated their readiness to give in that connection, all the necessary guarantees."
Such an outlook is natural and common, almost commonplace. It certainly does not need any instigation from any outside source.
We have now the facts before us. The Hungarian revolution of last October was a spontaneous uprising for individual freedom and national independence. Domestically, the revolution won without much bloodshed. The fighting among Hungarians was not serious or protracted. The real Hungarian Revolutionary War of 1956 was fought between the Hungarian people on one side and the Soviet Army on the other. Physically the Soviet Army won and the Hungarian revolution lost. These are the bare facts which we must face.
In spite of diligent research on the part of the Committee the members have not found any authentic evidence that any responsible Hungarian statesman requested the military intervention of the Soviet Union. Prime Minister Imre Nagy negotiated for the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Under these circumstances, Soviet action in Hungary, in terms of the U.N. Charter, constituted international aggression.
As one of the co-sponsors of the draft resolution before the Assembly, I urge all delegations to vote for its adoption. The resolution is the minimum. My delegation would have liked to add a clear and specific condemnation of Soviet aggression against Hungary. But we accept the minimum and urge all delegations to accept the minimum.
The tyrannical regime, conceived in Moscow and imposed by Moscow on Hungary in the postwar period, was almost dead before the October uprising in Budapest. It was almost dead for the simple reason that the regime was both inhuman and unworkable. What the Soviet Union has tried to do is to breathe new life into a dying regime. This cannot be done. The ideological appeal of communism to the Hungarian people has vanished forever. What communism holds in Hungary is not the minds and hearts of the people. What communism has its grip on is the bodies of the Hungarian people, by means of the Soviet Army. How long will such enslavement last? The answer to this question depends partly on the Hungarian people, partly on the General Assembly of the United Nations, and partly on the governments and peoples of the free world. Let us do our part.
Report of the First Delegation of Australian Trade Union Officials To Visit South-East Asia
May-June, 1957
This joint report is issued with the approval and on behalf of: J. P. Maynes; J. E. Henry; A. Murphy; N. Nolan; J. Waters and compiled by J. P. Maynes.
TAIWAN
Taiwan (Formosa): We arrived in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in the late afternoon after a humpy but comfortable flight from Hongkong. As Taipei is in the Northern part of the island we flew along the shore-line of a large section of the island and were astonished at the superb greenness and beauty of the island.
We were welcomed at the airport by officials of the Federation of Labour and affiliated Unions as well as some 300 rank and file members. When we drove into the city we were struck by the contrast with Hongkong. Here was a modern city with none of the big commercial buildings of Hongkong, and on the other hand, with few of the slums. With a population of about half a million it had modern shops and modern buildings with few over two or three stores. The people were well-dressed, and with the exception of the percentage of women who wore very attractive national dress, they looked very little different to people in Sydney or Brisbane during the summer. There were no extremes; there were few luxury cars to speak of, in fact, for the size of the city the number of cars was small. The public transport in the city was by modern buses, but bicycles and pedicabs outnumbered buses and cars probably by 50 to 1. For journeys out of the city there were comfortable trains, and in fact the one that I slept in overnight later in our journey was certainly much more comfortable than some of those in Australia.
Now a little about the island itself. It is 240 miles long by 90 miles at its widest point. It is 100 miles East of the China coast at its nearest point. Its area is 13,837 square miles, a little larger than Holland, and about half the size of Tasmania. Since the time late in the 16th Century when the Portuguese named it Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island) it has had a varied history. As a result of the Sino-Japanese war the Japanese occupied it from 1895 until September, 1945, when as a consequence of the Cairo Conference it was returned to China. Quite a few of its buildings and the habits of its people therefore show the Japanese influence.
Some 50% of the population derive their living from farming, and because of the policy of the present Government, the vast majority (exceeding 70%), either own or are buying their own land. It is intensively cultivated and is amazingly productive. The main products are sugar, rice, tea, pineapples, melons, bananas, vegetables, etc. Poultry, particularly ducks, geese and turkey are apparent everywhere in the country, and are somewhat of a driving hazard.
The Chinese diet contains little milk, cheese or butter, and what is available is usually imported in powdered or tinned form Australia. Its principal exports are sugar, followed by rice and then tea.
