Taiwan Today

Joint statement by President Syngman Rhee of the Republic of Korea and President Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China November 28, 1953 Since both Korea and China are the first victims of Russia's Communist aggression in Asia, we have met here to reaffirm our faith in die cause of freedom and to reiterate our determination to carryon the fight against Communist aggression until those of our brethren who have been enslaved are restored their liberty. We are agreed that Communism, being oppressive and aggressive in ideology as well as in action, is a menace and a challenge to the spiritual values of civilization. We are convinced that there can be, no compromise, and certainly no coexistence with the Communists unless we are prepared to surrender our human freedom anti national independence. In the course of our conversations we have exchanged views on world problems and on the specific tasks that the free Korean and Chinese peoples have to perform in order to survive as free men. We have also exchanged information on our respective efforts to build up our strength and to make the best use of all the means at our disposal in our common struggle against World Communism. We realize to the full the danger to the free world of Russia's exploitation of Asia's vast natural resources and unlimited manpower in the furtherance of her plans to dominate the world. We are certain that victory over Communism in Asia is the key to world peace and stability. The governments and peoples of our two countries stand firmly united in our determination to mobilize all our moral and material forces to defeat the aggressors in Asia. To this end, we on our own part offer all that we are­ and all that we have. We furthermore pledge to ally ourselves with other free countries in Asia to resist the aggression of International Communism in the Asiatic-Pacific area. our two countries therefore jointly appeal to all governments and peoples of the free countries in Asia to organize a united anti-Communist front and earnestly hope that our desire to achieve solidarity in this part of the world will have the moral and material support of other freedom-loving nations, particularly those bordering on the Pacific such as the United States of America. The threat of Communism in this: area may thus be removed and peace and security on this continent restored. We take this occasion to stress once more the importance of safeguarding the freedom of those stout-hearted anti-Communist prisoners of-war in Korea who have so nobly placed liberty above all else. We shall not fail them for we will exert our utmost to help carry out the principle of voluntary repatriation. Nor shall we fail the millions of our compatriots behind the Iron Curtain who, in the depth of their anguish and sufferings, are looking to us and to the other freedom-loving peoples for their deliverance from Communist tyranny. A Broadcast Speech by Madame Chiang Kai-shek to the Anti-Communist Chinese POWs in Korea, 17 December 1953 Dear anti-Communist compatriots: For our country and for the cause of freedom. You have gone through a long, dark life-and-death struggle in Korea. During the seven days of "brain-washing" by the Communist enemy, you have demonstrated to the whole world by your heart-breakingly heroic actions and firm determination our national spirit and the sense of righteousness. You have further verified the truth and your faith in what president Chiang said: "The traitors will be annihilated, and the anti-Communist fight will triumph; the aggressors will be defeated and the anti-Russian struggle will succeed." January 22, the date when you will regain your freedom, is now only a little over a month away. Darkness is about to be dispersed and light is already dawning upon your eyelids. That you may regain your freedom is the consistent principle which the United Nations has upheld. This principle of, voluntary repatriation is also a cease-fire condition which the United Nations Command has repeatedly enunciated. It is, moreover, a fundamental and immutable principle which all peace-loving peoples of the entire free world have pledged their support. I believe you can absolutely trust the United Nations in carrying out its resolution and the United Nations Command in its promise. They will not break faith with you. I am sure you will regain your freedom as scheduled and return to Free China at an early elate. The Communist traitors, to be sure will not cease to attempt to lay their hands on you even now, directly or indirectly by hook or by crook. But I am confident that you will all retain your wisdom and consolidate your unity so that you may not be fooled by Communist propaganda, and with consistent faith and steadfastness resist Communist oppression. No matter how mean and foul the methods which the Communists may employ in dealing with you, I believe that their confronting you is tantamount to their confronting righteousness and liberty. In so doing they will only expose their own villainy and become the laughing­ stock of the world. The whole world today knows that the Communists not only are criminals committing unforgivable sins but do not hesitate to resort to any crime to suit their purposes. As swin­dlers of unbelievable magnitude there is no­thing they would not do to cheat the world. The ugly farce they staged at Panmunjom is a telling example that needs no further comment. That they did not achieve their goal is due to your unflinching and unwavering resoluteness and patriotism. Your undaunted spirit is an inestimable contribution to the Free World. I wish to emphasize to you today that you will not be abandoned. Even in the Indian detention camps, many a comrade of yours has fought to the last regardless of sacrifice. These men have set before you