Taiwan Today

While others talk, the Republic of China has tried to uphold the spirit of liberty expressed by prisoners of war after the Korean conflict. The Freedom Day movement is alive and thriving

Freedom is more than a word. Even the Chinese Communists claimed they were in favor of freedom and allowed some posters to go up on Democracy Wall in Peiping in an attempt to prove it. Then the expressions of freedom grew clamorous and became embarrassing to the regime. Democracy Wall was closed down. The editor of an outspoken underground periodical was sent to prison for 15 years. The Communists decided that they didn’t like freedom and democracy after all—only the Communist kind, which is synonymous with repression and tyranny. Teng Hsiao-ping admitted he had been wrong about letting another “hundred flowers” bloom. He urged that the flowers be crushed and the mainland returned to the spirit of Mao Tse-tung suppression.

The Republic of China stands for freedom, democracy and human rights. That is what the ROC and the Three People’s Principles of Dr. Sun Yat-sen are all about. The National Revolution against the Ch’ing Dynasty of the Manchus was fought and won in the name of freedom and against dynastic autocracy. Dr. Sun’s goal was government of the people, by the people and for the people in an environment of freedom, democracy and social welfare. Admittedly, it is a goal which has not yet been fully achieved but toward which Dr. Sun’s countrymen, party and followers are steadily moving.

One of the biggest freedom advances of the Republic of China occurred in 1954, when 22,000 Chinese and Korean prisoners of war chose liberty over slavery at the conclusion of the conflict in Korea. The 14,000 Chinese subsequently came to Taiwan to undertake new lives of their own choice. This was the first large scale exercise of “voluntary repatriation” in the history of the world and one which Free China has since observed annually on Freedom Day January 23 and in the Freedom Day Movement that has attracted attention and support throughout the free world.

The United States, which fought for voluntary repatriation at the cost of continuing the Korean War for many months, seems no longer interested in the principle. There was no stand on this or similar issues at the close of the Vietnam War. At that time the Americans cared only about extrication from Indochina, the American prisoners of the North Vietnamese and the bodies of Americans. They showed no concern about assuring a real choice for prisoners opposed to Communism.

In Korea, President Syngman Rhee released about 27,000 North Koreans held by the ROK forces, but more than 22,000 Koreans and Chinese were still in the hands of the United Nations Command when the Armistice was signed July 27, 1953. It is the saga of these more than 14,000 Chinese and nearly 8,000 Koreans that is celebrated on Freedom Day. Only about 700 of those who had lived under Communism chose to return to it. The rest defied every intimidation of the Communist “explainers” in the detention huts at Panmunjom. Six months after the Armistice, they were released to go where they wished. The 14,000 “witnesses for freedom” came to Taiwan, a new homeland that they had never seen before. The North Koreans took up their homes in South Korea.

Never before or since have the Communists been dealt such a heavy psychological blow. Those who knew them best turned their backs despite all manner of promises and threats to family members still in the hands of the Communists. The former Communists were resettled in occupations of their choice. Farmers became farmers; they were given land. Businessmen were helped to establish themselves. Youngsters were sent back to school and their educations financed for as long as they wished to continue. None of those who chose liberty has turned out to be a bad apple. All have shown great loyalty to the country. In both the Republic of China and South Korea, a number of the freedom fighters asked to join the armed forces, did so and have served with distinction.

Government and people of the Republic of China have found it difficult to understand the neglect of the spirit emblazoned by the Korean War victory for free choice by those caught up in the tentacles of Communism. There is just one way to end the aggressions of the Soviet Union and Red China, and that is to give their constituent peoples the right to choose their own governments and leaders. As Premier Sun Yun-suan said in his Freedom Day address to the Taipei mass rally on February 23, “We want to arouse the free world to recognize that freedom and slavery cannot coexist and that conciliation and appeasement will only help fan the Communist flames and deepen the crisis of humankind.”

Speaking at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to government leaders, freedom fighters from the world over and scores of distinguished international guests, the Premier said:

“World Freedom Day is being observed at this rally in the Republic of China today with the political call and main theme of ‘Supporting Mainland Compatriots to Regain Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights.’ This is a significant occasion in bringing together and raising our anti-Communist voices. I extend a hearty welcome to distinguished guests who have come from faraway lands.

“In January of 1954, 22,000 Chinese and Korean soldiers taken prisoners of war in Korea won a great and glorious victory with their choice of freedom. Some 14,000 Chinese former POWs returned to their free fatherland January 23 in the spirit of ‘devoting their hearts to the return to Taiwan and their lives to the elimination of the Chinese Communists.’ Various circles in the Republic of China undertook a ‘January 23 Freedom Movement’ to expand the dauntless sentiments of the anti-Communist former prisoners. This movement based on human dignity won worldwide support and has been enlarged to become the ‘World Freedom Day Movement.’ It is regarded as a brilliant banner in the human struggle for freedom and a major guidepost in opposing Communist tyranny.

