Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of China and the United States of America
The Parties to this Treaty,
Reaffirming their faith in the purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments, and desiring to strengthen the fabric of peace in the West Pacific area,
Recalling with mutual pride the relationship which brought their two peoples together in a common bond of sympathy and mutual ideals to fight side by side against imperialist aggression during the last war,
Desiring to declare publicly and formally their sense of unity and their common determination to defend themselves against external armed attack, so that no potential aggressor could be under the illusion that either of them stands alone in the West Pacific area, and
Desiring further to strengthen their present efforts for collective defense for the preservation of peace and security pending the development of a more comprehensive system of regional security in the West Pacific area,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security and justice are not endangered and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
Article II
In order more effectively to achieve the objective of this Treaty, the Parties separately and jointly by self-help and mutual aid will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack and Communist subversive activities directed from without against their territorial integrity and political stability.
Article III
The Parties undertake to strengthen their free institutions and to cooperate with each other in the development of economic progress and social well-being and to further their individual and collective efforts towards these ends.
Article IV
The Parties, through their foreign ministers or their deputies, will consult together from time to time regarding the implementation of this Treaty.
Article V
Each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the West Pacific area on the territories of either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.
Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall be immediately reported to the Security Council of the United Nations. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.
Article VI
For the purposes of Articles II and V, the terms “territorial” and “territories” shall mean in respect of the Republic of China, Taiwan and the Pescadores; and in respect of the United States of America, the island territories in the West Pacific under its jurisdiction. The provisions of Articles II and V will be applicable to such other territories as may be determined by mutual agreement.
Article VII
The Government of the Republic of China grants, and the Government of the United States of America accepts, the right to dispose such United States land, air and sea forces in and about Taiwan and the Pescadores as may be required for their defense, as determined by mutual agreement.
Article VIII
This Treaty does not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations of the Parties under the Charter of the United Nations or the responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Article IX
This Treaty shall be ratified by the Republic of China and the United States of America in accordance with their respective constitutional processes and will come into force when instruments of ratification thereof have been exchanged by them at Taipei.
Article X
This Treaty shall remain in force indefinitely. Either Party may terminate it one year after notice has been given to the other party.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate, in the Chinese and English languages, at Washington on this second day of the twelfth month of the forty-third year of the Republic of China, corresponding to the second day of December of the year one thousand nine hundred fifty-four.
Statement by President Chiang Kai-shek to All the Members of the Kuomintang
November 24 this year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Kuomintang. For this occasion, members of the Party, deeply conscious of the Party’s contributions in the past sixty years and of the sanctity of its historical mission, launched a movement to study Party problems in all Party units of various levels.
On November 22, when the Party held its regular Memorial Service in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, President Chiang Kai-shek, the Party’s Director-General, brought to the notice of all members of the Party once again the message which he delivered on September 20, 1949, in Chungking.
According to the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, although the Communist tide was flooding far and wide all over the mainland in 1949, the Government still controlled several provinces. Had the Party members holding responsible positions in the Party, Government or the Armed Forces truly understood President Chiang’s instructions in that message and fought the Communist bandits in a selfless spirit the mainland would still be in our hands and the people would have been spared the tortures which they are suffering now behind the Iron Curtain.
Then the Government moved to Formosa. Although there have been some remarkable achievements in all respects by the Government since the President resumed his office, members of the Party still have not fully realized the Director-General’s instructions in the above mentioned message. Party members have not done as much as they should. At the same time the terrible situation on the mainland today has fulfilled every prediction of the Director-General’s message.
In view of the importance of this message, it is paramount that it should be conscientiously studied again by all members of the Kuomintang. Following is the text of the message:-
Fellow Members of the Kuomintang!