What and whom did we see? In our 13 days in Taiwan we worked to a packed and comprehensive schedule usually calling for us to leave the hotel by 8:30 a.m. and returning about 11 o'clock each night. We travelled from Keelung in the extreme North through the whole island to Kaohsiung in the South. We flew to the front line on the island of Quemoy which is only a mile and a half away from the nearest Communist-controlled island and some 7,000 yards from the mainland. We visited numerous factories and offices, producing or processing cement, iron, aluminum, textile, tobacco, petroleum, glass, and met the local Trade Union officials or stewards and observed the working conditions. We visited the land reform areas and saw some of the 345 farmers' co-operatives operated by the farmers themselves. We visited Dock-workers at Keelung and we saw kindergartens, middle schools and the university at Taipei. Apart from Trade Union officials we met everyone from President Chiang Kai-shek to the lowliest farmer or worker. We had conversations with members of the Legislative Yuan, with officials of the Kuo Min Tang, with the opposition parties—the Young China Party and the Democratic Socialist Party.
Because of the long hours involved our numerous interpreters ranged from officials of the Trade Unions (who have acted as representatives at I.L.O. Conferences) to a teacher of English at the university and an editor of an opposition magazine. In short, we saw and did all of the things that we wanted to do, and in view of the size of the island it was possible to see all of it in the 13 days—quite an impracticable thing in a much longer time in a country say the size of America or Australia, or even mainland China.
Everywhere we went there was a complete air of freedom and contentment. The whole island is electrified, and therefore, not only in the city but in the country there are plenty of radios and people can listen to what they choose. Of course, both the Re public of Free China and the Government of Red China maintain a constant radio propaganda warfare, and whilst both sides indulge in "jamming", mainland broadcasts can be received on Taiwan. There are plenty of papers and there are news-stands and bookstalls everywhere: all types of publications are available both in English and Chinese. Because of this general air of freedom on an island which has been under constant threat of invasion, I made a number of inquiries both from the Chinese and from European residents who have been on the island a number of years, about the type and nature of national. emergency regulations. The Chinese in particular quite readily pointed out the existence of these regulations covering a number of things, one of which until recently banned public dances as an austerity measure. There was no restriction on travel but it was necessary at each hotel to fill out a form which was sent to the local police indicating the duration of stay in the area and the point from which one had travelled. There are others governing currency and to some extent prices and similar things.
There is complete freedom of religion and practically all of the European religions are represented adequately. We saw many churches including Anglican, Episcopalian, Catholic, Seventh Day Adventists and so on. Even in the Sun Moon Lake district among the indigent people the churches are represented.
Education is compulsory for all children from the ages of 6 to 12. Government education is free to the end of primary education and in the secondary schools and universities there is a small charge made. In Taipei there are 37 private kindergartens and 7 private schools in addition to the government facilities. One of the government schools we visited in Taipei had 3,100 pupils in classes from the 1st to the 6th grade: there were 60 sections or classes in all with over 100 teachers, 80% of whom were females. The hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 11:55 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Pupils in the 5th and 6th grade attend school for 5 full days a week, while those in the 1st to the 4th attend 6 half days (one lot in the morning and another in the afternoon). In addition to the usual required subjects physical education, music and primary technical training are also required subjects. The students, even at this age, usually run their own co-operative store and produce their own school paper.
We visited two or three kindergartens, one at a cement factory and another at a private kindergarten in Taipei sponsored by a women's league. The hours here were from 8:30 a.m. to 11:33 a.m., and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the ages ranged from 5 to 6 years. There were 14 teachers at the kindergarten with a total enrolment of 180. Even here the library was under the control of the children and they conducted a little store of their own.
Private schools and kindergartens are assisted by the government provided the standard is high. This assistance is either given in cash or in the provision of facilities.
The standard of housing ranges from fair to good with building very much in evidence. There is, as in Australia, still a shortage of housing but it is not an acute shortage. As a lot of the industry is decentralized all factories have housing facilities which are family units for their employees, and are provided free of charge. When an employee is not provided with a free house or apartment he is paid extra to cover his rental in the adjoining town. Again, the Trade Unions in many cases provide houses for their members as part of their welfare program. In Keelung the Dock-workers' Union has built 250 family units and their program is to increase this to 600 units which would cover all of its members. These, and in many cases the houses provided by the factory, can be purchased by the worker. There are housing programs in the bigger cities, but in the purchase of these homes some suffer from a credit restriction, but different to that of Australia. The main problem is that the term of repayment (mainly 10 years and sometimes 15 years) is too short unless there are two wage-earners in the house. Because of the climate and the influence of the Japanese over 50 years the tendency is not to have bedrooms as we know them, but rather to have an enclosed bed area which always has a straw cover over the mattress to stop the body making contact with any warm material. In the smaller country towns the housing appeared to be of a poorer standard, but this appeared to result more from the humid conditions and the customs of the people. It was particularly noticeable that the general habit was to stay out of doors chatting to very late hours at night.
