"They say he has read more Chinese classics than most of us under 40," rejoined a young man across the seat.
"His visit here will undoubtedly open a new era between Sino-Vietnamese cooperation," chimed in an elderly gentleman.
The Vietnamese President had been on everybody's lips days ahead of the government announcement of his visit on January 15. The Chinese men-in-the-street are far from wrong in their observations. In modern history few statesmen can match President Diem in achieving so much in so short a time. The Vietnam of 1954 which beckoned at him for leadership in the wake of the disastrous battle of Dienbienphu was so shaky that there were grim predictions of disintegration either from internal strife or through subversion directed by a triumphant Red regime in the north. In the short span of five years, however, the free world has been amazed to see the new-born nation fastly rising out of the labyrinth of chaos to become a strong bastion of democracy overshadowing the Communist regime north of the 17th Parallel in strength and in prestige. If the economic recovery of Western Europe and Japan is a wonder, the upsurge of Vietnam is certainly a miracle.
Confucianist Traditions
The Chinese people have other reasons to feel excited about the Vietnamese President's visit. Under the tutorship of his Sinologist father, he developed an early liking for Chinese culture. He nearly devoured all Chinese classics in his boyhood. So strong is his attachment to Chinese culture that he proclaimed, as premier, Confucius' birthday as one of the official national holidays of Vietnam. To this day, he still insists that the teachings of the great Chinese sage, which he described as "the common cultural heritage of Asia," are the most effective weapon to combat Communist ideologies. He reaffirmed this belief on several occasions during his state visit in free China, which further endeared him to the Chinese people.
Then there are the historical ties between the two nations, the identity of objectives in fighting the same enemy and their exceptionally close cooperation in recent years. All of these called on the Chinese people to give their warmest welcome to the visiting chief of state of a close ally.
Thus heavily armed to win the affection and esteem of the Chinese people, President Diem flew in to find a rousing welcome awaiting him in a flag-bedecked Taipei basked under the brilliant tropical sunlight. At 2 p. m. sharp, the plane carrying the illustrious visitor taxied down to the modern Sungshan airport while 24 escorting Sabrejets roared past overhead. A 21-salvo gun salute boomed out, and the band struck the national anthems of the sister republics. As the Vietnamese Chief of State emerged from the plane, President Chiang Kai-shek in his five-star commander-in-chief's uniform stepped forward to shake his hand warmly. Top ranking government officials and medal-laden generals headed by Vice President and Premier Chen Cheng were introduced to the Vietnamese President one by one. So were members of the diplomatic corps in top hats and cutaway coats. There were also a liberal sprinkling of Vietnamese students studying in China among the greeters. Because of arthritis in his leg, President Diem cancelled his inspection of the 440-member composite honor guard of the armed forces in their resplendent uniforms of the three services.
Riding in President Chiang's 1960 Cadillac used for the first time, the two Chiefs of State then began the two-mile ride to the Grand Hotel, official residence of President Diem during his Taipei stay, trailed by a 24-car motorcade. Under the escort of 24 white helmeted military policemen on motorcycles, the procession slowly proceeded along the broad boulevard to receive the cheers of over 100,000 flag-waving onlookers.
After arriving at the Grand Hotel, furnished in Oriental grandeur with Occidental luxury, President Diem had a few moments to shake off the traveling dust. He received a call paid by Vice President Chen Cheng, then immediately motored to the suburban presidential residence to pay his official call on President and Madame Chiang. Later in the day the First Couple returned the call at the Grand Hotel. That evening President Chiang threw a grand state dinner in honor of the Vietnamese leader, whose visit he described as "a memorable milestone in the history of Sino-Vietnamese relations" and "a clarion call for greater efforts for the cause of freedom and justice."
Upon learning of President Diem's leg ailment, President and Madame Chiang immediately ordered an electric blanket be sent to him. When he left at the end of his four-day state visit, the affliction was gone.
Personal Appraisal
But President Diem did not come to free China simply for a courtesy call and the hospitality accorded him. He came, as he said in his airport statement, "to ascertain personally the magnificent achievements 4 attained by the Republic of China" to strengthen further "the bonds of friendship between our two peoples and to render even more fruitful the relations between our two governments." His statement was borne out by the composition of his entourage composed of Foreign Minister, Vu Van Mau, Information Minister Tran Chanh Thanh, Minister Tran Le Quang of Public Works and Communications, as well as cultural leaders and agricultural and economic experts. And a Vietnamese economic mission had just arrived ahead of him. While members of his entourage made separate surveys, he himself set out to appraise free China's progresses in the various fields the day after his arrival.
