Taiwan Today

Chief executives of free and the Democratic agree that international justice is the key to world peace

Wheels down for a feather-light landing, the DC-8 Domaine de glided onto the military apron at Taipei's Sungshan Airport the afternoon of April 15 and slowed to a gentle stop in front of President and Madame Chiang Kai­-shek. Aboard the big Air airliner were Presi­dent and Madame Joseph-Desire Mobutu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, state guests of the Republic of China for an eventful week. With the distinguished couple were an entourage of 32 and a press corps of 22. This was the largest official mission an Africa country ever sent to the .

The presidential plane was named for President Mobutu's plantation 60 kilometers northeast of the 's capital city of . Reclaimed by a Chinese farm demonstration team beginning in December of 1966, the plantation has become the cynosure of Congolese agricultural interest.

President Mobutu was the sixth African chief of state to visit the Republic of China. Preceding him were Philibert Tsiranana of the Malagasy Re­public, Hubert Maga of , Hastings Banda of Malawi, Diori Hamani of and Jean-Bedel Bokassa of the .

Straddling the Equator, the Democratic Republic of Congo has an area of 905,563 square miles, which is about 66 times the size of and slightly larger than all of . It borders the Central African Republic and Sudan to the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east, Zambia and Angola to the south and the People's Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) to the west across the Congo River. A narrow strip reaches west to the .

Most of the DRC is a basin some 400 meters above sea level. Average temperature is 27 degrees centigrade. The rainy season is from November to 'May and the remaining five months are dry and mild. The had a population of 20.7 million in July of 1970. , the capital, formerly was called and has a population of 1,120,000.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most developed countries in . It produces 6 per cent of the world's copper and more than 40 per cent of its cobalt and industrial diamonds. In 1969, it mined 360,000 tons of copper worth US$460 million. Leading buyers were countries of the Eu­ropean Common Market and . Production of cobalt totaled 9,981 tons and that of industrial diamonds 14 million carats. Minerals accounted for 84.9 per cent of 1969 exports.

There are 22 power plants. The four largest, located in the copper mining area of , soon will be exceeded by a plant under construction at Inga near the seaport of Matadi. Started in 1968, the Inga plant of 30 million kilowatts will be the largest in the world when completed in 1973. Other leading industries are brewing, sugar refining, palm oil processing, soap, textiles, cement, iron and ship­building.

has 140,000 kilometers of highway and 5,000 kilometers of railway, mostly for shipping mineral products to the seaports of Matadi and Boma. State-owned Air provides service from to .

Formerly a Belgian colony in Equatorial Africa, the gained full independence June 30, 1960. Diplomatic relations with the Republic of China were established a couple of months later. sent Shen Chin-ting as its first ambassador. has been a supporter of the Republic of China at the United Nations. Last May, established an embassy in with Pierre Efomi as its first envoy.

In August of 1966, the two countries signed a technical cooperation agreement and the ROC sent a 17-member farm demonstration team to the DRC to help grow rice and vegetables. The team, since increased to 46 members, has reclaimed 705 hectares of land and trained 654 extension workers. Chinese technicians helped Congolese build a pineapple processing plant last year at the request of President Mobutu.

The President is a many-sided man. Born at Lisala, Equatorial province, in 1930, he has been a soldier, accountant, journalist and statesman. Mobutu began his political career in 1960 as a member of the State Council. In the following year, he was appoint­ed the Congolese Army Chief of Staff and promoted to major general. He led a 219-member team to for airborne training in 1963 and was the first Congolese to parachute onto the sea. Two years later, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became commander-in-chief of the Congolese Army.

Mobutu subdued internal factionalists and was named President toward the end of 1965. He founded his political party of Mouvement Populaire de in 1967 with a platform stressing economic development. He designated 1968 as "agri­cultural year" in an attempt to arouse interest in farming. This campaign and other development pro­grams led to his landslide victory in the election of November 1, 1970.

President Mobutu also has been successful on the African diplomatic front. He was elected presi­dent of the Organisation de l'Unité Africaine in 1967. Two years later, he convened a summit meeting of the Organisation Africaine et Malgache in . In the last five years, the DRC has increased the number of its overseas legations from 21 to 44. The number of foreign diplomatic missions in has risen from 26 to 47.

