President Chiang did not gloss over the reverses of 1971. "Great changes and turmoil took place on the international scene, making a mockery of world freedom and justice. Our undertakings of National Revolution based on Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles received a temporary setback. In the face of slander and insult, our compatriots, military and civilian alike, have nevertheless continued to hold on to the noble objectives of the Three People's Principles. Their faith in freedom and justice as part of man's natural rights and natural duties remains unshaken. Out of this deep wound has come a new awakening and the birth of an undaunted moral courage expressed in terms of patriotism and self-preservation."
President Chiang said "The greater the pressure, the stronger will be our national solidarity and the surer we shall be of our moral righteousness. We shall all the more determinedly uphold our principles, whatever the degree of adversity. The strength of our integrity will make clear the difference between right and wrong and will fortify our sense of responsibility. Ours is a nation which resolutely stands for freedom and justice at all times. We are not a people who bows before adversity. We are not a spineless nation which can be bullied or sold out. We are a people of faith and righteousness who can be counted upon in time of adversity."
The nation's leader said the Republic of China's voluntary withdrawal from the United Nations was not an act of isolation but a step in defense of the principles set forth in the Charter. "We shall never compromise with evil," he said. "Fortunately, the world still has a countless number of conscientious people who have openly expressed their support of our stand or who have silently held on to justice. Among them are nations which have always been friendly toward us. All of them are moved by one heart and one cause. We are not afraid of being isolated and, in fact, will not be isolated."
The United Nations, he said, is in danger of disintegration. Nevertheless, the contributions of the Republic of China to the U.N. will always remain in the record. "We are still adhering to the original principles and spirit" of the U.N., the President said.
Power struggle and turmoil are disrupting the Maoist regime, President Chiang declared, and mainland leaders now find themselves at a dead end. Behind the facade "of apparent strength is mere emptiness." It is the Republic of China, he said, which holds the hearts of the 700 million people on the mainland and is thereby assured of victory. "The life or death of a nation does not depend upon figures of population and land area but on its general health and economic viability," he said. The chief executive cited the economic, cultural and social progress of the Republic of China in the bastion of Taiwan. "At the same time," he said, "we have built up a powerful national defense force."
In a message to a Constitution Day rally, President Chiang pledged that the Republic of China will return China's basic law to the mainland and destroy the tyranny of the Chinese Communists.
Vice President C. K. Yen told the rally that changes in the international situation are transitional and that appeasement has about run its course. "So long as we persist," he said, "we shall be able to reverse the tide and usher in a new era."
The National Assembly, which holds its annual meeting on Constitution Day (December 25), urged the government to conduct a thoroughgoing review of foreign policy. A free Asian military alliance was recommended along with a more dynamic diplomacy.
National Assemblymen called for tax reform to increase government revenue and encourage social morality. Increased investment and more sophisticated and precision industries were backed together with faster farm mechanization.
The Assembly will reconvene in February for the 1972 election session. President and Vice President of the Republic of China will be chosen in March. The Tenth Central Committee of the Kuomintang will hold its third plenary conference March 6-10 to nominate its candidates. Many civic groups have been urging the re-election of President Chiang Kai-shek to a fifth term. Chiang Kai-shek is the first and only constitutional president in Chinese history.
The Executive Yuan approved a suggestion of the Provincial Assembly that local elections scheduled for 1972 be postponed until after proposed partial elections to the three national parliamentary organs: National Assembly, Legislative Yuan and Control Yuan.
Postponed are elections of the Provincial Assembly, mayors and magistrates, county and city councils, and township chiefs and councils. Members of the Provincial Assembly suggested that if the local elections were held first, officials would resign to seek national office. By-elections then would have to be held to fill vacancies.
Government is studying possible ways of updating parliamentary representation. One suggestion is for elections by occupational groupings and regionally. Another is for further elections in Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities.
The national organs were elected on the mainland in the late 1940s. Except for one election to fill Taiwan vacancies and add Taiwan representatives to reflect increased population, the organs have not been changed since. Average age of members is rising and total membership is shrinking.
President Chiang is studying all possibilities. The National Assembly may be called upon to consider recommendations at its February-March session. The President has power under the emergency provisions of the Constitution to order partial national elections. National representatives' terms have been extended until elections are possible throughout the Republic of China, which includes the mainland now under Communist control.