Despite a sudden change of weather on January 16 and the low reading of temperature, the visiting Chief of State left for Taoyuan in the company of Vice President. Chen for a close look at the successful land reform program in free China. Finance Minister C. K. Yen, formerly governor of Taiwan, went along to brief him on economic matters. Minister Yen later confided that he was somewhat surprised by President Diem's expert and detailed inquiries about the rental reduction scheme and the land-to-the-tiller policy. He asked about the size of landholdings, unit area production, farming techniques, farmers' income and numerous other related subjects. When he saw a local-made insecticide sprayer, he immediately ordered his aides to buy one for study. His interest in China's rural economy is understandable as he is carrying out a land reform program in his own country.
From Taoyuan, the Vietnamese President rode to Shihmen where the highest arch dam in the Far East is under construction. The multi-purpose project which will take up an estimated cost of US$85,000,000 engrossed his attention completely. He was visibly impressed by the magnitude of the project. When he instructed Tran Le Quang, his Secretary of State for Public Works and Communications, to make a careful study of the dam, he must have been thinking about doing a similar project in Vietnam. On his way back to Taipei late in the afternoon, he stopped to visit a 300,000 spindle textile mill at suburban Panchiao. Though pressed by a tight schedule, he managed to have a look at every phase of the manufacturing process. He even found time to chat with the girl workers.
Views Military Might
On the third day of his state visit Presidend Diem winged down to Kangshan in southern Taiwan with Vice President Chen Cheng aboard President Chiang's personal plane, the "Chung Mei." At the Chinese Air Force base there, the visiting Vietnamese leader witnessed the thrilling air show staged by the fabulous CAF Thunder Tiger aerobatic team, whose 12 Sabrejets performed a number of precision flying patterns with smoke belching out from their newly equipped fog sprayers. When the aerobatic performance was over, he shook hands with the Chinese fliers one by one, congratulated them and posed with them for a picture to show his appreciation for their skill and audacity.
On the way to the naval base at Tsoying farther south President Diem drove through the multi-million dollar oil refinery of the Chinese Petroleum Corporation at Kaohsiung, where aviation gas is being produced to meet domestic consumption with enough left over to meet the need of United States Air Force planes stationed on this island.
President Diem reached Tsoying shortly before noon to find rows upon rows of Chinese warships, gaily bedecked with flags, neatly lined up for his inspection. Afterwards he was invited to watch an amphibious exercise featuring beach landing under air cover with a contingent of the famous Chinese frogmen spearheading the assault. Before the ranking Chinese officers and the midshipmen of the Chinese Naval Academy attended the luncheon in his honor, the touring Chief of State highly lauded the excellent training and morale of the Chinese fighting men. He said he never doubted for a moment that the brave sons of China will eventually accomplish their sacred mission of retaking the mainland from the Communists.
In the afternoon, President Diem went to Kaohsiung to spend the night at the Guest House. President and Madame Chiang were already there. At dinner the two Asian leaders plunged into their first official talk with the participation of the key officials of the two nations. The conversation lasted two hours.
On the morning of January 18, President Diem took a cruise in the Kaohsiung harbor aboard a launch and visited the cluster of industrial plants in the port city. Then he drove to Pingtung to witness a gigantic airborne exercise. While there, he also visited a large sugar mill of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. He received two Vietnamese technicians working in the factory as trainees and told them to learn as much as possible. He also ordered his aides to take pictures of scenes which interested him as he did in other industrial plants. Obviously, he wanted to have these pictures to refresh his memory after his return.
From Pingtung President Diem flew to the Provincial Government seat at Taichung to be the guest of Governor Chow Chih-jou. After being briefed on the various phases of the provincial administration, he visited the Palace Museum at Wufeng. He showed immense interest in the array of China's historical relics. Dr. Wang Shih-chieh, minister without portfolio, acted as cicerone, a role which can be satisfactorily played by a man of his erudition.
Final Day
In the afternoon, the Vietnamese statesman flew back to Taipei aboard the same presidential plane. On this final day of his state visit he still took time out to attend a briefing given by the Ministry of National Defense on the current conditions on the Chinese mainland. That night he gave a state banquet at the Grand Hotel in honor of President and Madame Chiang. During the dinner, President Diem praised the Chinese leader as the "living symbol" of the Chinese people's struggle against tyranny and oppression and the "spiritual heir" of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China. He also took the occasion to reaffirm that the Vietnamese people are "faithful members of the Chinese cultural tradition." In response, President Chiang declared that the Chinese and Vietnamese peoples are "brothers." He said he held the firm belief that, as a result of President Diem's state visit, the two countries "will effect a greater solidarity and cooperate more closely than ever in various fields."
Early the next morning President Diem held a 30-minute press conference in which he said his free China tour "has been very instructive, and will contribute to strengthening and expanding the relations between Vietnam and China." These relations, he added, "bind us not only by community of interests but especially by a virile common culture." He also called on the Chinese intellectual elite "to ensure that free China become the radial center and rallying place for the many who remain faithful to Asian ideals and who want to construct an Asia which is free, original and dynamic."
