The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued this statement:
"Concerning the communiqué issued on November 14, 1973, following the visit to the Chinese mainland of the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, the Government of the Republic of China solemnly declares as follows:
"The regime now occupying the Chinese mainland, which is oppressive at home and aggressive abroad, is a rebel group and has no right whatsoever to represent the Chinese people. The Government of the Republic of China will consider null and void any understanding or agreement reached between the United States Government and the Chinese Communist regime that involves the rights and interests of the Government and people of the Republic of China.
"The Government of the Republic of China wishes also to declare that the Chinese Communist regime is the public enemy of all the people of China. To destroy the tyrannical Chinese Communist regime is a sacred responsibility of the Government of the Republic of China and the Chinese people at home and abroad. This position will never change under any circumstances."
"Contacts by the free world countries with the Communist regime on the mainland help only the Communists, and everyone knows that Peiping remains, as always, basically aggressive," said Premier Chiang Ching-kuo in an interview with Robert P. Martin, an editor of U.S. News & World Report in Taipei.
Commenting on Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's trip to Peiping, the Premier said:
"Our basic attitude and position on this trip are reflected in the statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"What Peiping's leaders are trying to do is maneuver back and forth to utilize the free nations according to circumstances. Also, you must remember Peiping is trying to alter the views of other nations about the Communist regime in order to increase their national strength.
"The Chinese in Peiping are following two old Communist tactics. The first is to make friends with one nation while hitting another nation. The other tactic is to divide their enemies - the ones surrounding the mainland - and attack them one at a time. This includes' our Republic of China.
"When the Chinese Communists are in need of you, they will do anything, even kowtow or knock their heads on the floor. But once they no longer need you, they will turn around and destroy you.
"Many Americans have visited the Chinese mainland. I wonder if any of them have ever asked the Communist leaders this question: In view of your past policy of opposing American imperialism, why have you Chinese Communists suddenly shifted your policies? "
Commenting on the detente sought by the three nuclear powers - the U.S., Russia and Communist regime in Peiping - the Premier advised the United States to keep its nuclear strength. He said:
"Detente is always a temporary thing. It can not solve basic problems. And of the three nuclear powers, the U.S. is the only one that really wants peace. Therefore, even in a time of detente, it is necessary for the U.S. to keep its nuclear strength. It is the only way that peace can be maintained.
"It would be very dangerous for the U.S. to withdraw its troops from South Korea and Okinawa, and its air force from Thailand. The presence of American troops in South Korea may not achieve anything militarily, but it does politically. They help keep morale high, and maintain security. The reason the Communists want American troops withdrawn is so they can begin aggression… if the Americans withdraw this would weaken the confidence of South Korea, and give a great advantage to the North. Withdrawal would not necessarily hurt South Korea militarily, but it would be politically harmful."
Premier Chiang said that U.S. recognition of the Chinese Communist regime would be a historical mistake. He said:
"The U.S. has great responsibilities, not just to the Republic of China but to all of Asia, in fact all of the free world. You have a historical responsibility and any change in U.S. attitudes toward us would affect everyone in the non-Communist world. So you must give very careful consideration to this question.
"After 1949, when the mainland was seized by the Communists we had a very unfortunate situation here, and also elsewhere in Asia. Later on, the U.S. firmly supported the Republic of China and that became a major turning point for Asians. Now, if the U.S. changes direction again and extends diplomatic recognition to Peiping, both Asia and the U.S. will suffer.
"When Chou En-lai practices ping-pong diplomacy, Americans should not forget the Americans who lost their lives in Korea and Vietnam.
"For the U.S. to recognize the Communist regime on the mainland would be a tremendous historical and moral decision. Before reaching that decision, the U.S. must take into consideration what I call the American spirit - the dedication to democracy and a free society. What we are doing here is creating a free and open society, in contrast with the mainland which is a totalitarian and a closed society. It is something to think about.
"In the eyes of all free people, the United States is the symbol of freedom and liberty. Every school child studying the history of the U.S. first learns about the Statue of Liberty in New York. When I first visited America, that was the first thing I wanted to see - the Statue of Liberty.
"So the U.S. must protect its image. It should think deeply about the effect of recognition of the Chinese Communist regime on other people in the world who admire the American spirit of freedom and democracy. That is why I say that taking a decision on recognition of the Chinese Communist regime' would be a great historical mistake. You do have a responsibility to history, and the consequences will be formidable."
Asked whether the Chinese Communists would attack Taiwan if the Security Treaty were abrogated, the Premier said:
"The Chinese Communists certainly want to use force, military force, to solve the problem, but that would require strength - not only military but political. Any military attack on Taiwan would involve Peiping's internal security. Should there be any division among the Communist leaders, they would be unable to crush predictable upheavals among the people.