Meeting in Washington, the executive board of the World Anti-Communist League called upon the free world to stand up and be counted for freedom in the wake of the admission of Peiping to the United Nations. The organization went on record as opposing President Nixon's trip to Peiping. Ku Cheng-kang, honorary president of WACL, said the Republic of China could not negotiate with the Communists over the future of Taiwan. He recalled the bitter experiences of the ROC in previous attempts to solve the Communist problem through discussion.
Memorial services were held in Taipei for Quach Phat, an anti-Communist newspaper publisher of Saigon who was assassinated by the Viet Congo. Vice President C. K. Yen personally expressed the nation's sympathies to Miss Quach Hsueh-chiu, the publisher's daughter.
Churches of all faiths joined in memorial services for some 60 million people who have died on the mainland as the result of Communist aggression, oppression and tyranny.
The General Political Warfare Department of the Ministry of National Defense is sponsoring arrangements for a Taipei wax museum which will tell the story of Communist atrocities on the mainland. An anti-Communist exhibition at the Science Hall in Taipei attracted attendance of nearly 2.5 million in three months.
Preliminary economic reports showed growth of 11.4 per cent in the gross national product for 1971. Per capita income rose 12.12 per cent to US$329. With total trade of more than US$4 billion, the favorable balance was close to US$200 million. Other growth rates: manufacturing, 22.26 per cent; power and coal production, 14.87 per cent; wholesale and retail business, 9.72 per cent; agriculture, 2.5 per cent; and mining, 2.2 per cent.
Confidence in the New Taiwan dollar remained strong despite the devaluation which was made necessary by the close relationship to the U.S. dollar.
Minister of Economic Affairs K. T. Li announced the devaluation of 7.89 per cent in terms of gold, the same as for the U.S. dollar.
With most of its foreign exchange in U.S. dollars and with the United States as its biggest customer, the Republic of China had little choice, although in absolute terms the NT dollar exhibited none of the weaknesses of its American counterpart.
This means that terms of trade were unchanged with the United States. Imports from Japan will cost more, but Taiwan is in an advantageous position with regard to goods sold to Japan and the other countries with currencies which have been valued upward.
Exchange rates other than the U.S. dollar, which remains fixed at 40 to 1, were permitted to float.
The Central Bank of China raised interest rates on three categories of deposits to stimulate the national savings program and provide more capital for business and industry.
Interest on one-month fixed deposits was raised from 4.5 to 5.5 per cent on an annual basis. That on three-month fixed deposits went from 5.75 to 6.5 per cent. The annual interest rate on current savings was raised from 4 to 5.5 per cent.
The Bank of China, oldest banking establishment of the ROC, was reorganized as a private company and named the International Commercial Bank of China to serve the needs of expanding trade. Capital was enlarged. CICB with branches all over the world will be given the task of combatting the expected intensification of Chinese Communist dumping practices aimed at ROC trade.
The Central Bank of China announced regulations under which Taiwan residents can remit US$100 every three months to persons living abroad. Permission to remit must be obtained through mail application.
Government called a halt to the establishment of investment trust companies. The number is already sufficient, the Ministry of Finance said. Business operations of trust companies are checked once every three months.
Exports to Europe increased by 34 per cent to reach a high of US$220 million in 1971. There was a favorable balance of about US$20 million. Best sellers were textiles, electrical apparatus and canned foods. Textiles and garments sold at US$70 million clip. Canned foods were just behind at US$66 million. Electrical goods topped US$20 million. West Germany was the leading trade partner, followed by Britain.
The government is concentrating on European trade because of Taiwan's low prices and because some of the imports from Japan can be transferred there and an equitable balance maintained.
Trade missions will be sent to Europe, Africa and Latin America early in 1972. Samples of Taiwan's major exports will be shown. Trade personnel will be increased at the Chinese Embassy in Spain. Commercial missions are planned in Peru and Lebanon and a cultural center is slated for Lebanon.
Finance Minister K. T. Li said prospects for increased trade with Latin America are excellent. He said a trade fit can be worked out with the export of Taiwan's new industrial products and the import of agricultural products and raw materials for processing and sale in Asian markets.
Australia and the Republic of China concluded trade talks in Taipei. Goals are increased volume and the elimination of obstacles to the sale of Taiwan textiles in Australia. The ROC agreed to voluntary limitation of shirt and knit goods exports to the Australian market. A trade mission will visit Australia and New Zealand in March.
