Evacuation from North Indo-China
In the wake of the French withdrawal from the Red River Delta, the Chinese Govern has expedited the emergency evacuation of Chinese nationals in north Indo-China. In view of the limited airport facilities at Honoi, two CAT planes have been assigned to facilitate the evacuation of Chinese nationals from that city to . It is planned to airlift 200 Chinese nationals from to every day. Some 2,000 overseas Chinese from the Red River Delta have already arrived in Saigon and 4,000 more have registered with the Chinese Consulate-General at Haoni requesting that they be sent to . A ship is being sent by the Chinese Government to to take the Chinese there to and other points of safety.
The evacuation of 2,500 Chinese nationals from Mancay, a town on the northern border of Indo-China, was completed by the end of July. Half of them went South on foot while the rest, including the aged, women and children, were shipped to by sea. They are being looked after by the Chinese Consulate at for emergency accommodation and transportation on the second leg of their flight to freedom.
Meanwhile, the Chinese nationals in south Indo-China are doing their best to assist the evacuation work. The sum of 1,000,000 piastres has been donated by the Chinese community and kept in for emergency relief work.
Fight against P.I. Retail Trade Law
The Retail Trade Nationalization Act which was signed by President Magsaysay over two months ago dealt a severe blow to the Chinese community in the . All quarters concerned hoped that there will be some remedy for it.
Mr. Ramon M. Durano, chairman of the Industry and Commerce Committee of the Philippine House of Representatives, stated recently that a committee had been set up by President Magsaysay to study the act "with a view to correcting all the injustice and imperfections embodied in it." Mr. Durano promised to do his best "to introduce the necessary amendments to the law so that nothing that can be inferred as unfair to the Chinese and other aliens will remain in the act." He further stated that his colleagues in Congress "did not mean to inflict any hardship on your countrymen in passing the bill to nationalize our retail trade. All of us are motivated by our great desire to help our countrymen.” He stated that the Philippine people "still desire to make improvements on the Act so that in the end the best interests of our countrymen and yours will be served."
Meanwhile, Mr. Liu Wei-chiang appealed on July 27 on behalf of the Chinese retail business dealers in the to the Philippine Supreme Court for an injunction against the application of the nationalization measure. He pointed out that the bill was enacted in violation of the Philippine Constitution as well as in defiance of international and treaty obligations of the .
Citing President Magsaysay's recent declaration calling for better friendship with and more investment from foreign countries, Liu further staled that the Filipinization law is definitely not in line with the President's policy. In conclusion, he asked the Supreme Court to declare the nationalization law illegal and invalid.
Respondents in this case are Mr. Jaime Hernadez, Secretary of Finance, and Marcelino Sarmiento, Manila Treasurer, who are responsible for the enforcement of the retail trade nationalization law. The lawyer for Liu Wei-chiang is Mr. Roman Ozaeta, former Secretary for Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court. Ozeata asked the high tribunal to: 1) Issue an order of injunction prohibiting the Secretary of Finance and the provincial and municipal treasurers from implementing the law pending final decision of the court; 2) Declare the retail trade law "unconstitutional and void on the ground that it infringes the provisions of the Charter of UN, namely, articles 1, 13 and 55, which are against any discrimination; 3) Order the city treasurer to issue a retail license to Lao R. Ichong, whose application was turned down after the law had been passed. The Supreme Court took action on the suit against the retail trade nationalization law on August 3 by ordering the respondents to answer the complaint. The Supreme Court is composed of, it may be added, eleven Justices, and with the approval of eight of them, has the power to declare the said law null and void.
Freedom Tour of Anti-Red Ex-POW s
A group of five anti-Communist ex-POWs, representing the 14,000 ex-POWs repatriated from early this year, left by air on August 8 for the and on a Freedom Tour. At a press conference before their departure, the ex-POWs stated that the main purpose of their trip is to thank the representatives of the 16 United Nations which participated in the Korean War when they visit the United Nations organization in New York during its General Assembly in September for the efforts they made to uphold the principle of non-forcible repatriation. Another purpose is to tell the Chinese nationals living in foreign lands that the tyrannical rule of the Communists has destroyed Chinese culture and reduced the mainland to a land of oppression and that great progress has been made in Free China during the past five years.