The Communist suppression campaign has now entered a crucial period. The future of the National Revolution hangs in the balance. At a time when the nation is threatened with the Communist scourge, members of the Kuomintang are unanimously agreed that it is only through the implementation of party reforms that we may hope to see the salvation of our nation. I have, on July 18 of this year already presented to the Central Standing Committee a reform bill which, in turn, has been transmitted to the various levels of the Kuomintang. It is hoped that members of the Party everywhere would take up the discussion of the bill and make known their views to the party headquarters so that they may be presented to the Central Standing Committee for final decision and implementation.
I have already set forth in the statement ac companying the bill the necessity of Party reform and the basic principles behind such reform. Today, I wish to explain once again to all members of the Kuomintang the significance of Party reform and the objectives of the revolution.
In fighting for the cause of the revolution it is the objective of the Kuomintang to establish a new nation enjoying sovereign rights, democracy and economic equality in accordance with the Three People’s Principles. However, it is the desire of the imperialists to make China a permanent satellite and the Chinese people their slaves. It is for this reason that each forward step in the Revolution made by the Kuomintang was blocked by the imperialists. Among the achievements of the National Revolution may be listed the 1911 Revolution which led to the establishment of the Republic of China, the Northern Expedition which brought about national unity, the War of Resistance against Japan, the abolition of the unequal treaties and the achievement of independence and freedom for the nation. It is a matter of record that each of these forward steps in the National Revolution has been countered by a fresh act of aggression on the part of the imperialists. Hard on the heels of the 1911 Revolution, for instance, the imperialists plotted with the northern warlords in opposition to the revolutionary forces. When the Northern Expedition was achieving a string of successes, the Japanese warlords started to put obstacles in the path of the Revolution and later sought to sabotage our revolutionary efforts by launching an all out war of aggression against our country. Following our victory over Japan, the Communist international instigated its fifth columnists led by Chu Teh and Mao Tse-tung to stage an armed revolt against our Government in order to sabotage our effort it national unification and reconstruction, to neutralize the fruits of the War of Resistance, to destroy human freedom, family relations, our national history and culture, our national sovereignty and our form of government. In other words, the Communists have brought on a crisis unprecedented in the 5,000-year history of China.
Today, the National Revolution has suffered a serious setback. The Chinese nation has been confronted with a critical situation. The Kuomintang, which is dedicated to the cause of the Revolution and which is responsible for the welfare of the nation, has failed to live up to the expectations of the revolutionary martyrs and the people now suffering from Communist tyranny. It has been a scant four years since our victory over Japan. The Northeast Provinces had hardly been recovered than we were met with obstacles and difficulties. The people in North China had hardly settled down to peacetime pursuits than they were clamped behind the Iron Curtain. Peiping, Tientsin, Shanghai and the capital city of Nanking fell in rapid succession. Even the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen has fallen into the hands of the enemy. I have failed in my position of leadership. I have no desire to evade responsibility for our failure. I can find no words to describe my grief and sorrow.
The Kuomintang has been engaged in the work of the National Revolution for 55 years. It is necessary that we derive some benefit from our bitter experiences of the past. In a manifesto issued by the Kuomintang in 1923, Dr. Sun Yat-sen said, “Since the founding of the Hsing Chung Hui, our party may justly lay claim to certain achievements. Nevertheless, we have also suffered many reverses. Our successes are due to the soundness of our principles, but our reverses are not the results attendant upon the implementation of such principles. They are merely accidental setbacks.” The Three People’s Principles will stand the test of time. The glorious history of the National Revolution will shine forth like the sun and the moon. It is not enough that we merely achieve the final victory. We must not be disturbed by occasional setbacks. We must not lose heart or become pessimistic. Our present failure must be treated as merely a temporary setback.