Economic Affairs Minister Y. S. Sun said the government will ease import controls to stimulate domestic industry. Some 3,000 controls have already been eliminated. Imports will be permitted whenever local industry can compete, or when comparable domestic goods are not available, or when competition may lead to improved domestic quality and lower prices, or when protection has been extended for a long period of time without satisfactory progress on the part of domestic manufacturers.
Minister Sun said the Republic of China will meet the dumping competition of the Chinese Communists with high quality goods at fair prices. He said the most serious mainland challenges would come in textiles, handicrafts, canned foods and plywood.
Planning is under way for the US$5 million Taiwan Trade and Development Corporation, largely financed by Taipei business and industrial interests. The government has encouraged the establishment of bigger trading companies.
Already doing business is the China Trade and Development Corporation, which has branches in the United States, Hongkong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Vietnam and West Germany. Others are planned in England, France, Holland, Italy, South Korea and Japan. CTDC has capital of nearly US$2.5 million and handled more than US$100 million worth of exports and imports in 1970.
Another new organization is the Purchasing Association of the Republic of China, which is backed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Central Trust of China and China External Trade Development Council. It will seek affiliation with the new Asian Purchasing Association.
Language training for trade is receiving encouragement from the Taipei Import and Export Association. Classes have been opened in Spanish and Portuguese with initial enrollment of 20 in the former and 32 in the latter. More languages will be taught subsequently.
Foreign and overseas Chinese investments vaulted over the US$160 million mark in 1971, compared with US$139 million in 1970. Electrical apparatus was the favored field, followed by chemicals. However, the largest single investment was that of Austria in an integrated steel mill. Japanese investment declined somewhat last year but that of Americans and overseas Chinese increased.
Further simplification of investment applications is planned. Processing will be speeded and brought into accord with changing economic conditions.
Finance Minister K. T. Li said that although external investment is important, about 86 per cent of Taiwan's development capital is self-generated. Economic growth thus depends largely on domestic savings, he said.
Employment of foreign nationals and overseas Chinese by foreign investors has been placed under the Screening Committee for Foreign and Overseas Chinese Investment of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Applications previously went to the government agencies responsible for the investment. The committee is prepared to accept the applications of designers and technicians for new industries, technicians to teach Chinese workers and specialists in quality control and production.
Expression of confidence in the future of the Taiwan economy came from the National Distillers and Chemical Corporation of the United States, which is putting US$6 million into expansion of low-density polyethylene production at its USI Far East Corporation plant in Kaohsiung. Output will be raised from 72 million pounds to 172 million annually.
NDCC also will share in development of a high density polyethylene plant at Toufen. Investment of US$7.5 million will come from NDCC, Owens-Illinois Inc. of the United States, Solvay et Cie of Belgium and a consortium of Chinese financiers. John E. Bierwirth, chairman of the board, National Distillers, and John Preston Levis, chairman of the finance committee, Owens-Illinois, came to Taipei to announce the plans. They called on Vice President and Premier C. K. Yen and Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
USI Far East Corporation, the NDCC subsidiary in Taiwan, announced a fifth price reduction since the production of low-density polyethylene was started in 1968. The cut was from NT$8.35 to NT$7.95 a pound.
The Chinese Petroleum Corporation will build a US$35 million naphtha cracking plant in Kaohsiung as another contribution to the fast-growing petrochemical industry. Completion is scheduled in 1974. The U.S. Export-Import Bank will put up US$18 million and the rest will come from CPC. Output will include more than 200,000 metric tons of ethylene, 100,000 m/t of propylene, 35,000 m/t of butadiene and a large quantity of aromatic hydrocarbons.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of the United States, which paid US$3 million for a 75 per cent interest in General Rubber last year, announced plans to increase production from 450,000 to 550,000 tires annually. Exports will be boosted. Russell DeYoung, chairman of Goodyear, visited Taiwan in the company of C. J. Pilliod, president of Goodyear International Corporation. De Young said the quality of the Taiwan labor market is "exceptionally good" and predicted that foreign investment will continue at a high level. The Goodyear executives met with Vice President Premier C. K. Yen and Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
T. S. Lin, chairman of the board and president of Tatung Engineering Company, announced the establishment of Tatung-Genesys Company Ltd. in cooperation with Genesys Systems Inc. of California, a microwave systems engineering firm known for designs of instructional television and industrial microwave processing systems. The new company will provide engineering services for the design and installation of communications systems with special attention to microwave technology.
