Overseas Chinese in many parts of the free world honored the late founder of the Chinese Republic, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, on his 91st birthday anniversary on November 12 with reverence and solemnity.
All the overseas Chinese groups then visiting Free China held a luncheon party at Peitou in the suburbs of Taipei to mark the auspicious occasion. Many of them were aged overseas Chinese who took part in the revolution led by Dr. Sun in the early 1900's against the Manchu rulers in China.
The Communist attempt to lure overseas Chinese back to the mainland under the pretext of celebrating Dr. Sun's birthday had failed. In Singapore, an old friend of the late Dr. Sun said on November 12 that he had rejected an invitation from the Chinese Communist "Prime Minister" Chou En-lai to attend the celebration in Peiping.
Mr. Chew Hean Swee, 73, said: "Although I am old, I still have the dignity not to sell myself for a place under Mao Tse-tung."
In Tokyo, six hundred Chinese residents gathered that day at a meeting in commemoration of the 91st birthday of the late Father of the Republic of China.
The meeting, held at the Shibuya Hall, was sponsored jointly by the Chinese Overseas Association in Japan and the Kuomintang branch headquarters there.
In Seoul, the Chinese community also celebrated Dr. Sun's birthday. Members of the Kuomintang held a ceremony in the morning. In the evening a soiree was held by the Chinese residents in Seoul with a colorful program including free movies.
In New York, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association held a reception with Chinese Consul-General Chang Ping-chun as the principal speaker.
The Kuomintang's branch in eastern United States and its sub-branch in New York held similar receptions.
In Manila, the Chinese community held a ceremony in celebration of Dr. Sun's birthday. They ignored Peiping's invitation to them to return to Red China to observe Dr. Sun's birthday.
In Bangkok, the Chinese community celebrated Dr. Sun's birthday anniversary at the Chinese Military Attache's Office.
President Chiang's 70th Birthday
Free Chinese all over the world celebrated the 70th birthday of President Chiang Kai-shek on October 31 in spite of the fact that he had tried to dissuade them from doing so beforehand.
Many congratulatory messages poured in from overseas Chinese.
Fifty-five overseas Chinese groups had arrived from different parts of the world to take part in the celebrations held in Taipei. A total of 1,237 Chinese from abroad were included in the groups.
The Sheum circus, a noted overseas Chinese circus recently on a visit to Taipei, arranged a special program on the occasion of the President's birthday. A lion was specially shipped to Taipei from abroad as a gift to the President.
Among the numerous birthday presents brought in by overseas Chinese were a gold-bedecked birthday cake, a gilded model of a military housing unit, a gold plaque engraved in typical Chinese fashion, a 40-inch ivory statue of longevity, and an embroidered map of China.
Abroad, the birthday of the President was also celebrated with appropriate ceremonies. Receptions were held by the Chinese communities in San Francisco, Tokyo, Manila, Paris, Rome and other places.
Taiwan-Mainland Contrast
Ten visiting overseas Chinese from Hongkong and Macao, who had made trips to the Chinese mainland before coming here, described the difference between the life of the people under the Red regime and that of free Chinese here in Taiwan in a press conference held recently in Taipei.
Li Hsuan-chung, a member of the group, declared what he saw during his stay in Free China had belied the propaganda of the Communist regime. Having seen with his own eyes how the people under the Red tyranny on the mainland were suffering, both physically and spiritually, Li firmly believed that once a counterattack is launched from Taiwan, the entire population on the mainland will rally around Free China's anti-Communist forces.
Li Chuan-tien said that when he saw his mother on the mainland, the first words she said were: "Why have you come home? Go away quickly. I don't want you to come back and nobody likes to see you here." On the other hand, according to him, he was deeply moved when he came ashore at Keelung and saw every face smiling—a scene which he did not find on the mainland.
Wu Sheng-teh pointed out that the Communists gave some land to the poor farmers luring the initial stage of their land reform program but very promptly took the land away from the farmers under the pretext of Agricultural cooperatives. He said the land reform on Taiwan has given real benefit to the farming population.
Miss Pan Hsuen-mei said that when she first came to Taiwan, Chairman Cheng Yin-fun of the Overseas Affairs Commission wanted her to report to him anything she night find unsatisfactory on this island. By contrast, she said, no Red official would dare to say anything like that to visiting overseas Chinese.