A total of 129 Chinese and foreign pressmen gathered at the Grand Hotel to hear the departing Chief of State read his formal statement. He used four languages—Vietnamese, Chinese, English and French—to answer the questions raised by the reporters.
The press conference over, he had another two-hour long conversation with President Chiang. Then the two Presidents drove to the Sungshan airport. Over 150,000 people lined the road to bid God speed to the Vietnamese Chief Executive. At the airport the same pomp which greeted his arrival saw his departure. President Chiang snapped a military salute to his departing guest who bowed low in return. At 11:45 a.m. the presidential plane took off amidst the roar of the 21-salvo gun salute. The 24-Sabrejet aerial escort again swept overhead to guard the departing state guest until he was off the territorial waters of free China.
Joint Communique
Though President Diem is not the first Chief of State to visit free China (President Syngman Rhee of Korea, the Shah of Iran and King Hussein of Jordan had come before him), the significance of his visit is even greater. During his four-day stay here he met President Chiang for no less than seven times and they had several important conversations on "the recent world events, especially those occurred in Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as future developments of international situation during the coming months."
As expected, the Sino-Vietnamese joint communique, issued prior to President Diem's departure, sounded somewhat perfunctory as it did not throw much light on the specific topics discussed between the two national leaders, it is nonetheless one of the most important documents in the free world's struggle against international Communism as well as in the history of Sino-Vietnamese friendship. Longer than any previous joint communique issued between free China and a foreign country, it set forth in unmistakable terms the attitudes the two governments maintain regarding the approaching East-West summit conference, Russia's peace offensive and Nikita Khrushchev's disarmament proposal, which are claiming the attention of the world today.
Pointing out that "International Communism is the very source of menace of aggression to the Far East, South Asia and Southeast Asia," the joint communique declared that "the Communist disarmament propaganda is nothing but a deceptive device which has already been unmasked by their ICBM tests in the Central Pacific." The two Asian leaders went on to warn the rest of the free world that it should not be lured into relaxing its guard against the Communists by the "temporary lull now obtained on the European scene" as long as "the Chinese mainland remains under the yoke of International Communism."
With regard to the summit conference the two Presidents "maintain their common stand that they are opposed to any discussion of problems concerning free Asian nations in any international conference or under any circumstances without their consent."
Some might be disappointed that the joint communique made no mention of the much-talked-about triple alliance between free China, Korea and Vietnam which have parts of their territories occupied by the Communists. However, a closer look at the communique will convince anyone that the two leaders did not skip over this important subject in their repeated discussions. "The two Presidents," according to the joint communique, "have reaffirmed their decision to cooperate with all other countries, in particular with the Asian nations animated by similar ideals."
About Sino-Vietnamese relationship, the two Chiefs of State "have paid equal attention to an examination of ... problems concerning mutual interests. ...They have expressed a complete identity of views on those policies of their respective governments, which aim at safeguarding national unity and preserving the common cultural inheritance shared by the two countries such as the respect of human dignity and the upholding of ethical standards.... (They) are pleased with the encouraging prospects of the exchanges between the two countries in the commercial and cultural fields, particularly of the investment of Chinese capital in Vietnam. As a result, they have decided to take necessary measures to increase these exchanges."
Common Ground
The two sister republics do in fact have solid ground on which their further cooperation can be built. In the international arena, the Republic of China has always enthusiastically supported Vietnam's candidacy for membership in the United Nations. But, owing to the Soviet abuse of its veto power in the UN Security Council, Vietnam has not yet had the satisfaction of taking its rightful place in the world organization. That the Chinese government will continue to fight for Vietnam's admission into the UN is a foregone conclusion. On the part of Vietnam, she has never minced words in her support to the cause of free China and in condemning the puppet regime in Peiping.
Vietnam has also been generous in helping to relieve the suffering of the Chinese people. In July, 1958 when a strong typhoon wrought havoc in eastern Taiwan, the Vietnamese government promptly made a donation of US$5,000 for the relief of the afflicted. In the wake of the August 7 floods last year which ravaged the central and southern part of this island, President Diem donated US$10,000 for the relief of the typhoon victims besides sending a message to President Chiang expressing his concern. Many overseas Chinese who escaped from North Vietnam after the Communist takeover have been given shelter in the south. In April last year the Vietnamese government announced its willingness to accept the Tibetan refugees in the aftermath of the heroic Lhasa uprising. The Chamber of Commerce in Saigon collected relief goods for distribution to the homeless Tibetans in India through the Vietnamese consulate in New Delhi. At his pre-departure press conference in Taipei, President Diem declared that he favored the creation of some kind of agencies to help out the Chinese refugees who have fled from Communist oppression. He was also reported to have expressed his welcome for the settlement in Vietnam of overseas Chinese who might have encountered trouble elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
In addition to the governmental cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese and Vietnamese peoples have also been working hand in hand with each other and with other like-minded peoples of Asia through the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League which has its secretariat at Saigon. Culturally, there have been exchanges of visits between the scholars of the two nations, including a successful lecture tour of Kung Teh-chen, 77th lineal descendant of Confucius, in Vietnam. At present many Vietnamese youths are studying in free China's universities and colleges.