"Chinese on the mainland are being suppressed even now. Could the Communist regime continue to suppress them and at the same time fight a war? That is unlikely.
"As for the leaders, particularly in the regions not so close to Peiping, many of them have independent views. At this moment they have a superficial unity. But could this unity be maintained during an invasion of Taiwan? It's a question that Peiping's leaders must seriously examine.
"Perhaps most important, if the Communists attacked Taiwan even a small failure in suppressing the people or maintaining the unity of the leadership, could easily lead to the collapse of the regime."
Premier Chiang said that Taiwan can "absolutely" hold out against a full-scale attack. He said:
"We are confident that we can meet the military challenge. As for a political challenge, we are more united than ever before - on Taiwan, and also on Quemoy, Matsu and the Pescadores. We all know we are living under a democratic system while Chinese on the mainland live in constant fear of being purged or liquidated. Furthermore, all of us know that if this free island is taken the Communists would not only oppress us but would tighten their oppression of the Chinese on the mainland. "
Congressman John Ashbrook told the U.S. House of Representatives the Republic of China deserves continuing U.S. support and friendship.
He urged President Nixon, Secretary of State Kissinger, his colleagues in the Congress and all Americans to give heed to an important message contained in a recent communiqué of the advisory board of the Committee for a Free China, which met in Washington November 16-17. The communiqué said:
"We call upon national leaders to re-examine any policy which strengthens enemies of all that Americans believe in and stand for, and to stand firmly with true friends and allies against the spurious peace initiatives of Communist regimes."
Representative Ashbrook of Ohio recalled statements by President Nixon on numerous occasions that any moves toward the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communists would not be made at the expense of old friends and allies. Ashbrook deemed it "important that our government does not forget these assurances."
Ashbrook called upon his fellow-Americans to review the record of the Chinese Communists before getting themselves involved in further relations with them. He brought into focus Peiping's misdeeds and misrule, including mass arrests and liquidations, religious persecution and involvement in the international narcotics traffic.
Representative William J. Scherle of Iowa said the sudden shift in U.S. foreign policy, focusing on accommodation with old enemies to reduce cold war tensions, "has left traditional allies out in the cold."
He said that "it is neither prudent nor expedient to sacrifice a proven ally with similar ideals to a suddenly friendly former adversary."
Stressing that in the past "our word has been our bond and allies were assured of a consistent loyalty by the United States," Congressman Scherle expressed belief that "only demonstrations that the United States is not abandoning free China can maintain American credibility with its friends worldwide."
Scherle was the first Congressman to discuss U.S. relationship with the Republic of China on the House floor after the release of the Washington Peiping communiqué on Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's trip to the Chinese mainland.
The State Department reaffirmed U.S. support for continued participation of the Republic of China in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Congressman Henry B. Gonzales had expressed concern about the Republic of China's member ship in the two organizations.
The Democratic lawmaker from Texas reportedly told Secretary Kissinger that if Red China replaced the Republic of China in the organizations, some members of the Congress would find it difficult to support the U.S. contributions of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to the IMF and the World Bank.
Congressman Gonzalez is a member of the powerful Subcommittee on Bank Supervision and Insurance of the House Committee on Banking and Currency.
The State Department denied rumors that the United States might support the Peiping regime's attempt to join the World Bank and IMF. "We support the continued participation of the Republic of China in the bank and the fund," the State Department said.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs H.K. Yang said relations between the Republic of China and the United States "remain close as ever."
Washington has reassured that it will honor commitments to the Republic of China, Yang said. "They (U.S. officials) gave the reassurance sincerely," he added.
The vice minister returned from a five-week visit to Africa and the United States as a special emissary of President Chiang Kai-shek.
"It would be better for us not to misinterpret the intentions of the United States," Yang said.
He visited eight African countries, including some which have no formal ties with the Republic of China.
"It was a happy experience to be visiting our African friends," he said. "They assured us we are not alone."
Some African countries have shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Peiping, "but their leaders told me they don't trust the Chinese Communists," he said.
"They told me they still treasure the friendship of the Republic of China."
Before long, he predicted, these African countries will re-establish formal ties with the Republic of China.
Dr. Walter Judd, chairman of the Committee for a Free China, who visited Taiwan last fall, said in Washington that the people of the Republic of China are the "strongest and toughest people of the world."
He said that more blows have landed on the Republic of China in the last two years than on any other nation and that most people had thought such blows would be fatal to the Republic of China.
