Taiwan Today

Historically Turkey and China may be considered as two brother states. While Western Europe was in the often-called Dark Ages, China in the Tang Dynasty was generally recognized as at the apex of its civilization. The brilliant civilization of the Tang Dynasty was the result of the fusion of the culture of the Chinese people and that of the peoples outside of the famous Great Walls. Among the peoples outside of the Great Walls at that time were the ancestors of your great nation whom we Chinese called Tu Chueh.

In the 7th century, the people of Tu Chueh migrated from their homeland in Central Asia to Southwest Asia. During the middle of the 15th century, they established their capital at Constantinople and founded a country astride three continents.

In the world history, the people that emigrate to another country are usually the best stock who makes the most illustrious record in history. From the time your people migrated from the vicinity of the Gold Mountains, or the Altai Mountains, to the shores of the Golden Horn in Constantinople up to the present moment, it is more than a thousand years. The illustrious history of your continuous struggles brings glory to your country, in which we as a brother na­tion also share.

After the 10th century, your country became the torchbearer of Islam. I recall with pleasure that on April 28 of last year the Turkish Charge d'Affaires, Mr. H. H. Anli, presented to me two famous Turkish works in the Central Library next door. One of these was the Turkish Encyclopedia, and the other the Islam Encyclopedia.

Islam is your national religion. All the religions in the world are based on love and friendship, which is what Confucius said: "Within the four seas all are brothers." Religion represents man's unbounded faith and hope. Communism and religion can never exist together. We believe that the spirit which animates religious believers to respect God and love mankind will be instrumental in eliminating Communism. The reason why your great country has become one of the world's strongest spiritual fortresses is due to no other reason than to your strong religious faith.

Your Excellency: We are considering ways and means for the positive implement­ation of the Cultural Convention between China and Turkey. Today, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, I wish to start the ball rolling by this simple presentation ceremony. This new Hsian Tang Hall in which we are now holding our meeting is the site of the Chinese Cultural Research Institute which has for its object the promotion of cultural exchange between China and other nations.

The first batch of books which the Ministry of Education presents to the Re­public of Turkey numbering more than two thousand volumes were for the most part brought to your country by Ambassador Shao Yu-lin. The rest will be sent by parcel post by the Central Library. I am now present­ing to Your Excellency two books as souvenirs and as a symbol of the other books we have presented to your country.

One of the two books is entitled "Sino-Turkish Cultural Relations," a symposium written by ten well-known scholars who give a systematic treatment of the cultural and political relations between your great country and ours. In the appendix there is a list of Chinese publications and articles on Turkey. This book serves to promote understanding of your great country by the Chinese people. At the same time, it may be of some use to your countrymen as a reference book. Contributors to this symposium have mostly made visits to your great country in recent years. They were greatly impressed by what they saw and showed their admiration of your great country in their writings. Most of these gentlemen are present here today. I am confident that they will contribute greatly to the future implementation of the Cultural Convention. We are now considering continuing our study and going to publish a second volume.

Another book I wish to present to Your Excellency is the "Three People's Principles Dictionary," which is one of the books of the China Series published by the Ministry of Education. We fully realize that China and Turkey are sympathetic friendly states which not only mutually show sympathy to each other but actually share their hardship togeth­er. Since the 18th century when the Russian Tsars launched their southward expansion program, both China and Turkey have suffered directly from Russian aggression. Large slices of China's northwest and north­ east borders have been bitten off by Russia. For instance, the lower section of the Amur Valley now in the hands of the Russians was Chinese territory since the Ming Dynasty.

From your people Russia has taken Uzbek, Turkmen, Kazakh, and Kirghiz in Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus. These five countries have the same language and religion as yours, but they have all been gobbled up by the Russians. China and Turkey are the two countries that have suffered most from Russian imperialist ex­pansion.

The Three People's Principles is a move­ment for avenging China's humiliations and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Dr. Sun Yat-sen is the father of the Republic of China just as General Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is the father of the Republic of Turkey. Their spirit and their thinking are the same. In the early stages of revolution and reconstruction, the Turkish government revived ancient culture, initiated local self-government, and promoted industrialization, all of which agree with the objectives of our Three People's Principles. China and Turkey are located in the east and west end of the periphery of the Communist empire. By cooperating they could form a formidable force in the world's anti­-Communist lineup. This is the hope which prompted me to present to Your Excellency a copy of the "Three People's Principles Dictionary."

Your people are the descendants of the Tu Chueh race. "Tu Chueh" in Chinese means perseverence and strength. Confucius stressed strength and resoluteness as cardinal virtues. In his letters to his comrades, Dr. Sun Yat-sen often mentioned the four words, uprightness, thriftiness, perseverence, and resoluteness.

Your people are known for their upright­ness, their being practical and their daunt­less, fearless spirit. During the Korean war, the Turkish forces under the United Nations Command showed great bravery in action, which has won the praise of all the democratic countries in the world. I wish to take this opportunity to express to Your Excellency my highest esteem and my hope that Your Excellency will be good enough to convey to your people our greetings for them.

I thank you.

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Editor's Note—This is the text of an address delivered by Minister Chang Chi-yun in a presentation ceremony held on November 26, 1957 at Hsian Tang Hall, during which two Chinese books were presented to the Turkish Ambassador His Excellency Mr. Cemil Vafi as a symbol of the more than two thousand books which China presented to Turkey for the implementation of the Cultural Convention between China and Turkey concluded last February.