I wish now to analyse the three stages of the National Revolution and to point out the objectives and the nature of each stage. The period between 1894 and 1911 may be called the first stage of the National Revolution. The object of the Revolution was the overthrow of the Manchu regime while the Revolution was a democratization process in nature. The achievements of the democratization process was the overthrow of the system of monarchical rule, the establishment of the Republic of China, the promulgation of the Provisional Constitution and the establishment of a parliamentary form of government. The 34-year period between 1911 and 1945 may be called the second stage of the National Revolution. The objective of the Revolution at this stage was the overthrow of warlordism and imperialism exemplified by the warlords. During the first phase of this stage between 1912 and 1924, the revolutionary task of our party was to safeguard the Republic of China and to crush the warlords. During the second phase of this stage dating from 1924, after the northern warlords had been liquidated, our Party came into direct conflict with the imperialists. Later, we embarked on the War of Resistance against Japan. Thus, the second stage of the revolution was in nature a revolution of the Chinese people, the objective being the abolition of the unequal treaties, the defeat of military aggression and the achievement of national independence and freedom. The Revolution entered upon its third stage with the victory over Japan. The objective of the revolution during this stage was liquidation of the fifth columnists of International Communism, namely the Chinese Communists. The Revolution is in the nature of a social struggle. It is also a revolution of the people for the achievement of democracy, because every single person, male or female, every family, rich or poor, and every social custom has become an object of liquidation by the Communists. In other words, the whole Chinese people has been dragged into this social and cultural struggle. The present situation is such that so long as the Kuomintang is prepared to continue the suppression campaign against the Communists in order to save the Chinese people and to assume the burden of the Revolution and national reconstruction, the whole nation will give it its full support and look to it for leadership in the struggle against the Communists so that they may regain their freedom and ensure their own survival. Of the three stages of the Revolution, the first stage was in the nature of a political struggle started by revolutionary intellectuals. The second stage was a struggle of the people, because it would not have succeeded without the efforts of the people themselves. The third stage is a social struggle which involves every single Chinese citizen and every single family. Nobody can place himself outside the struggle because everyone has to make a choice between life and death, honor and disgrace, freedom and slavery. It is clear from a study of the three stages that the Revolution is increasing in scope, that its effects are getting more and more far-reaching and that the struggle between the revolutionary elements and the counter-revolutionary elements are getting progressively more bitter. Accordingly, the task of the Revolution has become increasingly more difficult and members of the revolutionary party will be subject to tests of increasing severity. Furthermore, it is to be expected that the nearer the Revolution approaches completion, the more severe will be its setbacks.
I wish to point out, by referring to our failures during the past 55 years in the history of the National Revolution, that the defeat we suffer today is but a passing phase, in the progress of the Revolution and that we should not allow such defeats to weaken our faith in the final success of the revolution. The success of the 1911 Revolution was achieved after ten failures because the revolutionaries under Dr. Sun Yat-sen were prepared to risk their lives and their all for the Revolution. Following the 1911 Revolution, they were met with one reverse after another. When the Tung Meng Hui was founded, many people did not fully appreciate the significance of the Three People’s Principles. They joined the Party merely because they thought that it was opposed to the Manchu regime. After the Manchu regime had been overthrown and the Republic of China established, many Party members labored under the illusion that since the revolutionary forces had succeeded, there was no longer any necessity to have a revolutionary party. The Tung Meng Hui was reorganized into the Kuomintang which engaged in meetings and other activities common to other political parties. The Kuomintang was so infiltrated with bureaucrats and politicians that the morale of the party went lower and lower. Thanks to their bitter struggles and personal sacrifices over a period of 20 years, a handful of Tung Meng Hui members were able to overthrow the Manchu regime and to establish the Republic of China. But in 1913, the effort of the Kuomintang to crush Yuan Shi-kai completely collapsed in one single month, although it possessed over a million members and an army of several hundred thou sand. The revolutionary forces were virtually liquidated. Working in league with the imperialists, Yuan Shi-kai dissolved the Parliament, abolished the Provisional Constitution, sold out the interests of the nation and planned for the establishment of a monarchical form pf government. Awed by Yuan Shi-kai’s power, such party members as Hu Ying and Sun Yu-kwen lost their courage and placed themselves in the hands of the enemy. As was said by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, our morale took a nosedive at the first blow from outside and friends became total strangers in time of trouble. The cruelty of the blow was beyond description. That marked the first failure of the National Revolution since 1911.