"The incredible paradox is that they (the people of the Republic of China) have done tremendously well in both economic and political fields in the past two years," said Dr. Judd at the Sino-American Cultural Society dinner.
The former U.S. Congressman from Minnesota said that while some Asian countries have limited democracy, the Republic of China has expanded it by holding more elections; and that when most countries have balance of payment deficits, the Republic of China has a surplus.
To cite a "magnificent demonstration of high morale and spirit" of the free Chinese people, Dr. Judd gave an account of Taipei's celebration of the Double Tenth National Day despite heavy rain.
Dr. Judd praised the "magnificent leadership" of the Republic of China including that of President Chiang Kai-shek, Premier Chiang Ching-kuo and others. He said that they have a sense of mission and know their heritage, their strength and the weakness of their enemy.
He said that the American people have a lot to learn from the people of the Republic of China in how to do their best in time of adversity.
About 100 attended the dinner. Dr. William Carr, president of the society, presided.
The Eisenhower Fellows Association of the Republic of China was inaugurated November 4.
Vice President C.K. Yen urged the Association to accelerate exchange of cultural traditions and scientific knowledge between China and the West.
"The materialistic civilization of the Western World and its advancement in science are indeed worthy of our appreciation and learning," he said.
On the other hand, he added, "Our political thoughts, moral teachings and the utopian ideal... should be upheld and made known to others."
Yen was invited to serve as honorary president of the association, the first sub-organization of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Inc., established in Philadelphia in 1953.
The Vice President said that through the efforts of the Chinese Association, "cultural interflow" between the East and the West can be accelerated and the traditional friendship between the Republic of China and the United States further strengthened.
Other speakers were U.S. Ambassador Walter P. McConaughy and Samuel C. Townsend, executive director of the EEF. Education Minister Y.S. Tsiang, a 1962 fellow, presided.
All 11 Chinese winners of EEF awards and nearly 200 government officials, educators and other leaders attended.
Liberian Minister of Postal Services McKinley A. Deshield visited the Republic of China. He called on Vice President C.K. Yen.
Minister Deshield, who is also secretary-general of Liberia's ruling party, also saw Foreign Minister Shen Chang-huan and Communications Minister Henry Kao.
Foreign Minister Shen decorated him with the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in recognition of his contributions to friendship between the countries.
Dr. C.L. Teng, a Chinese scientist working in the United States, visited the Republic of China after attending a Japanese-U.S. seminar on nuclear accelerators in Japan.
Gen. Joao Bina Machado, commandant of the Warfare Academy in Brazil, visited Taiwan at the invitation of the government. On hand to greet him at the airport was Lt. Gen. Wego Chiang, Commandant of the War College.
Gen. Machado called on military leaders and the Taiwan Provincial Government. He visited Chinese Air Force and Army Headquarters and Kaohsiung Harbor facilities. He received the Grand Cordon of the Order of Cloud and Banner.
Paul Dyreu Pinheiro, outgoing first secretary and charge d'affaires ad interim of the Brazilian Embassy in Taipei, was decorated with the Special Cravat of the Order of Brilliant Star by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Tsai Wei-ping in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendly relations."
Vice Minister and Mrs. Tsai gave a dinner party in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Pinheiro. Pinheiro was succeeded by Counselor Othon do Amraral Henriques.
Mayor Louis Welch of Houston and Deputy Mayor Kenneth W. Sain of Chicago visited Taipei at the invitation of Mayor Chang Feng-hsu of Taipei.
Houston was the first U.S. city to establish sisterly ties with Taipei. That was more than a decade ago.
The mayor and deputy mayor were received by Vice President C.K. Yen.
Robert W. Prescott, president of the Flying Tiger Line, accompanied by his wife, Anne Marie, internationally known physical therapist and author of books on health and physical fitness; Russ Emerson, Tigers' vice president for Asia; and William Savestrom, Tigers' public relations director for Asia, visited Taiwan.
Prescott and Emerson called on government officials and met leading businessmen.
The airline, founded by Prescott in 1945, is the major air cargo link between capitals of Asia and every important market in the United States. Operating a fleet of DC-8 jet freighters, the Flying Tiger Line operates 184 regular flights across the Pacific each month.
In Asia, the Tigers have frequent and scheduled service to Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Manila, Hong Kong and Saigon.
Other VIPs visiting Taiwan included Ghaleb Z. Barakat, minister of tourism and antiquities of Jordan; Vice President Harold F. Osborn of the Bank of America's international headquarters in San Francisco; former Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Ali Hayyari of Jordan; and Eugene S. Dudkiewiez, board chairman of Nicaraguan Airlines.