Mobutu's official party included Foreign Minis­ter Mario Cardoso, Minister of Agriculture Pierre Andre, Director of the Office of President Barthelemy Bisengimana, Roving Ambassador Marcel Lengema, Ambassador to China Pierre Efomi and Adviser to the President Jean-Marie Phanzu. A 21-gun salute echoed from the hills north of as President and Madame Chiang walked out to Domaine de

Clad in the uniform of the DRC's Supreme Commander and accompanied by President Chiang, Presi­dent Mobutu reviewed the Chinese honor guard and shook hands with leading Chinese officials, members of 's diplomatic corps and more than a dozen Congolese - dependents of the Embassy staff and students at an agricultural seminar. The Mrkan leader also renewed friendships with such old friends as Shen Chin-ting and Tsai Yuan, the first two ROC ambassadors to .

In welcoming remarks, President Chiang hailed President Mobutu for leadership under which the DRC has made phenomenal achievements. The Chinese chief executive said he would discuss with President Mobutu the world situation and matters of mutual concern, thereby promoting friendship between the two countries and safeguarding world peace.

The African guest said he had come to learn of the 4,000-year-old history and culture of and the progress made by the Chinese government and people during the last two decades. "I hope the points of views reached at our discussions will contribute to the cause of world peace and the prosperity of our two peoples," he said.

After airport ceremonies, the two Presidents rode together to the Grand Hotel, where President and Mme. Mobutu occupied the Presidential Suite. More than 50,000 people lined the streets to cheer the visitors. Arches bearing greetings in Chinese and French spanned boulevards leading to the airport, the Grand Hotel and the Presidential Building.

At 5:30 p.m. President Mobutu received Vice President C. K. Yen, Foreign Minister S. K. Chow and Taipei Mayor Henry Kao and honored them with decorations. Mayor Kao presented the African chief executive with a gold key to . In the eve­ning, President and Madame Mobutu paid a courtesy call on President and Madame Chiang at the Chung­shan Building in suburban . The building is dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Founding Father of the Republic of China.

President Chiang conferred the Order of Precious Jade on President Mobutu and the Order of Propitious Cloud with Grand Cordon on Madame Mobutu. In return, President Mobutu decorated President and Madame Chiang with the Order of Leopard with Special Grand Cordon. The Chinese first couple then gave a state dinner in honor of their guests.

In his address, President Chiang praised Presi­dent Mobutu for his wisdom, farsightedness and leadership. He said the visiting leader had unified and stabilized the Democratic Republic of Congo and brought prosperity to its national economy.

"There would hardly be a peaceful and stable African continent without a prosperous, unifed, demo­cratic and free ," the Chinese chief executive said. "Similarly, there would hardly be a peaceful and stable Asian continent without a prosperous, unified, democratic and free .

"Although the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of China are geographically far apart, both governments have a common goal in their pursuance of freedom, promotion of democracy and furtherance of people's welfare. Both nations are identical in their foreign policies of maintaining the independence of their nations and exerting efforts to securing peace for the world. I am gratified that cooperation between our two governments in agricul­tural techniques and international affairs has been very close and the friendly relations between our two on the increase."

He pointed out that the visit of President and Madame Mobutu would further cement Sino-Congolese ties and promote the friendship between the two peo­ples, thereby opening a new era in the history of Sino-Congolese diplomatic relations.

In response, President Mobutu said the Congolese people admire President Chiang's undaunted spirit and perseverance as well as the remarkable achieve­ments of the Chinese government and people under his leadership. He said:

"The Democratic Republic of Congo is proud of having such a friend as the Republic of China and is gratified at the especially cordial relations be­tween the two countries.

"The Congolese people are grateful to the Re­public of China for its consistent assistance, especially in agricultural know-how, when the Democratic Re­public of Congo was having serious internal troubles and was under the threat of subversion masterminded by some foreign countries. We hereby assure Your Excellency that the Democratic Republic of Congo is determined to exert itself for safeguarding world peace and the ideal of freedom and to keep pace forever with those peoples who have the same ideals. The Republic of China can trust the Democratic Republic of Congo to extend its lasting friendship."