In 1914, Dr. Sun Yat-sen organized the Chinese Revolutionary Party with a few trusted Party members. The organization of the Party led to the expedition against Yuan Shi-kai in 1915 and the campaign to uphold the Provisional Constitution in 1917. In 1918, however, when Dr. Sun Yat-sen resigned his post as Supreme Commander, a military government was organized by seven political leaders who then attempted to talk peace with the warlords. Thus, the campaign to uphold the Provisional Constitution ended in failure. In denouncing the military government, Dr. Sun Yat-sen said that instead of fighting, the leaders worked in league with the enemy, that in talking peace, they were only interested in personal gains and that they sought to enrich themselves by resorting to questionable methods and to satisfy their desires without regard for principles. This was the second failure of the National Revolution.
In 1920, the Kwangtung Army was instructed to return to Kwangtung. At an emergency meeting of the Parliament in Canton, Dr. Sun Yat-sen was elected President. To the sagging revolutionary effort, that came as a tremendous shot in the arm. However, when Chen Chun-ming staged a revolt in 1921, Dr. Sun Yat-sen suffered another severe setback. The Government Building was destroyed by gunfire, the Parliament was disbanded or killed. That was the third failure of the National Revolution since the establishment of the Republic of China.
Later, Chen Chun-ming was defeated and fled to the East River area. Dr. Sun Yat-sen returned to Canton and devoted his energy to the reorganization of the party. Furthermore, he established the Whampoa Military Academy which was to form tire backbone of the revolutionary forces. In the next 25 years, the nation was successfully engaged in the suppression of the northern warlords, the campaign against the bandits and the War of Resistance against Japan. The difficulties experienced at that time were certainly no less formidable than the difficulties we experience today. In 1925, while Dr. Sun Yat-sen was directing the campaign against Tsao Kun and Wu Pei-fu, he was threatened by Chen Chun-ming in the East River area on the one hand and by revolts staged by the commercial interests in Canton led by Chen Lien-po on the other. Dr. Sun Yat-sen had no alternative but to order his troops to return to Canton. That was the fourth failure of the National Revolution since the establishment of the Republic of China.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen went to the North and died in Peiping. Grieved as we were, the National Revolutionary Army was able to subdue Chen Chun-ming, conclude the Eastern Expedition with success and unify the whole Kwangtung province. However, since the Second National Congress of the Party met in January, 1926, till March 21 when the Communist plot was exposed during the “Chungshan” warship incident, our Party was practically dominated by the Communists. This is one of the most tragic episodes in die revolutionary annals of our Party and registered the fifth failure of our National Revolution.
When our National Revolutionary Army started the Northern Expedition and conquered all the provinces along the Yangtze valley in a brief period of 9 months, Wang Ching-wei conspired with the Communists to divide our Party and created the so-called “Nanking-Hankow Split,” thereby reducing the fruit of our Northern Expedition practically to nil. This is the sixth failure of our National Revolution.
The National Revolutionary Army resumed its Northern Expedition in 1926, whereupon Japanese imperialists manufactured the “Tragedy of May 3,” and ordered troops into Tsinan to block our advance. The cause of our National Revolution suffered a severe blow. This is the seventh failure of our National Revolution.
Our National Revolutionary Army, far from being disheartened by all these setbacks, became more resolute than ever and advanced with renewed strength. Peiping was soon captured and our mission fulfilled. While the National Government was busily engaged in reconstruction and rehabilitation, Soviet Russia started trouble in the Northeast, resulting in the Khabarovsk Protocol of 1929 and the Japanese imperialists concocted the Mukden incident on September 18, 1931. This is the eighth failure of our National Revolution.