The group arrived at on August 10 and received a warm welcome from representatives of the Chinese community. Acting as the interpreter for the group, Mr. Hu Hsu-kwang stated that their mission is "to expose the evils of Communism and to thank the for being the champion of democracy and the defender of peace." He further stated that the five members of the group, four of whom were officers of the Red army, "want to tell the story of how millions of Chinese are facing certain death on the mainland."
The ex-POWs left for on August 16 and will spend a month touring Amerian cities and making television, radio and personal appearances. They hope to have an audience with President Eisenhower and attend the AFL convention in and the American Legion convention in before they leave for other countries.
Study Plan for Overseas Students
A special Commission on education for Chinese youths in has been set up under the Executive Yuan, with Premier O. K. Yui as its chairman. Members of the commission include Mr. Chang-Chi yun, Minister of Education, Dr. George K. C. Yeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Cheng Yin-fun, Chair man of the. Overseas Affairs Commission, Mr. Martin Wong, Secretary-General of , Ambassador Karl Rankin, and Mr. Joseph Brent, Chief of FOA Mutual Security to . The primary purpose of this plan is to encourage overseas Chinese youths to come to Free China for their advanced studies.
It is estimated that a total of 1,300 overseas students from various areas abroad will be admitted to the schools and colleges in Free China for the fall semester, of whom 1,000 will be admitted to the , the , the Taiwan College of Engineering, and the Taiwan College of Agriculture. The rest will enter and the First Girls' Middle School.
A sum of NT$8,670,000 has been appropriated by CUSA and MSA to China as the first installment of a counterpart fund for the classrooms, dormitories, staff quarters and additional equipment which will be urgently needed as a result of the increase in the enrollment.
Entry of Students from Indo-China
In order to enable overseas Chinese students from northern Indo-China to come to Free China to pursue advanced studies, the Overseas Affairs Commission recently announced that a set of provisional regulations governing the entry of overseas Chinese from Indo-China had been approved by the Executive Yuan and would become effective immediately. Under these regulations, all Chinese middle school students and graduates in north Indo-China who wish to continue their studies in Free China may register with the Chinese consulate at or by producing their identification cards, scholastic records and six copies of photographs for each applicant. The Chinese consulate will in turn have them forwarded to the Provincial Peace Preservation Headquarters in for their provisional entry permits. Entry permits have been granted to 280 Chinese students in Indo-China on the recommendation of the Chinese consulates at and . The Ministry of Education will see to it that all these students will be put into the proper classes in various schools and colleges upon their arrival in .
Chinese Leader Visited
Mr. Yun Chu-ting (Kosol Huntrakul), a leading Chinese resident in , arrived in on July 29 from via Thai Airways for consultation with government authorities. He was met at the airport by officials of the Overseas Affairs Commission and his friends in . He stated at a press conference that the overseas Chinese in are patriotic and determined to support Free China. Yun reported on the present conditions of the overseas Chinese in when he was granted an audience by President Chiang Kai-shek. He also called on a number of top-ranking government officials during his brief sojourn in Free China.
Patriotic Chinese in Praised
The loyal and patriotic spirit displayed by the overseas Chinese in despite the difficult conditions confronting them was praised by Premier O. K. Yui when he received a group of nine overseas Chinese from on July 23. Addressing the visiting group, the Premier said that the Government was deeply concerned over the situation of the overseas Chinese in as Communist aggression was gradually spreading throughout . While assuring the visiting Chinese that the Government would do its most to ensure the safety and welfare of the overseas Chinese in the Communist-threatened areas, he urged that they should throw all their weight behind the Government and the people in Free China to defeat the Communists on the mainland.
The group was given an audience by President Chiang Kai-shek on August 6 and by Vice-President Chen Cheng on the next day. On both occasions they presented ancient Indonesian daggers on behalf of the 200,000 Chinese in in token of respect. The visitors were later entertained by the Chinese Mainland Relief Association at a tea party where they donated NT$10,000 for relief work.
Overseas Chinese Investors Association
An Association of Overseas Chinese Investors in will be formed to promote the development of productive enterprises financed with capita) supplied by Chinese communities abroad. During the past two years, over fifty factories have already been moved to from Hongkong, the , and . And many more are coming to the island under the present government policy. In an effort to encourage the influx to of both foreign and overseas Chinese capital, the Chinese Government has, after the enactment of the law on Investment by Foreign Nationals, tabled a bill for overseas investment in with a view to according overseas Chinese investors the same privileges as those of foreign investors.