Economic Cooperation
But the closest cooperation between the two countries has been in the economic field. Ever since ex-Foreign Minister Dr. George Yeh visited Saigon over three years ago there have been a constant exchange of visits between the economic experts and industrial technicians of the two countries. In 1958 a ten-member Chinese Economic Goodwill Mission of topnotch experts, headed by K. T. Li, secretary general of the Council for United States Aid, made a month-long tour in Vietnam. At the end of their visit, the Chinese experts submitted a comprehensive and concrete inspection report to President Diem to present their opinions and recommendations on the formulation of economic development programs in Vietnam.
Following the return of the Li mission, a group of Vietnamese agricultural experts arrived here in September of the same year for an island-wide inspection of the achievements of land reform and agricultural reconstruction programs in Taiwan. Less than a month after the departure of the agricultural group, Tran Van Chieu, president of the Saigon Chamber of Commerce who has just returned from a second trip to China, led the first Vietnamese trade mission to talk with Chinese government authorities and local trade leaders on the expansion of trade between the two nations.
The implementation phase of the economic cooperation began in real earnest with the launching of the first textile mill in Vietnam by joint overseas Chinese and Vietnamese investment. The mill was de signed and built by Chao Yao-tung, former general manager of Taipei's Jong Been Textile Corporation. Then in March last year when ten technical experts of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation were invited by the Vietnamese government to help design three modern sugar mills in that country. The group included specialists on sugarcane crop, engineers, experts on railway transportation and factory management, and mechanical engineers well experienced in handling the machinery of a sugar mill.
With a view to establishing efficient farmers associations in Vietnam Tran Ngoc Lien, supervisor general of Vietnam's cooperative and farm cooperative bureau, came to Taiwan last May to contract the services of Chinese experts on farmers' organization. His visit resulted in the visit to Vietnam of a group of Chinese experts last December to assist in organizing farmers associations throughout Vietnam. The eleven experts headed by Y. K. Yang of JCRR will stay in Vietnam for six months to one year to advice the Saigon government on the organic rules, the necessary procedures and techniques involved.
The textile mill mentioned above is now being built by a total of 37 Chinese technicians and engineers recruited through China Technical Service, Inc. Chinese technicians are also helping some overseas Chinese investors design a small caustic soda plant there.
Technical Training
An important phase for the promotion of Sino-Vietnamese economic cooperation has been the training of Vietnamese technical personnel in Taiwan. During the past two years, 39 Vietnamese have been sent here to observe the system of air traffic control. At the same time, 31 others have come here for observation in rural economics, animal husbandry, seed improvement, prevention and treatment of malaria, and planting of sugarcane crop. Six public health officials have just arrived and 20 sugar industry workers are scheduled to come this year for a two-year in-service training in Taiwan's sugar mills.
The successful economic cooperation between Vietnam and the Republic of China is unanimously considered here as the most important factor in further cementing the traditionally friendly ties between the two anti-Communist nations. With the visit of President Diem, these ties will undoubtedly become unbreakable.
President Diem, who described his free China trip as the "most instructive and fruitful," told President Chiang in a message of thanks sent after his return to Saigon that he has "brought home with me most pleasant and happy memories." On the other hand, he has left behind an indelible impression of himself as a great statesman devoted to the welfare of his people. Finance Minister Yen said the Vietnamese leader possessed a powerful personality with great will power and fervent zeal for the development of his country. Those who had occasion to observe the visiting Chief of State at close quarters said his energy is unbounded. Rising with the first break of dawn and working well into the small hours of the next morning, he never showed any sign of fatigue. Many a younger man would have been exhausted by the neck-breaking pace, they said.
Others noticed the Vietnamese President is a devout Catholic who never skipped Bible reading and morning prayers before taking on the business of the day. They also found him a great lover of books. Even in the breathing space left over from the day's exhausting official functions, he would still snatch a few minutes for reading. On the second day after his arrival, he ordered Nguyen Cong Vien, the Vietnamese minister to China, to buy for him four sets of Chinese classic literature. This small incident showed what an avaricious reader the Vietnamese President is.
The life of President Diem is simplicity itself, according to his Chinese aides. He drinks little and rarely smokes. He is considerate to his inferiors, they reported. Throughout his stay in free China he was greeted by the Chinese people wherever he went. It was estimated that at least half a million people turned out to see him. For the reticent and usually reserved Chinese people, this is the greatest compliment they ever paid to a visitor from abroad.