Since then, the National Government of the Republic of China fought Japan at Shanghai, Yukwan, Jehol, and the Great Wall Each time we lost the battle, but each time our National Revolutionary Army emerged with even greater vigor and firmer determination. At the same time we joined forces with the Communists in Kiangsi, Fuchow and West Hunan. In addition to that, the separatist movements of Outer Mongolia and Sinkiang Province instigated by Soviet Russia were under way. The misfortune of the nation culminated in the Sian incident which brought the entire country to a state of bewilderment. This is the ninth failure of our National Revolution.
The cause of our National Revolution had suffered ten setbacks at the time of the Revolution in 1911. But the nine setbacks which we have sustained since the establishment of the Republic should teach members of our Party a lesson which they should never forget as long as they live. These nine setbacks have shown us that after everyone of them, the opportunists hitherto hidden in the Party immediately changed their allegiance and betrayed the Party for selfish gains. At the same time, there were loyal members who, undaunted by brute force, indifferent to failures and unconcerned with sacrifice, adhered to the cause of the Party and grouped themselves together as one man, daring all and sharing all, for the sake of the salvation of the country. They upheld the Party’s discipline when it was at its lowest ebb; they reorganized the Party when the Party’s organization had been torn to shreds. Thus, they overcame all difficulties. They brought victory to the cause of the Revolution. They achieve the almost impossible because they had been guided by the principles and programs of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, inspired by the heroic sacrifice of the revolutionary martyrs and supported by a great majority of the patriotic people. From this historical lesson of our Revolution, we should know that if we keep our unshakable faith in the cause of the revolution, if we fight for the cause with unwavering determination, we shall score the final victory for our Revolution.
This is the tenth failure of our Party since the establishment of the Republic. Having met with such a dismal failure, we expect that the present deterioration in morale and discipline would take a turn for the worse. But this is merely a repetition of the past failures of our Party in the last fifty-five years.
Our loyal members must realize that the Communists are more cunning and ferocious than Yuan Shih-kai and the strength of their organization is far greater than that of the former Northern warlords. However, their fighting power is far inferior to that of the Japanese militarists. At the same time the power of our Party not only exceeds our power during the revolutionary periods of 1913, 1918 and 1921 but also surpasses our power during the Northern Expedition and the War of Resistance against Japan.
We need not be discouraged, for we are sure of final victory. The key to this victory lies in whether or not we can have a healthy organization, a clearcut policy and thorough reform of our Party through revolutionary fervor and rigid discipline.
In 1914, when the National Revolutionary Party was established, there were only a little more than three hundred members. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was not discouraged by the desertion of Party members. Instead, he brought great improvement to the Party by laying down the principle of qualitative selection of Party members. In 1924, when he was in Canton, he was opposed in the North by Wu Pei-fu and Sun Chuan-fang, threatened in the East by Chen Chun-ming and betrayed from within by Yang Hsi-min and Liu Cheng-hwan. But he went ahead with his reform of the Party regardless of all these difficulties.
Every condition today is superior to that obtaining in 1914 and 1924. I, therefore, sincerely hope that all the loyal members of the Party would with one accord follow the legacy of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, study the program of Party reform and carry it out so that there will be a bright-future for our Revolution.
The Party reform which we are now undertaking is, from the negative point of view, to search for our past mistakes and to do penitence for our sins. We must absolutely do away with defeatism, cliquish rivalry and bureaucracy. In this great epoch, any of our members whose thinking, behavior, conception and living cannot pass the test should be expelled from the Party without the least compunction; If our loyal members could give up their former dishonest and arrogant selves and their pessimism and defeatism and unite with our patriots at home and abroad to organize the millions of the masses in a fight for survival and freedom, then nor anti-Communist struggle would certainly end in victory.
From the positive point of view, we should first lay a firm foundation for the Party and decide on its policy. With this as the basis, we can then decide on the principle of organization and the direction of our work. This is the basic problem of the Party. We must comprehend the present requirements of the National Revolution before we can arrive at the correct solutions.