"Operations of the United States Taiwan Defense Command will not be affected by the recent transferring of some 3,000 U.S. Air Force troops from Taiwan to Southeast Asia," said Vice Admiral Philip A. Beshany, commander of the USTDC, in addressing members of the Taipei American Chamber of Commerce.
The personnel are needed in other areas, he said.
Beshany said that USTDC would assist the Republic of China in the event of attack. "USTDC has defended Taiwan in the past and will do so in the future," he said.
He told American businessmen that he has full confidence in the Chinese Armed Forces and admires their spirit.
The military power of the Chinese Armed Forces is more than sufficient to defend Taiwan, he said, and ranked them as among the strongest in Southeast Asia.
The outgoing chief of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group, Maj. Gen. John W. Barnes, noted the rapid progress of the Chinese Armed Forces.
Upon his departure for home, Barnes said MAAG had worked closely with the military leaders of the Republic of China to modernize the defense establishment.
"As a result of the unstinting efforts and devotion to duty of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the Chinese Armed Forces under the outstanding leadership of their officers, the Republic of China has made good progress toward this goal," General Barnes said.
Barnes assumed his Taipei post December 23, 1971. In two years, General Barnes said, he was deeply impressed by the "patriotism, motivation, determination, competence and resourcefulness" of officers, enlisted men and civilians in the Chinese armed forces.
"They have demonstrated beyond question to me a high degree of professionalism unexcelled throughout the world," Barnes said.
Barnes was succeeded by Maj. Gen. Slade Nash.
Kuomintang, the ruling Nationalist Party, recorded 100 percent success in the Taipei City Council election. All its 45 nominees were elected.
Of the 49 seats, only four went to other candidates because there were no Kuomintang nominees. Four non-Kuomintang candidates who attacked the government most bitterly were not successful.
Lin Ting-sheng, Speaker of the first City Council and member of the Kuomintang Central Standing Committee, received the highest vote.
Thirty-one of the 32 incumbents who sought re-election were successful.
The Kuomintang victory was attributed to the popular policies of Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
Since he assumed the premiership June 1, 1972, Chiang has shown his intention of serving the people. Government measures to benefit the people have included those to stabilize commodity prices and the well-to-do program.
Premier Chiang announced that government agencies under the Cabinet's direct control would reduce energy consumption by 20 percent before the private sector was asked to follow suit.
The Min Tsu Wan Pao. an evening newspaper, said the election results were just and fair.
The paper noted the faster counting, more convenient ballots, start of voting at 7:30 a.m. and the accurate count.
Among those elected, Lin Yu-hsiang, 25, was the youngest, and Chiang Kan-sheng and Chou Hsun, 58, the oldest.
Of the 42 men and seven women elected, 31 are from Taipei City, 5 from Taiwan Province and 14 from provinces on the mainland.
Members of the Young China Party, one of the two minority parties in free China, marked YCP's 50th anniversary at the Taipei City Hall.
Yu Chia-chu, Chen Chi-tien and Hu Kuo-wei, co-chairmen, presided.
The party was founded in Paris in 1923 by Chinese students. It called for defeating the warlords, establishing a strong central government and abolishing the special privileges of foreign powers.
In November, 1947, the Young China Party nominated candidates for the first nationwide general election. It won more than 100 seats in the National Assembly, 15 seats in the Legislative Yuan and 11 seats in the Control Yuan.
The party also won two Cabinet portfolios in the first constitutional government.
Nearly 200 scholars attended the Third Sino American Conference on Mainland China Affairs in Taipei.
Dr. Han Lih-wu, director of the Institute of International Relations, presided over the opening ceremony.
He urged assiduous collection, judicious collaboration and scholarly evaluation of mainland information.
"Although we may differ in our approaches and in our degrees of self-interest, still the rich, fertile common grounds of scholarly knowledge are there for us to explore together," he said.
Speakers included Dr. Chien Shih-liang, president of the Academia Sinica; Dr. Richard Walker, director of the Institute of International Studies, University of South Carolina; and Dr. Richard Staar, deputy director of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.
Chien said the study of mainland China is a contemporary as well as an historical task.
Walker called for a joint effort to study mainland China.
He quoted Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who called mainland China a "muffled zone," and said he hoped discussions in the next five days would give the delegates "some inspiration of how to expand the contacts with the Chinese people further so that they may break out of their 'muffled zone,' so that molecules of knowledge and sympathy may jump from one side to the other."
Staar said though the dialogue between Washington and Peiping is "diplomatically disadvantageous" for Taipei, the contact between the United States and mainland china "will be beneficial" to both America and the Republic of China from the academic point of view.