The extent of industrialization is nowhere near as great as it is in Australia, but it is quite considerable for the size of the island. The factories themselves and the working conditions there, are, in the main, equal to most Australian factories. The machinery may not be quite as modern and there are some processes performed by hand which in Australia would be mechanized. Because of a shortage of foreign currency there is a limit to the extent to which the Republic can satisfy its desire for the most efficient machinery. Offices likewise are as comfortable and as up-to-date as the average one in Australia. Unlike many Australian firms, the factories do not confine themselves to one process. For instance, the iron factory not only produces its own iron and steel and draws it out in all sizes, but it then proceeds to use iron bars to make reinforced concrete pillars, it makes nuts and bolts, nails, rotary hoes and other commodities.
Again, most factories employ large numbers of employees and are self-contained communities. For instance, a tobacco factory at Sung Shan provided bathrooms, a very large assembly hall and a separate and equally large lunchroom. There was a separate cafeteria where a two-course meal could be purchased for two Taiwan dollars (about 6d). There was a reading room, a change room, a barber shop, a tailor, laundry facilities, a shoemaker, a co-operative store which sold groceries, clothing, radios and bicycles, etc. and larger items on terms over twelve months. It has its own base-ball ground, tennis courts, its own hospital facilities which provided a doctor, dentists and medicine free, not only for the employee" but for his family. Each department had an area of land which it could use for growing vegetables or flowers if it desired; and in addition, a farm-yard was conducted by a welfare committee, two-thirds of which were elected by the labourers and one-third by the staff employees. As the majority of the 1,895 employees were women, some of them married, a nursery complete with mothercraft nurses was provided which could accommodate 200 babies. Similar, and in some cases, better facilities were provided by all of the factories on the island. For instance, at the cement factory the clinic there was staffed by 12 doctors, two dentists, an eye, nose and ear doctor. These was an operating room, a separate women's section including women doctors. There was a kindergarten conducted in four big rooms containing 180 children and it was equal to any of a similar size in Australia.
Labour Insurance was introduced on March 1, 1950. It covers productive workers and casual workers belonging to public or private factories or mines, salt works, communications or public utility enterprises. It covers the workers abovementioned in cases of accident, disease, disability, death and old age, as well as births: The premium rate is 3% of the insured's monthly wages. The government contributes NT$1.20 every month and the balance is divided, 25% being paid by the worker and 75% by the employer. In the case of casual workers the government contributes NT$3.60 towards the premium. Since July, 1956, free hospitalization for employees has been included in the Labour Insurance legislation.
The Chinese Federation of Labour embraces the National Federation of Trade Unions, Provincial Federation of Trade Unions and City and Municipal Central Labour Unions.
The general method of organization of the Trade Unions follows the American pattern. This was the case in each of the countries visited with the exception of Malaya which naturally tended to follow the British method as many of its leaders got their training in the British Trade Union Congress.
In other words, the industry or local unit is the main method of organization although on a local basis there are some craft unions. In 1948 there were some 5½ million members in the organizational units of the Chinese Federation of Labour. At the present time its membership in Taiwan is about 225,000.
During the 50 years of Japanese rule of Taiwan the workers were not allowed to organize Labour Unions.
The main National Unions are the Railway Workers, Postal Workers, Highway Workers, Salt Workers, Miners and Seamen's Unions.
The Chinese Federation of Labour is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and is also represented at all International Labour Organization Conferences.
A minimum wage of NT$300 per month is prescribed. However, apart from some casual workers the wage rate paid in the factories we visited ranged from about NT$600 to NT$1,000 per month depending on the skill of the work. It must be realized however that in most cases houses are provided free, or alternatively, an extra amount is paid in lieu of housing. Again, government and many other employees are issued with free allowances of rice and other commodities depending on the size of their family. This appeared to operate like a type of child endowment.
Collective bargaining is entered into between the various Unions and industries. They contain provisions very similar to those made by American and European Labour Unions with their employers and include clauses for working hours, wages, leave of absence, holidays, protection of children and women labour, safety measures, etc. As well Factory Councils operate in many firms or government enterprises and usually consist of equal representatives of management and labour, although in some firms, labour representation appeared to reach 60%.
Wage rates and conditions therefore vary between different factories. Variation is noticeable both within government—owned plants and privately—owned plants, and as between the two. Some of the variation—or even much of it—is accounted for by the different skills involved, or by the difference in working conditions, i.e. the lighter work of a tobacco factory as against the heavy work of an iron factory.