First, the anti-Communist war is national anti-aggression war. During the first part of April this year, the Communist bandits openly announced that they would fight on the side of Russia if there should be a Third World War. At the beginning of July, Mao Tse-tung announced his “lean-to-one-side” policy and reaffirmed his stand on the side of the Russians. He also exposed his criminal intrigue in trying to cause the Third World War and use our compatriots as cannon fodder.
The Kuomintang has been fighting for China’s freedom and equality for a period of fifty-five years. The Party has identified itself with the fate of the country. China’s fate will be a deciding factor for the security in the Far East and world peace. We should promote nationalism and appeal to all the patriots who do not want to see the nation go to the dogs line up at the world’s anti-Communist front.
In the present Party reform, we should have a wide perspective. All our compatriots who are determined in their anti-Communism may be considered as our Party comrades. We should have faith in ourselves-faith in the fact that our anti-Communist struggle would naturally follow the road of the Three People’s Principles. Our Party cadres should assist and cooperate with all the patriotic anti-Communist elements to fight on the side of the masses who cannot stand the oppression and intimidation of the Communists. They should, in spite of hardships and difficulties, identify themselves with the masses and join them at the anti-Communist camp. Wherever there is an anti-Communist struggle, there is the very bed from which our Party grows.
Second, the anti-Communist war is a democratic war against totalitarianism. We should know that what Mao Tse-tung calls the “democratic dictatorship” is the Soviet type of totalitarianism, and that what he calls the “People’s Democratic Republic” is only a nickname for a Soviet satellite. We should know that the national flag, the name and form of the Republic of China and the democratic form of government have been won through countless sacrifices on the part of our patriots under the Kuomintang banner.
The Kuomintang has written a brilliant chapter for itself by bringing about the downfall of the Manchu Dynasty, ridding the country of warlords and leading the War of Resistance against Japan. Today’s facts once more demonstrate that the success and failure of the Party is the key to the life and death of the Republic of China. Today we can join force with all elements at home and abroad who are truly devoted to democracy and patriotism and the masses of people who are struggling under the oppression of the Communists for survival to fight together to the bitter end against the Communist bandits. In the present Party reform, we are melting political freedom and economic equality in one pot. In organization we should bring together democracy and concentration of power so that the Kuomintang may become the revolutionary democratic political party to carry out its mission of fighting Communism.
Third, the anti-Communist war is a social war involving the freedom of every citizen and every family. It is also a war for the preservation of our long history, lofty ethics and moral code which is centered on benevolence and love. We should realize that the political struggle of the Communist bandits is based on the social struggle. Its military mobilization is motivated by the social struggle. Their so-called land reform is to destroy radically the order of the rural community and mobilize exhaustively the manpower and material resources of the farms. Their present urban policy calling for the removal of factories, dispersion of the citizens, control of residents and food supply is to ruin alike both the cities and villages. It is also aimed at utilizing all available manpower and material resources for war. Their destruction of the family system and the discarding of the national morality is to eliminate our national thinking and conception of freedom and liberty so as to make the citizens become the unprotesting slaves of the aliens.
In short, all the Communists’ party, political and military moves are based on social struggles. Therefore, though the anti-Communist war is a national, democratic war, its success or failure is not decided by military and political factors alone but also by social and cultured factors. The present social struggles of the Communists are directed toward the destruction of our entire -society. Their cultural work is directed toward the destruction of our history and culture. Therefore, what they are doing is directly opposed to Chinese nation, society and culture.
The present party reform is to examine the members of the Party, lay a solid foundation, draw a plan for the cultural work of the Party with the object of making the Party grow from the basic levels of society and develop from the basis of its cultural dynamics. It is aimed at making all the members work for the masses. We must be able to carry this out before our Party can put into practice the Principle of the People’s Livelihood for the solution of the present economic and social problems.