Several government-owned corporations may be sold to private enterprise to finance economic development. The Taiwan Aluminum Corporation and Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation are expected to be the first. The replacement of government ownership probably will be realized gradually through the sale of bonds and stocks.
Not slated for sale are such enterprises as the Taiwan Power Company, Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Taiwan Sugar Corporation and Taiwan Fertilizer Corporation.
Hualien county on the east coast will get its first industrial zone. There will be room for 100 plants in the zone, which is to be located in the Kwang Hua district. Not much industry has been developed on the remote east coast. Problems are poor transportation, small population and lack of industrial water.
Economists expressing opinions at a forum sponsored by the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction agreed that labor-intensive industries should look to rural locations in order to find an adequate supply of workers. Some plants of the textile, electrical apparatus, machinery, handicraft and food processing industries may move to the countryside.
Zenith Taiwan Corporation held a Suppliers' Day at its Neili plant near Taoyuan. More than 100 representatives of electrical apparatus companies attended. They were told of Zenith progress in 1971 and local purchasing plans for 1972. A briefing was given on quality control and samples were displayed. Zenith plans to make a million TV sets at Neili this year.
Government may give long-term, low-interest loans to TV manufacturers to start production of inexpensive color sets. Yen revaluation has raised the price of Japanese components, which currently make up about 60 per cent of a Taiwan-made color set. The government hopes more parts can be made locally. Twelve local plants turned out only 14,000 color sets in the first six months of 1971 versus 6.5 million in Japan.
Taiwan Power Company will receive Asian Development Bank and U.S. funds to finance expansion. ADB will put up US$22.5 million for a transmission and distribution project to take care of growth through 1973. Included will be lines to link Taipei and southern Taiwan with the nuclear power stations under construction in northern Taiwan. The loan will be for 19 years at interest of 7.5 per cent. There is a three-year grace period.
U.S. banks will loan US$140 million for the installation of a nuclear generator. Half of the money will come from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. This will be Taiwan's third generator with a scheduled completion date of 1978. The first and second plants are under construction and will become operational in 1975 and 1976. A fourth generator is planned.
Taipower's installed capacity will be increased by more than 3,440,000 kilowatts between 1972 and 1976. Present capacity is 2,750,000 kilowatts.
European banks are considering loans totaling US$80 million to help finance the cost of electrifying Taiwan's west coast trunkline railroad. The banks are in West Germany, Belgium, France and Switzerland. The entire project will cost US$145 million.
The Taiwan Railway Administration has averaged US$10 million profit annually for the last five years. Investment in modernization has come to about US$25 million, part of it taken out of profits and part borrowed from foreign banks.
Construction of Taiwan's third 100,000-ton tanker will be completed this spring at the Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation yards in Keelung. A 54,000-ton bulk cargo carrier will be launched soon.
Newly established at the Ministry of Economic Affairs is a planning consultation board to study the applications of four foreign shipbuilders interested in helping build a big yard at Kaohsiung. Two are Japanese companies, one is from Britain and one is a joint British-West German concern.
The China Merchant Steam Navigation Company marked its 100th anniversary with Communications Minister Philip C. C. Chang presiding at the ceremony. CMSNC owns 19 ships of 238,630 tons and is chartering three others totaling 292,609 tons. It is ordering a 130,000-ton tanker from the Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation and will purchase two additional freighters. Profits of US$3,250,000 in 1970 made up for losses during the three preceding years.
Kaohsiung is becoming the container relay station of East Asia, according to Li Lien-chih, director of the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau. Container service was started in November, 1970, with the opening of the first service center. The second with four 250-meter deep-water wharves will open in 1973. The area of 45 hectares will accommodate 8,000 to 12,000 containers. Kaohsiung will have 10 container wharves by the end of this year.
Cause of the crash of a China Airlines Caravelle en route from Taipei to Hongkong remained a mystery because only small bits of wreckage were recovered at the crash site off the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands. The plane apparently exploded in flight at about 9:35 p.m. October 20. Investigation was continuing. Press reports suggested the possibility of sabotage.
Trans World Airlines inaugurated service from Taipei to Paris. Newspaper reporters and travel industry representatives were aboard the charter flight.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration and National Museum of History will join in establishing a Chinese cultural exhibition center at the Taipei International Airport. To be located in the transit lounge, the center will show artifacts and art objects, distribute gifts to travelers and offer handicrafts for sale.