All ten members of the group went to the mainland as a result of the Communist "Return Home" campaign, but they lost no time in getting out of the Bamboo Curtain after being totally disillusioned by what they saw there.
Overseas Chinese Day
President Chiang Kai-shek warned the 13,000,000 Chinese abroad against Communist intrigues to lure them into slavery under the plea of false patriotism. He called upon all overseas Chinese to seek closer unity among themselves and to win the sympathy and support of their respective local communities.
In a message delivered on the fourth Overseas Chinese Day, Oct. 21, the President said the overseas Chinese need closer cooperation among themselves so that their economic and cultural potentialities may be further developed. He asked them to help strengthen the friendly ties between Free China and the local populations through cooperation and mutual help.
The President condemned the Communist plot of sowing dissension among the overseas Chinese. He said the Communists not only make themselves stooges of Soviet Russia, but also try to trap the overseas Chinese with lies about peace and patriotism. He lauded the firm anti-Communist stand of the overseas Chinese despite the Communists' threats and feigned sweet reasonableness.
President Chiang characterized the international situation as clearing up every day. He saw the anti-Communist movements spreading far and wide on the Chinese mainland. He asked the overseas brethren to do their part in the recovery of the China mainland and in the furtherance of world peace.
Other speakers on the occasion were Vice President Chen Cheng, Premier O. K. Yui and Chairman of the Overseas Affairs Commission Cheng Yin-fun, all of whom urged the overseas Chinese to do their duty by supporting the anti-Communist cause.
Some 6,000 overseas Chinese and civic representatives gathered at the Armed Forces Stadium in Taipei in celebration of the Overseas Chinese Day. Meanwhile, the Overseas Chinese Correspondence School with an enrolment of 3,535 was formally inaugurated while the Overseas Chinese Middle School at Panchiao near Taipei celebrated its first anniversary.
Economic Conference
A three-day Overseas Chinese Economic Conference, jointly sponsored by the Overseas Affairs Commission, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Affairs was officially inaugurated at the Taipei City Hall on October 28. It was the third world-wide overseas Chinese Conference held in Free China's capital. A meeting of such magnitude was in itself an evidence of the loyalty of the 13,000,000 overseas Chinese to Free China.
The conference was attended by 267 delegates from the Chinese communities in the Philippines, Thailand, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaya, Indonesia, Burma, India, Hongkong, Macao, Timor, New Zealand, the U. S., Peru and Cuba.
Speaking before the conference, President Chiang Kai-shek urged the overseas Chinese to cooperate with their local governments in a concerted effort to counter Communist aggressive moves. At the same time the President promised full protection of the legal interests of overseas Chinese and agreed to take steps to strengthen their economic well-being.
Premier O. K. Yui, who presided over the opening session, urged overseas Chinese the world over to help bring about the industrialization of their homeland. Only by participating in the industrial development of their fatherland can the overseas Chinese expect to solve their economic difficulties, he emphasized.
Dr. Cheng Yin-fun, Chairman of the Overseas Affairs Commission, set forth four guiding principles in his address to the conference. He urged the overseas Chinese to introduce modern methods into their business and industries, to cooperate with local governments and people, to expand their investments and trade in Free China, and to launch a general counteroffensive against Communist economic infiltration.
While promising protection of the rights of overseas Chinese, Foreign Minister George K. C. Yeh declared at the conference that the Government would never encourage the overseas Chinese to do anything that would infringe upon the sovereignty of their local governments. He called upon the overseas Chinese to cooperate fully with their local governments abroad.
In addressing the closing ceremony of the conference Vice President Chen Cheng told the overseas delegates that the Government would not fail to exert all efforts to carry out the valuable recommendations made at the conference.
In a three-point declaration issued at the close of the conference, the overseas Chinese delegates pledged to cooperate with the governments and people of the countries in which they reside. They also pledged their allegiance to Free China. Meanwhile, they called upon the Government here to take a new look at the overseas Chinese economic development. They pointed out that in addition to encouraging the overseas Chinese to invest in Taiwan, the Government should strengthen the agencies in charge of overseas affairs, render more active financial support to the enterprises of overseas Chinese in Taiwan, improve shipping facilities between Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and build up leadership among the Chinese youths abroad.