“The anti-Communist POWs from the Chinese mainland sought freedom at the risk of their lives because they disdained and despised the Chinese Communists. They had seen the brutalities of the Communists and were distressed by them. Their choice of freedom en masse has been a persuasive testimony against Chinese Communist tyrannical rule and a revelation of the miserable living conditions of our mainland compatriots. For many years, the people of the mainland have been participating in one anti-Communist uprising after another and have sought liberty at the risk of their lives. This is full indication of their aspirations and of the truth that freedom will emerge victorious and slavery will be eradicated.

“The usurpation of the Chinese mainland was one of the greatest human tragedies in the wake of World War II. All other scourges of war and turmoil suffered by Asians since then are prolongations of the mainland tragedy. Communism is the source of aggressive war, and the Chinese Communists are the principal culprits. It is logical to assume that freedom and human rights must be restored to the people of the Chinese mainland before Asian peace and security can be assured. Unfortunately, U.S. ‘normalization of relations’ with the Chinese Communists has increasingly deepened the Asian crisis. The U.S. establishment of diplomatic ties with the Chinese Communists has encouraged their tyrannical regime materially and has dealt a heavy blow to mainland people seeking freedom, democracy and human rights. Consequently, Asian security and peace remain unattainable and the flames of Communist external aggression and subversion have been fueled.

“International developments in the last year or so have clearly shown the direct and indirect unfavorable effects of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Chinese Communists. The Communists have become more rampant in the Middle East, Near East, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. The changes in the Iranian political situation, the exodus of the boat people from the Indochina Peninsula, the re-emerging Cuban threat to Central and South America and the continental United States, and the huge expansion of Soviet military strength have escalated tensions through the world and led to increased danger.

“We want to arouse the free world to recognize that freedom and slavery cannot coexist and that conciliation and appeasement will only help fan the Communist flames and deepen the crisis of humankind. In doing so, we must unite all of the anti-Communist forces and undertake a worldwide movement to safeguard freedom.

“We want to arouse the free world to recognize that we have the duty of helping those who have lost their freedom to gain it and of helping others who still have their freedom to safeguard it. Communism must be eliminated, and tyrannical Chinese Communist rule must be eliminated first of all.

“In reconstructing our bastion of revival in accordance with the Three Principles of the People, we have established a constitutional foundation for democratic government, an economic system of prosperity and equitable distribution of wealth, and a social blueprint of peace, happiness and well-being. This is in keeping with Chinese cultural thought and the Chinese way of life and meets the requirements for Chinese social development. This also will set an example for the construction of a unified and strong modern China of freedom and peace. For 30 years, we have remained in the democratic camp and insisted on a national policy of anti-Communism. We have braved all difficulties and reverses with vigor and self-reliance. In doing so we have sought to rekindle the hope of our mainland compatriots. We are additionally convinced that only the recovery of the Chinese mainland can safeguard Asian security and world peace.

“In these same 30 years, the Chinese mainland under Communist totalitarian rule has been the proving ground of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Tse-tung thought. The result is hunger, poverty and backwardness. Millions of innocent people have been massacred. More than 80 million educated youths are still working on farms under the rustication program or are in labor reform camps. Some 200 million farmers have insufficient food rations. The whole of the mainland is ‘poor and blank.’ So the people have risen up to resist the Communists and to try to get even with them. The people want freedom, democracy and survival, and ask ‘Why can’t the mainland match Taiwan?’ The prevailing slogans of ‘learning from Taiwan’ and ‘keeping abreast of Taiwan’ constitute open recognition that the Three Principles of the People is the road that China should follow.

“The Chinese Communists have long relied on the united front conspiracy. The more serious their internal crises, the more frequent their employment of united front tactics. They pretend to smile and to make friendly gestures. Their so-called ‘peaceful solution’ and ‘negotiation’ moves are intended to cover up their internal weaknesses and to confuse international public opinion and have the ultimate objective of ‘subjugating the enemy without resort to war.’ In recent years, they have pushed their ‘peaceful unification’ tactic in an attempt to promote schism and carry out subversion within Taiwan. I want to emphasize again that we shall never change our position of no talks and no conciliation with the Chinese Communists under any circumstances. We must make further efforts to unite the people at home and abroad in an anti-Communist patriotic struggle to cope with the united front intrigues. We shall support in every possible way the movement of our mainland compatriots to gain freedom and democracy and thus continuously enlarge it until the tyrannical Communist regime is overthrown from within.