an unprecedented example of courage and fortitude. There are countless others with the same resoluteness who will follow in your footsteps and who are determined to join you in embarking on your future anti-Communist anti-Russian struggle. Furthermore, the eight million people and troops in Free China and the twelve million overseas Chinese all over the world are praying for you and are solidly behind you. Even the hundreds of millions of our compatriots behind the Iron Curtain on the mainland are inspired by you and admire you for your courage. They are proud of your heroic patriotism and they are pinning their fervent hopes of liberation on your continuous valor. Needless to say the President and I have been eagerly awaiting the good news of your early return to Free China. Our country needs you—she needs you in our common struggle to annihilate the Communist traitors, to avenge our national humiliation, to recover our lost territory and to drive out the Russian aggressors. Formerly you were behind the Iron Curtain, now you are in the Indian detention camps; you who have known the agony of being deprived of liberty undoubtedly understand the urgency and sanctity of the duty of restoring liberty to our countrymen. Dear anti-Communist compatriots: The year is nearing its end and a severe winter is descending on you in Korea. You, in the detention camps, are enduring bitter cold with only your patriotic blood and tears. But by so doing you have heartened the peoples of tae Free World and have re-awakened the soul of our Chinese race. The President's and my concern for you is too deep for words. Fortunately, the bitter winter will soon pass and spring is on its way. Before long, the detention camps will be behind you. Meanwhile, in Free China the early spring and warm sunshine are awaiting to welcome, you, who are the symbol of Freedom. Continue to resist oppression and deception patiently and resolutely until January 22, the day when you will be free. Final victory will be ours. Victory will be on the side of the Republic of China which is against aggression, against totalitarianism, against enslavement and against oppression. Dear anti-Communist compatriots: I shall see you in Taiwan. Statement by Dr. Li Chi, Chairman of the Chinese Delegation, to a Joint Session of the Eighth Pacific Science Congress and the Fourth Far Eastern Prehistoric Congress It is my duty and privilege to present to you the message of good will from the Republic of China and bring to this congress the most sincere greetings from the president and members of the Academia Sinica. China missed, much to her regret, the meeting of the 7th Congress. If she did not do the part that was her due, it happened at a time and under circumstances over which she had no control. The members of the Chinese Delegation, privileged today to attend the 8th Pacific Science Congress and the 4th Far Eastern Prehistoric Congress have arrived here in a mood somewhat similar to that of an old soldier return home after long absence and finding his native town in great prosperity, to which he made no substantial contribution, but of which he feel genuinely proud. The Chinese Delegation wishes to take this opportunity to make a specific statement, which I hope, might deserve a few moments' attention of the Congress. China accepted modern science as part of her cultural life comparatively late, later than both India and Japan. The age of her national academy for the advancement of science is younger than this association. But the latest comer is not necessarily the least ardent. Celebrating in 1948 the 20th anniversary after the founding of the academy; Academia Sinica issued a complete list of the titles of scientific papers contributed by fellows, members and associates of the various research institutes and published in a number of foreign languages besides the Chinese. The number of articles, monographs, and books cited in this list is somewhere between 3,500 and 3,600. It is a small number for a period of 20 years, no doubt. But, when you take into consideration the fact that, for a greater part of these twenty years, the Chinese people were engages in life and death struggle, when scientific worker were deprived of their laboratories and equipment, when they had to work without even the necessary books of reference and periodicals, when they lived on a starvation salary, then this small sized output assumes altogether a different meaning. It is indicative of an almost religious faith in this newly acquired cultural activity by the Chinese people. So science in China, although recognized in her spiritual domain relatively late and nipped almost completely at the budding stage during World War II, is going to stay in China nevertheless; and stay permanently, I wish to assure you. We are bringing to this congress only a limited number of original papers; they are all fruits cultivated in the Chinese garden. May it be hoped that when the present storm blows over, and the weather returns to normalcy again, we shall be able to report to you in the next congress a bigger and better harvest from the Chinese soil. Statement by Dr. Chih-mai Chen on the Question of Atrocities Committed by the North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces Against United Nations Prisoners of War in Korea, Before the Plenary, Meeting of the Eighth Regular Session of the General Assembly, 1 December 1953 My delegation is gratified that, at long last, the atrocities perpetrated by the regimes of Communist China and North Korea against the United Nations prisoners of war in Korea are being brought before the General Assembly of the United Nations. The United States delegation, in connection with this item of the agenda, has circulated documentary materials bearing on this item. These materials