Taiwan Today

Visitors, overseas Chinese flock to join ROC National Day activities

Immediately after Dr. Sun Yat-sen's followers raised the standard of revolt at Wuchang on October 10, 1911, all of China rallied behind the revolutionaries and, soon, the Manchu government and thousands of years of imperial rule in China were overthrown. Born was Asia's first republic-the Republic of China.

This day is commonly known among Chinese as Double Tenth, and is marked every year by Chinese on Taiwan and abroad.

This year's Double Tenth, the 71st birthday of the Republic of China, was celebrated in Taipei at a rally joined by a quarter million people, many coming from across the seas.

The ceremonies, beginning at 10 a.m., were presided over by Legislative Yuan President Ni Wen-ya, who called on the people of the nation to rally under President Chiang Ching-kuo's leadership and to continue the fight for dignity, freedom, and happiness. He predicted that, on the mainland, the three-year program to rectify the Chinese Communist party's operational style-announced by Hu Yao-pang at the Communists' recent "12th national congress" - will, as in the case of the "great cultural revolution," finally result in further catastrophe for the Chinese main land people.

Kao Tsu-ju, a Chinese resident of the Philippines who returned for the holiday, spoke for overseas Chinese everywhere. He said that the return of large numbers of overseas Chinese for Double Tenth celebrations was indicative that the government's call to "forge all the hearts across the four seas into one" was being greeted with enthusiasm. The overseas Chinese have long been praised as the mother of the National Revolution. Many of them have taken direct part in Taiwan's economic development. Others have engaged in people-to-people diplomacy on behalf of this country. These facts, Kao said, are evidence that the overseas Chinese are patriotic and that they value democracy and freedom.

Wang Pin-yi spoke for Chinese Communist defectors. He said that, in celebrating the Double Tenth in a land of freedom, we should remain aware of our happiness and double our efforts to eradicate the Chinese Communist regime when the opportunity ripens. "It is our inescapable duty," he said, "to provide freedom and happiness for our compatriots on the Chinese mainland."

Wang Hsiao-ling, a co-ed at Taipei's National Chengchi University, read on behalf of the rally, a declaration, calling on all Chinese, regardless of their provinces of origin and occupations, to unite with one heart and one mind under the able leadership of President Chiang Ching-kuo to forward the great cause of Chinese unification. She emphasized: "The seventh decade of the Republic of China will be an era of Chinese unification under Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. In this our first year of the era, we do not fear our testing within the international situation; we shall continue to enhance our national development."

The declaration also stated: "The Chinese Communists on the mainland, after their party's 12th national congress and their machinations for change, continue their implementation of Marxism-Leninism and the Communist system. They cannot change the inner-party confrontation or the anti-Communist situation outside the party. The triple-crises of belief, confidence, and trust continue to grow in mainland society; the question, 'Why not learn from Taiwan?' continues to be asked; the view that 'Communism is a dim illusion' continues to circulate; and the desire for democracy continues to enlarge. The period of economic readjustment has been protracted once again. More people have fled to freedom. All these things are indications that the 32-year Communist experiment has angered providence as well as the people, and prove that the Three Principles of the People are best suited to the needs of Chinese development. We know that Marxism-Leninism and the Communist system run counter to freedom and democracy as well as Chinese history and culture, and that they will be eliminated by the formidable power or the Chinese people and culture."

At 10:30, President Chiang Ching-kuo appeared on the veranda or the Presidential Office Building, overlooking the square in which the rally was being held. The crowds gave him a rousing cheer, and after the approbation resided, the President delivered an impromptu speech:

"Seventy-one years ago today, our National Founding Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, overthrew the Manchu Dynasty and established this first republic in Asia. All Chinese regarded the achievement as the greatest glory.

Over the last 71 years, the people of the Republic of China have struggled with great sacrifice for national freedom and democracy. The people of the country, military and civilian alike, have written glorious chapters in the Chinese history of revolution. In the course, we have encountered countless hardships; we have overcome all of them; we have suffered setbacks of international magnitude, but we have become more vigorous, turning all failures into triumphs, because we have been moving on the broad path of the Three Principles of the People.

"Today, we are charged with the duty of carrying out the late President Chiang Kai-shek's behest: strengthening the bastion of national revival and recovering the Chinese mainland; that is, to reunify China under the Three Principles of the People. From the 1911 Wuchang Uprising to the reunification of China, there are consistent revolutionary policies and revolutionary goals. We must shoulder this historic and difficult task. Provided that everyone of us is determined to carry out our national policy, based on the Three Principles of the People; to treat each other with maximum sincerity; to forge our hearts into one; and to form ourselves into a great wall of will, we can reunify China under the Three Principles of the People.

"In this environment and at this time, we should fulfill our greatest ambition and move forward with courage. No enemy and difficulty can stop us from reviving our country. "The millions upon millions of our compatriots on the mainland are looking to the Three Principles of the People as the base for unifying China. This is also the desire of all other Chinese. We are certain to fulfill this desire provided we can unite and work hard.

"Today, we must translate this desire into determined revolutionary action and carry our cause to the mainland to save our compatriots there. We are sure that we can destroy the oppressive rule on the mainland and deliver our brethren from tyranny.

"Let's join our hearts, link our hands, and move forward courageously. Let's exert ourselves in the struggle to win further triumphs and the ultimate victory."

The President concluded by leading the crowds in a cheer: "Long Live the Three Principles of the People! Long Live the Republic of China!" At that moment, thousands of doves and of colorful balloons were released.

A following parade included delegations from all walks of life-students, military cadets, representatives of the ROC's self-defense units on Kinmen and Matsu Islands near the mainland, Communist defectors, overseas Chinese, farmers, workers, artists, businessmen, retired servicemen, religious personnel, and Taiwan aborigines.