The National Revolution consists of three parts: the revolution for national independence, the revolution for democracy and the revolution for social justice. The Revolution cannot be considered as accomplished unless and until the whole of China enjoys freedom, equality and abundance. The mission which must be fulfilled in the third stage of our National Revolution is to reform our society in the course of social struggle, thereby destroying the very root of the Communist insurrection and depriving the Communist bandits of the very ground of their existence. It may be recalled that after the success of the 1911 Revolution Dr. Sun Yat-sen clearly realized that political democracy must be built upon the basis of economic equality. He therefore retired from the Presidency and devoted himself to industrial enterprise and education by way of social reform. He traveled extensively to popularize socialism and to formulate his fundamental principles of social reform. In 1921, he wrote his “International Development of China” as a blueprint for the implementation of his Principle of People’s Livelihood. After the reform of our Party in 1924, Dr. Sun Yar-sen gave public lectures on his Three People’s Principles, in which he pointed out that the motivating force of history is not material but the people’s will to live. He taught us that the people’s livelihood is the center of all problems. I myself promulgated the Outline of the National Economic Reconstruction Movement just before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan. On the eve of victory, I again laid down a Ten-year post-War Plan for National Reconstruction. I have always strived for the realization of the Principle of the People’s Livelihood and the goal of social reform. But we must frankly admit that our Party has done more for the political phase of our National Revolution than for the economic and social phases. Many of our members speak for social reform theory while in practice they rarely go into the heart of society and work for social improvement. Thus they incurred the criticism of being "leftists in thought but rightists in action." When this was the fashion of our Party members, the organization, work and spirit of our Party become such that they were no longer fit to bear the heavy responsibility of implementing the Principle of People’s Livelihood and social reform. Today, in this third stage of our National Revolution not only must we defeat the Communist bandits in the social struggle, but we must also outdo them in social reform. Unfortunately our Party has not been energetic enough in promoting social reconstruction in support of our anti-Communist war. Worse than that, we have not done all we can to stop Communist espionage and to prevent the virus of Communism from corrupting our society behind the front, poisoning our armed forces in action and even contaminating the very heart of our own Party. This is the greatest humiliation to which our Party has ever been subjected. It is also the greatest defeat which our cause of National Revolution has ever suffered. Hereafter, we must penetrate into the substratum of society and establish contact with the maximum number of people. We must continue the social struggle through social reconstruction. Otherwise, we shall never be able to attain the objects of our Party reform.
Members of the Party, both previous Party reforms in 1914 and in 1924 took place after the Party had suffered unprecedented difficulties, failure and humiliation. This was not accidental. Had our Revolution met with no failure, our Party would not have had the benefit of these two successful reforms. Do not forget that failure is a strict master to the inferior, and defeat a severe test of the strong. Only defeat could furnish us with the opportunity to correct our errors and only defeat could fortify our spirit. Only defeat could enable the Party to rid itself of black sheep and achieve greater solidarity among the faithful. Only defeat could afford the Party the occasion to examine afresh its mistakes and adopt the correct Party program. Today, in this our most difficult moment we reform our Party. The soulless have surrendered to the enemy; the shameless have betrayed the Party. The disappointed have left us; the depressed in spirit would only complain and whine. I blame myself for the Party’s failure and can not help feeling uneasy and remorseful. Yet we are not witnessing anything like a change of dynasty which is not uncommon in the long course of our history. Neither is the present situation in any way similar to the scuffles among various war lords. This is a struggle which will determine the rise or fall of our country and the continuance or extinction of our culture. The Communist bandits have at last lifted their mask of democracy and exposed their bestial faces before the people. They are subverting our social structure, strangling our traditional culture, betraying our nation and wrecking our Republic. They are no longer hiding their monstrous crimes but are pursuing their criminal course under the staring eyes of the whole world.