are admittedly extracts, summaries, and typical cases. As pointed out by the United States representative yesterday, "the evidence in this document is only a small part of the whole body of evidence on these atrocities. However, we are assured that the full files, standing some 20 feet high, are available for inspection. An examination of the evidence before us shows that, in their conduct of the war of aggression in Korea, the Chinese and Korean Communist rulers have employed the most barbaric methods in dealing with United Nations and Republic of Korea personnel in their captivity. Soldiers and civilians by the tens of thousands were shot in cold blood bayoneted, starved, allowed to die of cold disease and exhaustion by their captors. The evidence tells of 81 separate death marches always in the depth of winter during which an estimated 1,940 prisoners died by the roadside and in camps. It tells of the massacre of thousands of civilians for political reasons. These cases of atrocities add up to a blistering indictment of the regimes in Communist China and North Korea. They show that the perpetrators of these atrocities have conducted themselves in total disregard of all precepts of international law and the elementary sense of human decency. What the Communists have been doing is to employ mass murder as an instrument of policy. It is a program of brutalization designed to terrorize their foes into submission. The tabulation of statistics in the documentary materials before us shows that the Communists committed these atrocities without reference to the nationality or the race of their victims. They are not atrocities committed by one racial group upon another. They are atrocities committed purely for political purposes. In the documentary materials, we find that citizens of Belgium, Turkey, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States were involved. Soldiers and civilians of the Republic of Korea were murdered by the Korean and Chinese Communists, just as American, British, Turkish and Belgian soldiers were murdered by these same Communists. That the Korean Communists are responsible for more atrocities than the Chinese Communists is not due to the fact that the latter are more humane. It is simply because the Chinese Communists joined the Korean war later. Once they joined the aggression, they are just as brutal and commit just as many atrocities proportionally as their comrades of North Korea. In the appraisal of this grim and gruesome record, we see once again the inhumanity which lies at the root of the Communist system. We are faced again with the stark truth that the employment of brutality for political purposes is at the very foundation of Communist ideology, taught by its masters and practiced in every land where Communism is in control. For it was Lenin who taught his disciples, among whom are Mao Tse-tung and Kim Il-sung, that "terror cannot be dispensed with, notwithstanding hypocrites and phrase-mongers". (Collected Works. Vol. II. p. 722) The history of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia shows that Lenin and his successors have faithfully followed this doctrine of terror to gain and maintain political power. There was in Russia the wholesale liquidation of the kulaks. There was the wholesale liquidation, first of the Mensheviks and later of the Trotskyites. These liquidations were carried out with barbaric thoroughness and in total disregard of the basic principles of law and justice. For it was Lenin again who said: "For the public advocacy of Menshevism our revolutionary courts must pass sentence of death, otherwise they are not our courts." (Collected Works, Vol. II, pp. 784-5). On many previous occasions, my delegation has brought to the attention of the General Assembly clear evidences of the barbaric nature of the Communist regime in China. In the employment of terror and mass murder for the attainment of political purposes, as in every other respect, the Peiping Communist regime is the most faithful image of the Soviet Union. Therefore, it should occasion no surprise on our part that the Chinese Communists are among the perpetrators of atrocities against the United Nations and Republic of Korea forces in Korea. It is in the nature of the Communist to be brutal. It is his creed, his normal form of conduct. In the debate on this item of the agenda, it is to be expected that the spokesman for world Communism would employ all their propaganda tricks and devices to deny the black record of their Chinese and Korean comrades. But with all the tricks and devices in the Communist armory, they would fail to pull the wool over the eyes of the civilized world to the meticulously careful documentation of Communist atrocities in Korea which is now before us. The truth will prevail and the perpetrators of these atrocities will stand condemned, once their evil doings are exposed. My delegation is going to vote for the draft resolution introduced by Australia, France, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. While it is our view that the draft resolution does not go far enough on a matter which is in open and direct violation of the basic principles of the Charter, my delegation believes that the authors of the draft resolution have brought out in clear terms the grave concern which the General Assembly must feel toward these atrocities and go on to condemn them as a violation of rules of international law and basic standards of conduct and morality and as affronting human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person. We believe that this is the least the General Assembly can do, for the victims of these atrocities are to a considerable extent, the men from various Member States whom the Unite Nations itself has called upon to uphold the principles of the Charter.