Civil aeronautics officials of Okinawa and Taiwan met in Taipei to plan a Taipei-Guam air link via the Okinawa Air Traffic Control area.
Air service to Taitung on the southeastern coast was resumed after a hiatus of nearly three years. The carrier is Far Eastern Air Transport Corporation, which is flying from Kaohsiung to Taitung and Hualien on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Viscount four-engine aircraft. Flights return to Kaohsiung on the same day.
The Asian Development Bank approved a loan of US$13.6 million to finance parts of the North-South Freeway. Construction is already under way. ADB previously had extended a loan of US$18 million for the project, which will link Keelung and Kaohsiung via Taipei.
Approval was given by the Legislative Yuan for issuance of US$47.5 million worth of freeway bonds.
Vice President/Premier C. K. Yen opened a five day Sino-Japanese Seminar on Mainland China in Taipei. He called on Japanese political leaders to heighten their vigilance against the aggressive intentions of the Peiping regime. The Vice President likened Communism to a plague.
Regrettably, he said, much of the world is ignorant of the reality and the intentions of the Chinese Communists. At a reception held subsequently, Vice President Yen said the Republic of China is prepared to establish contacts with compatriots on the mainland but would never accept coexistence with the Chinese Communists.
Prof. Kikuo Nakamura, the Japanese chief delegate, said the mass communications media in his country often have succumbed to Chinese Communist propaganda. As a result, he said, many Japanese have been deceived by false reports about the Republic of China.
Nakamura blamed the ROC withdrawal from the United Nations on Washington's "dual diplomacy" toward Taipei and Peiping.
Yoji Hirota, director of the Eurasia Association, called for the formation of an Asian alliance to check Chinese Communist expansionism. Such an organization, he said, is essential as the United States and Britain withdraw from East Asia.
Toshiji Kuwabara, director of the Chinese Department of the Sogo Institute of Japan, said both Western and Japanese scholars of modern Chinese politics and society tend to neglect traditional Chinese culture and institutions. As a consequence, they may reach erroneous conclusions. He said an understanding of the Chinese intellectual class is necessary to comprehend what Mao Tse-tung has been trying to do.
Shoji Fujii of the Society for the Study of International Relations in Japan said Taiwan will be the central point of discussion between President Nixon and the Chinese Communists at Peiping. Sun Kuei-chieh, a Republic of China legislator, disagreed. He said that Japan will be the principal topic. Prof. Li Chi-tai of the National Chengchi University expressed belief Peiping discussions will be of a general nature.
Prof. Nakamura said Nixon has already achieved his purpose—"the political capital for his re-election campaign."
Maj. Gen. Yeh Hsiang-chieh, chief of the second section of the Kuomintang Central Committee in charge of intelligence and mainland affairs, said the Peiping regime is far from stable. He said the crisis facing the Maoists in the purge of Lin Piao is greater than that of the "cultural revolution."
Attending the sessions were 30 Japanese and more than 100 Chinese exports, researchers and reporters. These conclusions were reached: (1) that Communism is alien to Chinese culture and will disappear, (2) that the Peiping regime is built on "constant revolution" and contradictions and cannot achieve stability, and that "smiling diplomacy" to the contrary, the Maoists will never change their expansionist policy.
These were diplomatic notes of the month:
—Bolivian Foreign Minister Dr. Mario R. Gutierrez came for a visit. Agricultural aid and scientific and technical cooperation agreements were signed. Bolivia is expected to establish a diplomatic mission in Taipei soon. Minister Gutierrez called on President and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. He gave decorations to Foreign Minister Chow Shu-kai, Defense Minister Huang Chieh, Economic Minister Y. S. Sun and Communications Minister Philip C. C. Chang for their contributions to Sino-Bolivian friendship.
—Economic Minister Dr. Armando Interiano of El Salvador came for five days and urged increased trade. He said the Republic of China is a model for developing nations.
—Visiting from the Republic of Korea was Lee Bock Bon, minister of commerce and industry. He discussed increased economic cooperation. Also from Korea was Stephan Cardinal Kim, who was Pope Paul VI's special emissary to prayer ceremonies marking the 60th year of the Republic of China.
—Leonard Mulamba, the Republic of Zaire's ambassador to Japan, came for three days. Greeting him at the airport was Pierre Efomi, the ROZ ambassador in Taipei.
—Sir William Teeling, who served in Parliament from 1944 through 1969, came from Britain for a brief visit. He met with an old friend, Vice President C. K. Yen.