Michael Lindsay and Robert Scalapino, Chinese Communist affairs scholars, were among the participants.
Twenty-two guests from England, West Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong attended the symposium that followed.
Panels discussed the Chinese Communist party and politics, military and diplomatic operations, historical and ideological backgrounds, and economic activities.
More than thirty papers were read, 15 of them by American participants.
Supporting the Institute of International Relations in holding the symposium were the Academia Sinica, Taiwan University and Chengchi University for the Republic of China and the Hoover Institution, Institute of International Studies of the University of South Carolina and the Asian Studies Center of St. John's University on the side of the United States.
Minister of Economic Affairs Y.S. Sun said King Faisal assured him there would be no reduction in Saudi Arabia's oil supply to the Republic of China.
Returning from a two-week visit to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Sun reported to Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
King Faisal asked Minister Sun to carry a personal letter to President Chiang Kai-shek. He told Sun that the Republic of China was considered a country friendly to the Arabs.
Sun urged the public to realize the seriousness of the energy crisis. He said the rise of oil prices will increase the Republic of China's international payments.
He warned of increases in prices of basic consumer goods and a possible world economic recession.
Saudi Arabia is a "huge potential market" for Taiwan products, Minister Sun said. He reached agreement with Saudi Arabian officials on a joint venture to develop petrochemical industries.
In Jordan, Minister Sun's group exchanged views on cooperation in mining phosphate and prospecting for oil and copper.
Jerome Hu, president of Chinese Petroleum Corporation, said Saudi Arabia's decision not to reduce oil deliveries to the Republic of China had relieved pressure of the Arab oil squeeze.
"Our net shortfall," Hu said, "is 10 percent, which can be made up through conservation."
Taiwan began energy conservation measures in November. Premier Chiang Ching-kuo ordered a 25 percent cut in oil and power consumption by government agencies.
Should the public be able to reduce power consumption by 25 to 30 percent, there would be no lack of electricity for industry, which has taken the place of agriculture as the mainstay of the economy.
Little oil is produced in Taiwan, which relies on imports from the Persian Gulf states for 90 percent of its supply.
About 50 percent of the crude comes from Saudi Arabia. The Arab reduction affected only imports from Kuwait, which provides 30 percent of Taiwan's crude.
The remaining 20 percent of imports come from Indonesia, Iran and other countries. "They will continue to supply us with oil in accordance with contracts," Hu said.
Further saving of energy is necessary, Hu said, because the need for oil will increase by at least 20 percent in 1974.
"We shall have difficulty meeting the need, if we fail to save more energy and acquire more crude," Hu added.
CPC, signed a contract with Indonesia to buy 180,000 barrels of oil.
Another contract is being negotiated with Saudi Arabia for an additional supply of crude oil, Hu said.
Under a contract signed in May, CPC imports oil directly from Saudi Arabia. This has nothing to do with contracts of CPC with a number of private companies operating in Saudi Arabia.
Negotiations for a new contract were to be completed in November, but Saudi Arabia asked for postponement because of the Yom Kippur war. "They will be resumed shortly," Hu said.
Taiwan needs 75 million barrels of oil in 1974. The Chinese Petroleum Corporation is strengthening its oil prospecting activities. It will spend NT$4,110 million (US$108.16 million) during the next four fiscal years ending June 30, 1978, to prospect for oil on Taiwan, off the coast and in joint projects with the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries.
Over half the money will be used for offshore prospecting and a fourth to drill 30 to 40 wells on Taiwan.
Sagging coal production will be revived. The government will spend NT$100 million (US$2,631,000) to help find coal under the sea off northern Taiwan. Part of the money will be used to develop deep mines. Funds will come from the Sino-American Fund for Economic and Social Development.
Coal was once a major source of energy in Taiwan. Between 1965 and 1968, Taiwan produced more than 5 million tons, accounting for 60 percent of the energy supply at that time.
Coal production declined after 1968 as more petroleum was used. Rising production costs and the shortage of miners have furthered the decline.
Coal production dropped to 4.1 million tons in 1971, 3.9 million tons in 1972 and 3.3 million tons in 1973.
Such government enterprises as the Taiwan Power Company and the Taiwan Sugar Corporation hope to use coal instead of oil to maintain normal production.
A total of 580,000 tons of coal will be imported in 1974.
Hydroelectric generation of CPC will be increased next June. The Tachien station on the upper stream of the Tachia River in central Taiwan will have capacity of 234,000 kilowatts to rank second behind the Chingshan plant of 360,000 kilowatts, also on the upper stream of the Tachia.