On the morning of April 16, President Mobutu went to the Yuanshan Martyrs' Shrine, where he laid a wreath in honor of 's war dead. He was accompanied by Vice President C. K. Yen and Chief of the General Staff Lai Ming-tang. The African chief of state spent an hour at the in downtown . Wang Tsu-yi, general manager of the center, presented the visitor with a pair of Chinese palace lanterns.

Madame Mobutu followed a different schedule. She visited the , sponsored by Madame Chiang, which is giving free treatment to crippled children. The Congolese first lady donated US$2,000 to the center. She then called at the Chinese Women's Anti-Aggression League, which is also chaired by Madame Chiang.

In the afternoon, Vice President and Mrs. C. K. Yen escorted the Mobutus on a visit to the at Waishuanghsi in suburban . The visitors spent more than an hour viewing Chinese art treasures, some of which are 4,000 years old. Chiang Fu-tsung, curator of the museum, presented the Congolese first couple with a five-volume set of reproductions of Chinese paintings and other masterpieces.

President Mobutu and his party left for the Kangshan air· base in the south by special plane the morning of April 17. Accompanying the visitors were Vice President C. K. Yen, Chief of the General Staff Lai Ming-tang and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs H. K. Yang. After observing an aerobatic performance of F jet fighters, the Mobutu party proceeded farther south to the naval base at Tsoying. They reviewed warships and the Marine Corps.

That afternoon was given over to inspection of Gen. Mobutu's specialty-airborne training-at Ping­tung. Paratroopers bailed out of a transport plane at 5,000 feet. This was followed by the dropping of a battalion of soldiers and equipment into the target zone from 18 planes coming over in three waves. The exercise ended with stunt parachuting of the "Divine Dragon Team" from 10,000 feet. The guests spent the night at the newly built Yuanshan Hotel on the edge of in suburban . This first manmade lake in serves purposes of irrigation and power generation and supplies water for industrial and residential uses.

On the morning of Sunday, April 18, President Mobutu and his party attended a 30-minute Mass said by Bishop Cheng Tien-hsiang at their hotel. They then visited the Kaohsiung Sugar Mill in the company of Economic Affairs Minister Y. S. Sun and Vice Foreign Minister H. K. Yang. The mill is one of 27 of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation, the largest enterprise in free . The Congolese Presi­dent tried to learn as much of Chinese technical knowhow as possible and instructed his party to take notes on operational procedures of the mill.

In the afternoon, the visitors inspected the Agri­cultural Seminar for African Technicians at , the old capital of . President Mobutu shook hands with each of the 58 trainees from 19 countries and urged them to study hard so as to be able to make important contributions to the economic devel­opment of their homelands. Five of the 58 were from . The first of these five-month seminars opened in March of 1962. In the 11 seminars through July of 1970, a total of 526 students from 31 countries had been trained, including 35 from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The African party arrived at in central the morning of April 19. They drove out into the countryside to , site of the Taiwan Provincial Government. At a briefing on the provincial administration, President Mobutu showed special interest in the malaria eradication campaign undertaken by public health authorities. This campaign was begun in 1952 and completed at the end of 1964, when the World Health Organization declared a malaria-free area.

Because of his heavy schedule, President Mobutu canceled his inspection of the land consolidation project at Lungching village in county. Minister of Agriculture Pierre Andre was sent there to see the project and report.

After a luncheon given by Governor Chen Taching, the travelers returned to . In the evening they were dinner guests of Vice President and Mrs. Yen at the Ambassador Hotel. Beforehand, the hosts presented their guests of honor with a set of furniture and four pieces of jewelry made of jade.