—Leaving for home was Mrs. Lourdes Muller, widow of the Brazilian ambassador to the Republic of China. Her husband died in a plane crash.
—President Chiang Kai-shek received the credentials of Dominican Ambassador Adolfo Rafael Camarena and Panamanian Ambassador Ricardo E. Chiari de Leon.
—Ambassador Hugh A. Dunn of Australia left on a home leave. He will return in February.
—Foreign Minister Chow Shu-kai left for Liberia via Japan to attend the inauguration of President William R. Tolbert Jr. He met with Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and Foreign Minister Takeo Fukuda in Tokyo.
—Shen Chang-huan, ambassador to Thailand, came to Taipei for consultations. He is a former foreign minister.
—Liu Chieh, former ambassador to the United Nations, was slated to return home and then go on to Manila to become ambassador there.
—Dr. Wei Yu-sun, director of information and spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was slated to become consul-general in Seattle.
—Foreign-trained scholars who recently returned to Taiwan met at the Education Ministry to discuss the nation's diplomacy. They suggested improvements. Foreign Minister Chow agreed and said the ministry hopes that the training of diplomats can be upgraded.
On the military front, Maj. Gen. Livingston Taylor, chief of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in the Republic of China, departed for a brief Stateside assignment and then retirement. He said that "tremendous strides have been made in the strength and readiness of the Chinese armed forces" during his two years of Taiwan service. He mentioned self-sufficiency programs and reorganization, streamlining and modernization of troop units. Extraordinary professionalism has been demonstrated in the manufacture, repair, rebuilding and co-production of a wide variety of military equipment, he said.
Succeeding General Taylor is Maj. Gen. John W. Barnes. His last post was director of plans and programs and deputy chief of research and development, Department of Army. He is also serving as commanding general of U.S. Army forces on Taiwan.
Lt. Gen. K. E. Jones, commander of U.S. Marines in the Pacific, visited Taiwan for three days. He saw the principal Chinese Marine base in southern Taiwan.
Vice Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, former defense minister and a four-star general, sent 180 Chinese paintings to garrison command units on the offshore island of Kinmen.
Li Yung-chao, director of the Aeronautical Industrial Research Center, said the Republic of China will increase production of helicopters and training planes. The first trainer was completed October 31, 1970, and production totaled more than 20 in the ensuing year. The Center cooperates with an American manufacturer in making helicopters.
Two training vessels of the Republic of Korea's Navy paid a four-day goodwill visit to Kaohsiung. They held open house for visitors. The 641 naval cadets and crewmen were entertained by ROC Navy personnel and the people of Kaohsiung before departing on the last leg of their voyage. Chinhae is their home port.
Dr. Wu Ta-you, chairman of the National Science Council and Committee for Scientific Development, said the Republic of China needs many more scientists and technologists, especially for industrial research. He said some supposedly scientific planning from research institutes is impractical and even absurd.
The National Youth Commission reported that 284 Chinese scholars returned in the five months from July through November and offered their services. One hundred and twenty-nine of them hold doctor's degrees and 122 have earned their master's. By area, 212 came from the United States, 50 from Japan, 19 from Europe and 3 from elsewhere. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it had recruited 64 Chinese specialists abroad and would employ another 78. The National Science Council is inviting 150 visiting professors and associate professors to teach at universities and research institutes in 1972.
Foreign students who hope to enter colleges or universities in Taiwan must apply for approval of the Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations of the Education Ministry. This may be done through ROC consulates and embassies overseas.
An Institute of Biochemistry will be added to the Academia Sinica in 1973. About US$750,000 is available to set up the institute, which will be located at Taiwan National University. Initial research will be on proteins.
Executive Yuan approval was given a children's welfare bill. It goes to the Legislative Yuan for consideration. Provisions include protection of children against cruelty and desertion, special education for the gifted and the retarded, funds for children's welfare and establishment of orphanages and homes for mentally deficient children.
More than 300 college professors joined in urging the government to initiate reforms to strengthen the country in the confrontation with the Chinese Communists. Students of National Chiaotung and Tsinghua Universities joined those of National Taiwan University in similar recommendations.
Returning to the Republic of China for a two-month stay was Harold Shadick, professor emeritus of Chinese literature at Cornell University, who went to Peiping's Yenching University to teach English at the age of 23. Another visitor was Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr., president of Michigan State University. His father was the first Negro career diplomat and ambassador in U.S. history.