Members of the Party: As long as we remain citizens of our Republic, we must not abandon this inescapable responsibility of national salvation. As long as we can honestly call ourselves faithful disciples of the Three People’s Principles and fighters for the National Revolution, we shall not fail to see the defeat of the Communist bandits and the success of our National Revolution. We shall not be unduly elated with short-lived success or unduly dejected at temporary failure. We must realize that every industrial town the Communist bandits occupy is a ruined economic center and that every rural village they pillage is a famine district. Everywhere they go social life is suffocated and the people impoverished. They can never control the whole country. They have, on the contrary, lost the good will of all thinking citizens and redoubled their anti-Communist determination. That is why the people in the Communist-controlled area are rising against Communist tyranny. During the War of Resistance against Japanese militarists, what the people were fighting for was the independence of our country. Today, it is the existence of every family and every individual. Once their potential in the anti-Communist war is utilized, it is bound to exceed that of the people during the War of Resistance against Japan. Sun-tze said: “Fight the superior enemy and prepare for defeat.” That the Communist bandits are doomed to defeat is clear to everyone, whereas the determination of our Party to serve and save the country for the last fifty-five year has convinced the people of our patriotism. The responsibility now resting on our shoulders is to annihilate the Communist bandits and save by all means and at all costs our people. Today millions of our people are suffering in the Communist-controlled area and longing for liberation. As to the people behind the frontline, they understand very well that the future of our Party is closely related to the destiny of the nation and the welfare of the people. They know that only under a government led by our Party can they ever hope to find freedom. In the eyes of all patriotic people, the line between their friends and foes is crystal clear. The road ahead of them is obvious.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen said in the Kuomintang Manifesto of 1923: “In our present revolution, we are among the people but serve them as guides. What we are concerned is the people’s welfare; what we have to express is the people’s will. Before they understand the cause of the revolution, we have to educate them. Not only that, we must always stand as their vanguards even if that involves all kinds of risk and all sorts of difficulties. After they understand the cause of the revolution, we must cooperate with them in working tirelessly for its success. So, the revolution should be started with the people and accomplished by the people.” Now, if members of our Party can find out the will and needs of the people, act in conformity with their will, face all dangers and difficulties, go right into their anti-Communist ranks: lead them on in accordance with the Three People’s Principle, then, they will rally to our revolutionary emblem and march with us with one heart and one soul. Our Revolution and the task of national reconstruction will achieve final victory through our present struggle against aggression, totalitarianism and enslavement. Therefore, this is the day for us to reform our Party, revive our National Revolution and carry out the Three People’s Principles.
Members of our Party, the Three People’s Principles are results of extensive study and profound thinking, and our Party is an all embracing organization. Since the creation of the Party by Dr. Sun Yat-sen the Party has been rather tolerant towards the members. Sometimes the Party considered too generously the members’ past record and treated them so sentimentally that the discipline of the Party suffered. This has unfavorably affected the progress of the Revolution. Now that the National Revolution has entered its third stage, in which the whole Party is engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Communist bandits, any negligence of a component organization means destruction and every mistake of a comrade means setbacks for the Party. Therefore, the Party must be tighter in organization, more wary in action and more strict in discipline.
After the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Party’s executives passed this resolution on Party discipline: “When our Founder was with us, his personality was the safeguard of the Party’s principle and program. Now he is no longer with us the safeguard of all his teachings can only be the Party’s discipline. The faith in his personality and the acceptance of his teachings are the bases of the party’s discipline. All members of the Party must regard Party discipline as their invisible Founder of the Party. Only thus will the task of our National Revolution be speedily accomplished.” With the present reform of the Party, we must reiterate this resolution. In order to safeguard the victory of our anti-Communist struggle and fulfill the mission of our National Revolution, we must tighten the Party’s discipline.
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One who thinks of propriety in the face of profit should do like-wise in the presence of a beautiful woman, for in this way one will be able to put a stop to all improper desires.
Lu Shih-yi