“The Republic of China has achieved considerable progress in political, economic, cultural and social construction. These gains have won the adherence of our mainland compatriots and attracted the attention of the free world. Especially in the last year or so, our courageous spirit in meeting challenges and our show of increased vigor with each new setback have received international recognition. In the course of our struggle, many freedom-loving and justice-upholding people of the democratic countries have stretched out their hands to us in sincere expression of friendship and have urged that we be treated justly. This has touched our hearts; the wisdom and treasured opinions of these people are appreciated and respected. We believe that justice is on our side, and so will be the victory.

“Let all of us march forward shoulder to shoulder and with quickened step in the struggle to support the mainland people in regaining freedom, democracy and human rights, and also for the assurance of a Chinese mainland of democracy, freedom and traditional Chinese culture.”

Dr. Ku Cheng-kang, honorary chairman of the World Anti-Communist League, said “The rampancy of international Communism in the 1970s resulted entirely from the mistaken policies of pacification and compromise pursued by certain free nations. Tens of millions of people became enslaved under Communism. Millions were ruthlessly killed. The plight of the more than a billion captive masses has been prolonged.”

But hope is flaming high, Dr. Ku said. The awakening to the evil of Communism assures that free people will be rallied through the world to struggle against the Communists. “A great unity must be forged,” he said. “The tide must rise. People behind the Iron Curtain are longing for deliverance. No longer willing to accept servitude, they are putting their own strength to use in the winning of freedom. We must positively support their struggles for freedom, democracy and human rights. Their opposition to tyranny will lead to the destruction of the Iron Curtain from within.”

In its Declaration, the Taipei rally said: “Freedom is what all of mankind needs and wants. This desire cannot be suppressed by any force. United as one, crusaders of freedom will surge ahead and crush the Communist regimes. Let us in this new decade march on as one toward the goals of our historic mission—national unification, human freedom and world peace.”

This was the most event-filled and far-reaching Freedom Week in the history of the movement. Besides the Taipei rally, a gigantic people’s gathering was held at the port city of Kaohsiung, the second largest metropolis in Taiwan. Lectures, forums and discussions were held daily. Speakers included Chinese freedom fighters who escaped from the mainland and many foreign government and civic leaders. Millions of people watched these events on special programs and news shows of the three Taiwan television networks. The newspaper and periodical press provided extensive and intensive coverage.

Freedom fighters exchanging views at a forum expressed confidence that peoples on both sides of the Iron Curtain have learned the truth about Communism and are determined to be rid of it. Their Declaration said:

“For a long time earlier in this century, people everywhere remained blind to the fact that Communism had come into being as a product of the industrial revolution. They approved of it and pinned hope on it. Long exposed to terrors of war, people began to think of detente, wishfully hoping that wars could be prevented. But history has proved the absurdity (of this). The price paid has been enormous. Certain nations and governments have fallen victims to the Red insurrection. Countless innocent lives have been lost; countless people are still lamentably devoid of freedom. Who knows how many have attempted to avoid Communist persecution and found themselves lost on endless seas or stranded on lifeless coral reefs? God knows how many such refugees, already on the verge of starvation, are trying to drag themselves through uninhabited jungles, hoping that freedom will ultimately be theirs. As some people shake their heads over the bodies of unsuccessful refugees floating in the water or washed ashore, others are impeding refugees and hunting down those who have sneaked through barriers. Should these tragedies of human society that is half free and half slave be allowed to repeat themselves endlessly?”

“Facts have proved that mankind can no longer support or condone Communism. The Communists of China, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc., have butchered more than 200 million fellow party members and fellow countrymen in the name of class struggle and elimination of antagonists, real or imagined. Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of people have in a continuous flow risked their lives in search of freedom outside the Iron Curtain. Communism has thus given man a complete answer. Quite undeniably it is that fear of war and wishful thinking about detente cannot ward off wars.”

The freedom fighters said that they had emerged from holocausts to attest that the struggle is for the life and development of mankind. “All human beings will be involved,” said their Declaration. “With one half of mankind already in chains, the other half cannot hope to win lasting peace by means of appeasement and compromise.”

More than 200 “freedom witnesses” who escaped the mainland attended the Freedom Week events. Wu Kuan-hou said that their aim was to tell the world about their wish for freedom and the impossibility of attaining even the smallest modicum of it on the mainland. Chinese mainland freedom can be won only by destroying Communism, he said. Mainland people want rule of law and the Three Principles of the People that have made Taiwan the model for the China of tomorrow, he added. The freedom fighters agreed that the radio broadcasts and other messages of the Republic of China are of great importance in inspiring defection and upholding mainland morale against the tyranny of Communism.