One of the participants in the rally was Chou Ling-fei, grandson of Lu Hsun, a dead mainland writer who had been acclaimed by the Chinese Communists as the Maxim Gorky of the East. Chou, while studying television techniques in Japan, fell in love with the former Chang Chun-hua from Taiwan. He new to Taiwan in September, renounced his Communist party membership, and then married the woman he loved. He said of the rally:

"I am a cool man, but I was excited when I saw so many of my compatriots so enthusiastically celebrating this National Day."

Chou expressed his own appreciation for the government's support. He commented on the rousing, spontaneous cheers for the President at the rally. He stated that, after having inspected many of the ROC's development projects and witnessed the impressive National Day celebrations, he has become more deeply convinced that the government of the Republic of China is a hard working government dedicated to the well-being of the people.

Chou disclosed that this was not the first time he had watched the ROC's National Day celebrations: last year, when he was learning TV techniques at a Fuji TV studio in Japan, he watched a film of the big ROC National Day military parade. Later, Communists attacked him by telephone for watching the film. He retorted, "I am a journalist, so I needed to understand what was going on."

The young man, who was brought up on a strict Communist diet, pointed out that Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People are, also, not strange to him, though he does not understand them as thoroughly as most people in Taiwan do. But, "I know they are valuable, very valuable," he said. The people at Fuji TV tried to create the notion of two Chinas, he said, but he advised them simply to tell the audience the truth ... to let them judge the strength of each nation by the extent of its economic development, not by its territorial size.

In scope, Chou Ling-fei noted, the Taipei rally was not as vast as the Peking "national day" rally, but in terms of enthusiasm, it was more impressive. The spontaneous celebration was a far cry from the stiffly-staged Communist show.

The festivities among the ROC population were in full bloom throughout the afternoon. Thousands of unorganized people engaged in mass expositions of skills, including Dashboard demonstrations, tilted dancing, Western square dancing, dragon dancing, and kungfu.

There were 100 square-dance groups, numbering more than 2,000 dancers of an average age of 52. The oldest dancer was a woman, 72.

One dragon dance was performed by the staff of a military factory. It was the longest dragon ever wielded in Taipei, measuring 120 yards and divided into 22 sections. It was manipulated by 45 men.

The China Times summed up most people's inner feelings in its editorial:

"The 71st birthday of the Republic of China was an encouraging day but also a day for people to think about.

It was encouraging, because we had seen:

"The great national potential. Without the accumulated effort of the past, we could not put up such an impressive show. We have seen the strong constitutions of the parading youths, their neat formations and colorful uniforms, the skillful performances on drums and flutes by students, and especially the great number of participants. With such excellent young people at their posts, we have full confidence in the future of our country.

"Universal participation. The festivities were not only to be seen in the square fronting the Presidential Office Building, but also in back alleys, in the villages, at factories, and in the homes. This indicates that all citizens have identified themselves with the Republic of China.

"The good health of the President. The President had a busy and demanding day. First, he presided over the National Day ceremonies for central government officials and read his congratulatory message. Then, he received the congratulations of the diplomatic corps and foreign guests. Finally, he appeared on the veranda facing the square and addressed the rally. His high spirits and sonorous voice were seen and heard on television as well as at the scene of the celebration. Everyone is gratified that he is in good health; this has increased the people's confidence in the future of the nation.

"These three items testify that we meet the conditions to attain our goals. But, how to make the best use of our strengths requires our thorough consideration. First, we must create a con­sensus acknowledgment that Communism is bound to fail and that the Three Principles of the People are sure to prevail.

"All intelligent people would agree with the President: 'Now that the movement for freedom and against tyranny launched by our compatriots on the mainland is surging high, we must translate this desire into positive action.' Only one day before the Double Tenth, Russian author Alexan­der Solzhenitesyn reminded Japanese television audiences that a third of the world's population is still living under Communism and said that the only way to cope with Communism is to destroy it. He advised that we should not wait for the Communists themselves to degenerate or to die. He stressed that it is the duty of this generation to destroy this hostile demonology-Communist ideology. The Russian freedom fighter's view conforms to that of our President. We need have no doubts about the triumph of the anti-Communist forces and the consequent doom of tyrannical rule. All Chinese people today, at home or abroad, at the front or behind enemy lines, should ·make the destruction of Communism their pri­mary task and should submerge their differences in order to focus their efforts for this cause. This is our consensus.

"But consensus alone is not enough. In his National Day congratulatory message, President Chiang noted: 'We must translate this desire into positive action.' At the National Day rally, the President added: 'We must translate this desire into determined revolutionary action and carry our cause to the mainland to save our compatriots there.' We have accumulated our strength and laid a strong foundation, but we must point out that we cannot afford to rest on our laurels and make enjoyment a prerequisite. As we lack the fighting spirit, social standards have been lowered, and the effects or our incompatibility with the enemy have been reduced. This is indeed a sign or danger. As we have slackened our efforts, we have provided the enemy with the opportunity to overtake us. The weakening or our strength through luxury consumption is like increasing the enemy's strength.

Accordingly, we must take action to rectify our attitudes. Personally, each or us should work hard and practice austerity. Each should contribute his strength to the country by working hard at his post. We must forge our hearts into one, treat each other with maximum sincerity, and build a great wall or will. This is the guarantee for a promising national future.

"Now, the National Day celebrations are over. The day has inspired and engendered our enthusiasm. We must now translate this enthusiasm into concrete action and move forward toward the goal or unifying China under the banner or the Three Principles or the People."