Since the U.S. recognition of Red China, Peiping's peace offensive and united front tactics directed against the Republic of China have been more venomous and extensive than ever. The standing committee of the Chinese Communist "people's congress" issued last December 26 the so-called "letter to compatriots on Taiwan," calling for such relations as those of postal exchange, transportation, commerce and visits of relatives. Teng Hsiao-ping and others dangled, first in the United States and then in Japan, the bait of "maintaining the status quo on Taiwan." At the end of February, the vice chairman of the Chinese Communist political consultation conference, Hsu Teh-heng, called for exchange visits by groups in the Republic of China and Red China. The Chinese Communists then used foreign correspondents in Peiping to stage the farce of the "Taipei-Peiping telephone link-up." They also were prepared to negotiate "face to face" on representation in the Olympic Games. The Chinese Communists have made and ballyhooed more than 20 such overtures. To know and defeat the enemy, we believe it necessary to show him in his true colors.
First of all, we have to understand why the Chinese Communists are conducting united front activities aimed at the Republic of China with seeming "kindness and reasonableness" following their establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States. Analysis suggests the aims of:
1. Isolating the Republic of China internationally by taking advantage of the rupture in diplomatic ties with the United States.
2. Creating the mistaken image that Red China is a "sovereign state," that it is dealing with Taiwan as an "orthodox government" with a local government and that the Taiwan issue is purely an internal affair.
3. Demoralizing the Republic of China and laying a favorable foundation for the goals of so-called "peaceful liberation" and "peaceful unification of China" by blurring the line between friend and foe.
4. Impressing upon the world that in adamantly refusing to talk peace with the Communists, the government and leadership of the Republic of China are providing a pretext for the use of force.
5. Allaying the enmity of the American people and overseas Chinese and providing an easy excuse for the U.S. government's breach of faith with a friend and ally; at the same time, undermining the sympathy of the American people and Congress for the Republic of China and cutting off the continuing supply of defensive weapons.
6. Establishing the illusion of peace and gaining more international recognition, meanwhile attracting international brokers for Teng Hsiao-ping's "four modernizations" under the illusion that the Chinese mainland can be exploited as a vast market.
The central purpose of the Chinese Communists is to smash the ROC's psychological defenses and push free China into a cul-de-sac. Meanwhile, Red China tries by every possible means to lure the Republic of China into the trap of negotiations so the so-called "Taiwan issue" can be resolved without the use of force.
Peiping is trying hard to create contradictions within the ROC and painstakingly seeks to magnify and exploit any free Chinese defects or weaknesses in national psychology, social structure, politics and international relations.
The Chinese Communist tactics include:
1. Playing on the natural nostalgia and intense desire for family reunions among elders who came from the mainland to Taiwan, thereby trying to soften their opposition and hatred of Communism.
2. Taking advantage of the people's aversion to war. The people on Taiwan have a high standard of living, have become accustomed to freedom and democracy and are rather satisfied with the status quo. They do not wish to see any drastic changes or any big war. So the Chinese Communists do not preclude the use of force against Taiwan, thinking they can use the threat of war as a lever to persuade the people of Taiwan to enter into peace talks.
3. Playing off the native Taiwanese against the mainlanders by dividing the people into factions that are suspicious of each other and unable to unite against the enemy.
4. Seizing on all possible opportunities to stir up disputes and divide the people on Taiwan, especially by taking advantage of a political system dedicated to democracy and human rights, to create large-scale incidents and to sabotage the ROC's national foundation. Communist exploitation of the Wu Tai-an sedition case is an example.
5. Projecting a false image of Communist strength at every opportunity to entice Taiwan into peace talks and drive it to the wall and to create the international illusion that the Communists are open-minded and reasonable and the people on Taiwan are stubborn and unreasonable.
6. Taking advantage of the ignorance of the younger generation on Taiwan regarding the Chinese Communists and its lack of experience in struggle so as to soften the anti-Communist mentality of youth by hammering on the pledges of "maintaining the status quo," "not lowering the standard of living" and "protecting private property."