Foreign representatives attending Freedom Week events came from 26 countries. Horst A. Uhlich, chairman of the Captive Nations Committee of New York, urged the free peoples not to participate in the Moscow Olympics as a protest against Soviet repression and oppression. He said: “These games, which express sportsmanship, fair play and freedom of activities, should be considered a form of competition among free nations. The Communists use them as propaganda.” He said that freedom and liberty can be protected only by augmented programs of education and the words, deeds and cooperation of democratic governments.”

Representative Robert W. Daniel Jr. of Virginia said Freedom Day is a “great embarrassment to the mainland Communist regime as well as to Communist tyrants elsewhere. The prisoners of war who chose to stay in the Republic of China and in South Korea had lived under the Communist regime. They realized that they could never find economic, political or religious opportunity under the Communist system.”

Congressman Daniel questioned the wisdom of U.S. recognition of the Chinese Communists at the expense of the Republic of China. He noted that in 1979 trade alone, that between the United States and Free China was about five times as large as that between the United States and Red China.

Peter Dally, editor of the Intelligence Digest and Weekly Review of London, said the Soviet invasion should not have shocked the free world. He noted that the refugee flow of the world is always in one direction: From the Communist lands to the democracies. He cited the examples of Vietnam and Hongkong. Yet many people “do not understand what the Communists are up to,” he said. “It never ceases to amaze me how ill-informed some of our top leaders can be. Three weeks before the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, I anticipated the event, if not the actual date, by quoting from Stalin’s book The Problems of Leninism in which he declared that the Soviet Union had a sacred duty to further the revolution in other countries.

“The farther people are away from Communism, either in time or geographically, the more complacent they tend to become. While Britain’s prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, is aware of the menace from the Soviet Union, she is happy to court Peiping for tactical reasons. But the British people cannot imagine a Russian invasion of their island simply because they have never been successfully invaded for over 900 years.

“In the heartland of America, particularly the grain states, it is difficult for people to appreciate the Communist danger from without because it is a thousand miles or more to the sea and then many thousands of miles across the oceans of the world before you get to a Communist land mass. They even find Cuba acceptable—and this is the danger of Carter’s present assessment of Communist tactics, notwithstanding his declared anger at the Russian brigade in Cuba.

“It is to educate, inform and brief top executives and opinion-makers in the United States and throughout the English-speaking world that my managing director, Allen Keyte, and myself are establishing a separate organization or foundation which will be based in London and Washington and will be dedicated to furthering the ideals and success of the free enterprise system in all countries, as opposed to the failures of socialism, otherwise known as Communism.”

Paul Kaya, executive director of the Organization for West African Coordination, said a peaceful way of life requires peace and that can be attained only when the Communists have been defeated. Only the democracies emphasize the family and that is the goal of humankind, he added. He expressed confidence that democracy and freedom will carry the day.

Jean Desanli, a member of the French National Assembly, joined Kaya in expressions of confidence that the free way of life will prevail because it is the wish of the people. All men have the right to choose their way of life, he said, and they do not want Communism.

Walter de Pra, member of the Brazilian Congress, said Communism and imperialism can be eliminated in the 1980s. Those living under Communism must be liberated, he said, and pledged Brazilians to this objective.

Mahit Mentese, member of the Turkish National Assembly, said freedom will inevitably triumph over Communism. Turkey and the Republic of China are as one in their anti-Communist objective, he added.

Jung Je Ho, member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, said that people of courage and vigilance will assure themselves of the democratic way of life. The waiting period in the struggle against Communism should be terminated, he added, and the Republic of China and Korea should join together in destroying their Communist antagonists.

Asasiro Takayanagi, chairman of the board of the International Federation for Victory over Communism, called for positive actions against Communism when those attending Freedom Week return home. If everyone stands up to fight now, Communism cannot endure for long, he said adding: “United, the free world can accomplish its goal of freedom, democracy and peace on earth.”

Another Japanese, Nagato Ito, expressed regret for his country’s war against the Republic of China in the 1930s and 40s, but said he was impressed by the recovery and prosperity of Free China. He said the Communists fear force and that it must be used against them.

Bertil Haggman, chairman of the Swedish Free Asia Association and a member of the Swedish Association of Writers, asked for a generation of writers on the Chinese mainland who can contribute as Alexander Solzhenitsyn did in Russia.