The standard hours in industry, not only on Taiwan, but right through South East Asia (except Singapore and Malaya where they are 44 hours) are 38 hours worked in 6 days. On Taiwan a maximum of 2 hours overtime per day can be worked at penalty rates.
Penalty rates varied from 40% in the cement factory to 60% in the tobacco factory, to double time for certain hours and Sunday work at the iron and steel plants.
The average paid sick leave in anyone year would be about 1 month (this would probably include payment under Labour insurance).
Leave with pay for festivals or national holidays would be not less than 8 a year, plus 3 days at the Chinese New Year. At most factories recreation leave is about 15 days per annum.
At the tobacco factory equal pay, or more correctly, the rate for the job applied. In other factories where the females by contrast with the males, only performed light or unskilled work, their rates ranged from 60% of the male rate upwards.
The Union usually had some sort of office—many of them very good—on the plant itself. As well, the Union in practically all cases produced a plant bulletin at least once a week and in some cases daily. Welfare Committees operated on all jobs and both private and government firms contributed to a welfare fund which was administered by Union representatives with, in some cases, the management having the right of a representative, usually in an auditing capacity.
Every plant had its own co-operative store and the thing particularly noticeable on the whole island was the entire accent placed on co-operatives, not only among workers but among farmers, fishermen, and others.
On Saturday, 25th May we flew in a military transport to the island of Quemoy, or Kinmen, which is the Chinese name. A Labour M.P., Mr. G. De Freitas, who was visiting Taipei came with our party on this occasion. The island is very intensively fortified and these fortifications cover not only the sea front but the whole of the island. The island is rocky, hilly to mountainous, and practically all of the defences are underground or set into the rocks. Chinese army and navy officers who were our hosts put on a coastal defence exercise for our benefit and it was a most impressive demonstration of concentrated fire.
We also visited the Kangshan air base and the Tsoying naval base. The naval base covers an area of 2,200 acres. The naval personnel and their dependents number some 50,000 at this base.
The armed forces were well equipped, well trained and obviously very fit. Compulsory military training operates and most men spend two years in the armed forces between the ages of 20 and 22. In addition, there is a permanent army, navy and air force. The officers from Generals and Rear Admirals down are generally younger than their counterparts in the Australian forces.
An incident which received a lot of press publicity was the disturbance that took place at Taipei on Friday, 24th May, '57 during which the American Embassy was extensively damaged. As mentioned earlier, we arrived in Taipei on the Wednesday, and with the exception of the periods spent in the Central and Southern parts of Taiwan, it was our base during our stay. The incident arose over the finding of an American Court Martial that a member of the Military Aid Advisory Group, one Sergeant Reynolds was not guilty of a charge of murder. The Sergeant concerned had shot a Chinese citizen once in the stomach and once in the back. The Sergeant claimed that he had killed the Chinese because he was a "peeping Tom". This version was not accepted by the Chinese people. The decision of the Military Court Martial caused resentment at all levels. On the Friday morning the newspapers criticized the decision as being contrary to the weight of evidence and demanded a further trial. It was also stated that Chinese observers who attended the trial confirmed the opinion that there had been material departures from judicial procedures and that the whole question of diplomatic status applying to American troops should be reviewed. The average Chinese, however, could not understand the verdict because in Chinese law if one person kills another he is guilty; the only thing that the Court must determine is the degree of guilt. This difference in law made it very difficult for them to understand a "not guilty" verdict when the Sergeant had admitted that he killed the Chinese person concerned.
The incident arose when the widow of the dead Chinese took her child and stood outside the American Embassy and announced that she would remain there until a new trial was ordered. In most streets of Taipei at any time of the day, the density of people in the street would be equivalent to a Saturday morning shopping crowd in any of our capital cities. Hence, it was not unusual that a crowd should gather. It was when someone in the crowd threw a stone breaking the window of the Embassy that others joined in.
We were in the city in the morning up till about 10:00 a.m. and we returned about 5:30 p.m. and the disturbance was so isolated that we did not know that it had occurred until 9:30 p.m. that night. However, a curfew was imposed and member; of the armed forces supplemented the police as a precautionary measure.
The following morning before we left for Quemoy and on the Sunday we walked around the main shopping centres with only two interpreters and the wife of one of them accompanying us. It must be remembered that to the average person in Taipei we would appear to be Americans. It would be totally false to interpret the incident as an indication of an anti-Western feeling, or even an anti-American feeling. The incident, whilst a regrettable one, was isolated and was a spontaneous outburst of indignation over what they considered was the "white-washing" of Reynolds.