In the face of this ominous psychological and political offensive by the Chinese Communists, some persons may ask: Why does Taiwan refuse to have any contact or negotiation with Peiping? Why is it so sure that peace talks would have unfortunate consequences? Since the policy of "no contact and no negotiation" will push Taiwan into a passive position, how can it turn from defense to offense? I should like to analyze these questions objectively and dispassionately.
Those who have a little knowledge of Communism know that "peace struggle" and the "united front" are the consistent devices of the Chinese Communists in defeating and annihilating their enemies. This is in accordance with historical dialectical materialism formulated by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. Whether prompted by demands of internal or external situations, the Russian and Chinese Communists have for more then 50 years adopted the strategy and tactics of retreat, defense, offense and struggle. They have never changed, nor will they change. Their nature is to use peace to destroy peace, to create division with the united front and to destroy their enemy in his own fortress.
Fall of the Chinese mainland, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos into the hands of the Communists, even as dominoes, bears ample testimony to the miserable consequences of peace talks. Mankind has had no happier result than this from peace talks with the Communists. Nor is there any record of the Communists keeping their negotiation agreements. The Republic of China's experience can be cited. From the period of "alignment with the Soviet Union and admission of the Chinese Communists to the Kuomintang" in 1922 and 1923 to the peace talks in 1949, the Republic of China learned many bitter lessons.
Men are pragmatic and prone to forget, so neither theory nor experience will necessarily make him accept his lessons. The existing reality is this: the Chinese Communists are clamoring for "peace" and refusing to rule out the use of force at one and the same time. As Teng Hsiao-ping put it, this is to "prevent the Taiwan authorities from always refusing to enter into negotiations." What guile resides behind his smile! To carry out the "peaceful liberation of Taiwan," Peiping has called for adoption of the "Tibet formula of autonomy." This trick of peace played in Tibet 30 years ago not only represented a con game that is still vivid in memory, but also bore bloody testimony to the real purpose and awful consequences of such a "formula." The Chinese Communists may be flattering themselves that they can sell this kind of nonsense to the world. In fact, many have seen through their sinister game.
There are those who may say that since politics is realistic, it is advisable to maintain maneuver ability and flexibility. Why not negotiate with the enemy by proposing unacceptable terms? If the negotiation fails, we can hold the enemy to blame instead of bearing the responsibility our selves. Others are of the view that the policy of "no contact and no negotiation" may put the Republic of China in a disadvantageous position. In time, this could give the enemy an excuse for armed attack. The Republic of China might lose sympathy among overseas Chinese as well as international support. Some say that even if the Republic of China persists in refusing to negotiate, it should turn from defense to offense in propaganda, because attack is the best defense.
Such views are not beyond the understanding the general public. Just recently the Chinese Communists have changed their 30-year-long attitude of insults and hostility toward the Republic of China. They have gone all-out in mounting a smiling-face peace offensive to entice the ROC into negotiations. During the 1949 peace talks between the government and the Communists, the government representative, Shao Li-tzu, called on the elder statesman Wu Chih-hui. Wu told Shao: ''The Communists can be likened to a syphilitic whore. The best way to avoid being infected is not to touch her." As it turned out, Shao was infected. While sending an ultimatum demanding unconditional surrender, the Chinese Communists crossed the Yangtze River and took Nanking. This is the ironclad historical proof of why there can be no negotiations with the Chinese Communists.
We must make this clear: If the Communists think that the only solution is force, or that resort to arms is to their advantage, they will seize any opportunity to at tack. The invasion of Vietnam provides an object lesson. The Communists will never be reasonable because you negotiate with them. To the contrary, they will grab their weapons and attack the moment you show the white feather or try to save your skin.
Chinese Communist peace overtures to the Republic of China are based on the premise of "abolishing the national title of the Republic of China, recognizing Peiping as capital and placing Taiwan under their territorial sovereignty." If the ROC accepts the offer, what is the difference between this and self-negation, self-disarmament or swallowing the terms of the enemy and accepting his tender mercies? The smoke screens they are spreading and the peace talk tricks they are playing aim at "using peace as a means to attain the goal of war" and "using war to force the acceptance of peace." This is the strategy of the Chinese Communists in seeking their ultimate goal of seizing Taiwan.