Dr. Li Chon-hao, synthesizer of the human growth hormone, paid an eight-day visit to Taiwan. He gave two lectures at National Taiwan University and met with students of biochemistry. The director of the Hormone Research Laboratory of the University of California expressed hope the growth hormone may be used to eliminate dwarfism and to combat disease.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek paid a Christmas visit to the more than 500 children at the Chen Hsing Rehabilitation Center. She has been the principal mover in developing the facility for crippled children. Taiwan has 50,000 deformed children, mostly from polio, and needs three additional centers, said Dr. T. M. P'eng, the Chen Hsing director.
Cancer took 48,702 lives in Taiwan between 1964 and 1970, the Bureau of Public Health reported. It is the No. 1 killer in Taipei and ranks second in Taiwan province.
President Chiang Kai-shek told the 18th annual meeting of the Mainland Recovery Planning Board that "a drastic change may occur on the mainland at any moment." He urged that mainland developments be watched ceaselessly so that more will be known about the enemy and the changes taking place. He noted that the board has completed more than 1,000 projects bearing on national recovery.
Walter Fei, vice chairman of the Council for International Economic Cooperation and Development, told the MRPB that the nation will stress scientific research and technological development during the 1970s. Funds for science will be increased from 0.6 to 1 per cent of the gross national product.
Government employees of all levels numbered about 300,000 at the end of 1971. The total has nearly doubled since 1957. About 32 per cent of bureaucrats are college graduates.
President Chiang Kai-shek appointed Grand Justice Tien Chung-chin president of the Judicial Yuan. Tien succeeds Hsieh Kuan-sheng, who died at the age of 75. He holds master's and doctor's degrees from the University of Illinois.
These agricultural goals were announced for the 1970s:
—Increase of annual fishing production to 800,000 metric tons, with more than a quarter exported.
—Reforestation of 300,000 hectares.
—Completion of irrigation projects to carry water to 74,000 hectares.
—Consolidation of 200,000 hectares of farmland, raising the total to half of Taiwan's arable area.
Farm output will get a shot in the arm in a four-year program starting in 1972. Funds budgeted for the first year total nearly US$5 million. Output of bananas will be increased from 560,000 metric tons to 700,000 m/t, tangerines from 200,000 to 310,000, pineapples from 350,000 to 460,000, vegetables from 1,060,000 to 1,180,000, tea from 29,250 to 33,100 and silk from 26,000 to 63,244 kilograms. Exports of processed foods are expected to top US$300 million by 1975.
The rice yield for 1971 totaled 2,520,000 metric tons, 40,000 m/t under target.
Two hundred and forty beef steers were airlifted to Taiwan under a feeder plan. A planeload of heifers will arrive early this year to be used as breeding animals in the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction project. JCRR specialists said changes in the international monetary situation will stimulate the Taiwan dairy industry and beef production.
The Republics of China and Vietnam signed a new one-year contract for services of the Chinese Agricultural Technical Group in Vietnam. JCRR is the executive agency. Personnel working in Vietnam total 24. The Republic of China signed 19 bilateral agreements with 17 countries in 1971, most of them involving agricultural cooperation.
Mineral production for 1971 reached US$82.9 million, an increase of 6.82 per cent. Increases were registered by sulfur, marble, crude oil and natural gas. Decreases were recorded for coal, pyrites and asbestos. Coal output was slightly over 4 million metric tons. Other minerals included gold, 8,762 ounces; silver, 30,600 ounces; copper 3,964 tons; marble, 1,385,773 tons; talcum, 38,062 tons; asbestos, 2,222 tons; dolomite, 87,722 tons; crude oil, 120,532 kiloliters; and natural gas, 172,520,000 cubic meters.
Taipei's YWCA dedicated its new 10-story building in the heart of the city. The "Y" hostel has 19 rooms furnished in the styles of different countries. With air-conditioning, private bath and telephone, rooms rent for US$7 a day double and US$6 single.
The Chinese bridge team was welcomed home from Melbourne, where it defeated Australia to win the 17th Far East championship. China had 107.84 international victory points to Australia's 97.29. Also competing were Thailand, Indonesia, Hongkong, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, South Vietnam and South Korea.
Eighty "good people of good deeds" were honored at the Taipei City Auditorium. President Chiang Kai-shek sent a message of congratulation. Three Americans and one Briton were among those receiving citations and gifts.