Professor Chang Cheng-pang, an expert on Russian and Chinese mainland affairs, said that such a generation is on the way. He cited the example of Chen Jo-hsi, author of the Execution of Mayor Yin, a recent visitor to the Republic of China. Prof. Chang said she was not yet the peer of Solzhenitsyn but could become so. He also mentioned former Red Guards now beginning to tell their stories in Hongkong, Taiwan and the United States. The mainland has older writers, he said, who will speak out when they can, and such young ones as Wei Ching-sheng and Fu Yueh-hua. Wei was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for his writings in an underground magazine.

Asked about reports of contacts between Taipei and Peiping, Professor Hsiang Kai-kwang said these are out of the question. The struggle between the Republic of China and the Chinese Communists is not one of political parties or regimes, he said, but one for justice. The future of the Chinese people is at stake.

Dr. Rufolfo J.W. Vinelli, deputy chairman of the Sino-Argentine Cultural and Economic Association, said that the struggle against Communism is nearing a climax and that the love of freedom is not enough to assure victory. “Will is power,” he said, “and everything depends on what we’re going to do. Opposing dictatorship and loving freedom is not enough. We must know what we are fighting for and the social system we want.

“The Communists know the best way to utilize various problems and contradictions: Riots in Latin America and Africa, issues of the Middle East, the problems of Ireland and the Korean Peninsula, the fall of Vietnam, terrorism and chaos, and now the Soviet interference. The world is closer to World War III than at any time since 1945. We must oppose Communism with different thoughts, behavior and system than those of the Communists.” He warned of government interference in the economic system, lest this lead to Communism. Free enterprise, he said, is the most successful antagonist of the Communists. It is the sharp economic contrast between the mainland and Taiwan that gives the Republic of China its huge advantage, he added. As for his own country, he said Argentina was saved from Communist tyranny by the military in a three-year war against guerrillas and subversives.

More than 30,000 persons rallied at the Kaohsiung Stadium for a welcome by Mayor Wang Yu-yun and performances by high school students, military cadets and members of the armed forces. The speakers included four of the visiting parliamentarians.

Some of the deeper and lasting meanings of Freedom Day and Freedom Week were expressed in a commentary which said the Chinese and Korean witnesses for freedom had not been called upon to testify against the Communists in free world forums as often as they should have been.

The commentary went on to say: The principle of voluntary choice has been virtually forgotten. Today in Hongkong, a free world government sends escapees from Red China back to the mainland because their numbers are an embarrassment. Led by the Republic of China and the United States, only a few countries are helping those who are still choosing freedom. The boat people of Vietnam are looking for homes even as the Vietnamese Communists indicate they will send more of them to sea in flimsy vessels.

Freedom Day is remembered in the Republic of China. This day and week give us opportunity to remind others of what happened and of the continuing need to defend liberty and insist on individual and national freedom of choice. Many foreign friends have come to Taiwan to join in this year’s observance. That is a happy augury. If these friends will take the Freedom Day spirit home with them, much can be done.

To find homes for freedom fighters and refugees is not enough. Nearly a billion people on the Chinese mainland want to be free. Obviously, they cannot go elsewhere. They must win freedom at home, and for that they need help. A little over a year ago, the United States recognized the Chinese Communists. President Carter thought he was doing right. He considered that he was acknowledging Communist control over a billion square miles of territory. Tragically, he was also fastening the straitjacket of Communism on these people and the land in which they live. He was accepting the legitimacy of the regime which tyrannizes them. He was saying that Communism is the wave of the Chinese future, and it isn’t.

Today the United States is engaged in a confrontation with the Soviet Union over Afghanistan. The real issue is freedom—the right of the people of Afghanistan to choose their own rulers and government and not be subjected to the dictation of a foreign power. Sooner or later, the United States will face renewed confrontation with the Chinese Communists. They, too, wish to terminate the freedom of others and rule the world. Freedom has no boundaries. Freedom is not divisible.

The constituent peoples of what is now called the U.S.S.R. will some day have a chance to be free. One day the Chinese people of the mainland will emerge from the Communist yoke and enjoy freedom. The Korean War prisoners made their choice with difficulty and had a lot of help in carrying it out. If the United States and the United Nations had not stood with and behind them, they would have been returned to slavery. The situation of freedom in today’s world is no different from that in 1953-54. United, those of us who stand for freedom will prevail. Divided and unwilling to help each other, we shall fail and freedom will become a forgotten word and a nonexistent principle.

That is the meaning of Freedom Day and Freedom Week. That is what the Republic of China stands for despite all the problems and difficulties in defending values which have been held precious and survived from the times of Confucius and Christ but which are now endangered by the Chinese Communists, the Russians and other Communists.