In recent months, the Republic of China has remained unshaken in the face of international chaos. Nor has it been bewildered by the sneaky wiles of its enemy. Instead, it has been striven to become self-reliant and move ahead with its feet firmly on the ground. The Republic of China seems to get it in the neck at every turn, but the enemy knows there will be no yielding. The Chinese Communists will go on playing tricks until the day of the final showdown. The Republic of China will capitalize on future developments and exploit the enemy's weaknesses and such contradictions as those between top dogs and underdogs, domestic and foreign policies, Hua and Teng, workers and farmers, cities and countryside, young and old cadres, the establishment and the "gang of four," ostentatious extension of freedom and tightening of control, liberal thought and Communist dictatorship. Free China can mount - on the Chinese mainland, from abroad and in our bastion of freedom an all-out offensive based on reality. The enemy may be challenged on all fronts - in ideology, politics, the economy and administration. Unless the Communists can solve their fundamental problems, everything else is visionary and impractical.
"Peaceful unification" and "identification with and return to the Chinese mainland" are the ultimate goals of all Chinese at home and abroad. The question is whether the Chinese will identify themselves with Communism. Are they willing to accept totalitarian politics? Are they prepared to be unified under a terrorist regime which disregards human rights, negates human nature and does not allow freedom and elections? People on the Chinese mainland cannot eat without food coupons, cannot buy clothing without cloth coupons and cannot marry without approval. They are restricted in their right to education, denied the right to choose a career and not even guaranteed the right of existence. Materials and labor are subject to total Communist control from production to consumption and are used to further political objectives. Such a social system and way of life are diametrically opposed to democratic principles. Unless the Chinese Communists discard for good their anachronistic and inhuman social system and political ideology, the so-called Taiwan "links" of postal service, transportation, commerce, money exchanges and other forms of communication cannot be implemented. They are mere fabrications.
If the Chinese Communists really have national consciousness rather than a facade and are willing to respect human rights, treat people as human beings, and admit the complete failure of 30 years of practicing Communism and the truth that only the Three Principles of the People can serve China well, they may overtly proclaim the abolition of reactionary Marxism-Leninism, give up the goal of world communization, abolish totalitarian dictatorship, disband the futile people's communes, return the confiscated property of the people and annul a constitution which concentrates all power in the Communist party. At the same time, they will need to accept the Three Principles of the people, by the people and for the people, uphold Chinese culture, respect ethics and morality, safeguard freedom and human rights, hold public elections, adopt the system of free enterprise and improve the living standard of the people. If these major premises were accepted and put into practice by the chieftains in Peiping and Teng Hsiao-ping in particular, a minimum basis would be established for the peaceful reunification of China. Otherwise the Communists are mouthing empty words.
There is no room for two incompatible systems in the same territory. There is no room for two totally different cultures within the same race. There is no room for two antithetical regimes in the same nation. There is no room for widely dissimilar ways of life among the same people. Where do the Chinese go from here? Are they to go the way of freedom and democracy and the Three Principles of the People? Or are they to continue to bow down under the Communist system of totalitarian terror? Any Chinese with a conscience knows the answer, no matter who he is or what he is doing.
Only when there is freedom and democracy on the Chinese mainland can the "peaceful unification" of China be realized. This is why millions of miserable people on the Chinese mainland, and especially members of the younger generation, risk their lives to put up wall posters and raise a clamor for freedom, democracy, human rights and the end of persecution. Members of the international community who are really concerned over the future of China and the world contend that the biggest weakness of Teng Hsiao-ping's "four modernizations" is the failure to propose "political modernization." In their view, the only plausible model for future development of the Chinese mainland is "Taiwanization." Taiwan's success resides not only in agricultural and industrial prosperity, but in the establishment of a model province where freedom, democracy and the rule of law prevail. This is the example pointing the way to China's peaceful unification and to lives of equality, freedom, prosperity and happiness for the 800 million Chinese people.