Presidents Mobutu and Chiang conferred for the second time at the Presidential Office in downtown the morning of April 20. The talks lasted for 90 minutes and were wide ranging, with emphasis on economic cooperation. Also present for the ROC side were Vice President C. K. Yen, Presidential Secretary-General Chang Chun, Foreign Minister S. K. Chow, Economic Affairs Minister Y. S. Sun, Vice Foreign Minister H. K. Yang and Ambassador to Kinshasa Ding Mou-shih. On the DRC side were Foreign Minister Mario Cardoso, Minister of Agri­culture Pierre Andre, Director of the Office of Presi­dent Barthelemy Bisengimana, Roving Ambassador Marcel Lengema, Ambassador to Taipei Pierre Efomi and Adviser to the President Jean-Marie Phanzu.

That evening, President and Madame Mobutu were hosts at a state banquet in honor of the Chinese first couple at the Grand Hotel. Also invited were ranking Chinese officials and chiefs of foreign diplomatic missions. The guest list exceeded 100.

The African chief executive thanked President Chiang and the Chinese government and people for their warm welcome and hospitality. He said the progress achieved by the Republic of China showed the vitality of the Chinese people, adding that the "determination of the Republic of China's effort will remain a lasting memory for mankind."

In response, President Chiang expressed his agreement with President Mobutu's views on the world situation and his analysis of recent developments in . He predicted Sino-Congolese friendship would be further strengthened. " and will sup­port each other to shoulder the responsibility of upholding justice and maintaining peace and freedom in Asia and ," he said.

President Mobutu gave a press conference at the Grand Hotel the morning of April 21. He described President Chiang as a "great man" in the history of and the world. He added that he had come to know of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek through textbooks in his school days. "Under his able leadership, the Chinese armed forces have been well disci­plined and have shown high morale and training ef­ficiency," he said.

The Congolese chief of state stressed that his government follows an independent foreign policy and honors traditional friendship in its foreign relations. He said the Congolese government has been strongly anti-Maoist and has opposed any attempt to seat the regime in the United Nations because:

"During the first years of the independence of , the Chinese Communists caused many disturbances and much bloodshed in our country through infiltration and subversion. At that time, I was the Chief of Staff of the Army and discovered that they had smuggled weapons under the guise of Red Cross shipments. We came to realize the real nature of the regime and since then have been against the Maoists."

Turning to Sino-Congolese technical cooperation, President Mobutu expressed hope the ROC would step up its agricultural aid to his country because had attained "miraculous achievements" in farming on limited arable land. He praised the hard work of Chinese farmers in and said many people in his country had not seen the growing of paddy rice until arrival of the Chinese farm demonstra­tion team.

He said the Democratic Republic of Congo is endowed with natural resources and encouraged Chinese entrepreneurs to invest there. "The Investment Statute promulgated by my government on June 26, 1969, is the one of most liberal among the developing countries," he said. For investments of more than US$10,000 which will accelerate the 's economic development, duties on the import of capital equipment are exempted and the investor is granted a five-year tax holiday.

At 4 p.m., the Mobutus bade farewell to President and Madame Chiang at the Presidential residence in suburban Shihlin. They talked for half an hour, then rode to the airport together. The Congolese President and his party boarded the Domaine de fa Nsefe and departed for via .

In a joint communique issued before President Mobutu's departure, the two chiefs of state said they "believe only by respecting international justice can world peace be secured." They expressed gratifica­tion over the close cooperation of the two countries in international organizations and the smooth implementation of Sino-Congolese technical cooperation in such fields as agriculture, trade and medical services.

"The two chiefs of state agreed that the Republic of China invest in the Democratic Republic of Congo and strengthen cooperation with emphasis on the cultivation of rice, corn, cotton and sugar cane and help establish a sugar mill. They also decided to establish a joint committee, which will meet once a year alternately in and to discuss matters pertaining to Sino-Congolese cooperation."

President Chiang expressed his admiration for President Mobutu's achievements in accelerating na­tional unification, political stability, social order, economic development and advancement of his people's standard of living as well as the rising prestige of the DRC in the international community.

President Mobutu said he was impressed by the Republic of China's progress in various fields and its efforts on behalf of the renaissance of traditional Chinese culture under the leadership of President Chiang.

President Mobutu expressed "hearty thanks" to the government and people of the Republic of China for their warm welcome and hospitality.

President Chiang "accepted with pleasure" an invitation from President Mobutu to visit the Demo­cratic Republic of Congo on a date to be decided later.