My fellow countrymen:
The National Revolution, which was led by our Founding Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in keeping with God's will and the people's aspirations, triggered the Wuchang uprising 64 years ago today. The whole nation rose up in response. Subsequently, despotic rule was overthrown and the Republic established. The glory of the nation was further enhanced by the late President Chiang Kai-shek, who took up Dr. Sun's unfinished tasks, repelled the foreign aggressors, wiped out the domestic traitors, defeated evil with justice and subdued the force of violence with the strength of benevolence. At this time of rapid change in the world situation and of increasing Communist threat, the position we occupy in Asia is as crucial as a monolith in midstream. This has added to the historic significance of our National Day celebrations.
All fellow countrymen, military and civilian alike, are jubilantly celebrating this auspicious and glorious occasion. Yet each of us is held in the grip of a special sorrow, for President Chiang passed away on April 5 of this year and is no longer physically here to lead us in the observance of our National Day. However, the light of his great spirit will shine upon us always and the strength of his determination will guide us eternally. He emblazoned for us a signpost showing the direction of our endeavors, laid the indestructible foundation of our bastion of national recovery and left us a foresighted and far reaching blueprint for national construction. The love and loyalty of all our people for the late President, our sincere and pious respect for him, and our determination, faithfulness and per severance m carrying out his last instructions reveal a spirit of self reliance and of solidarity in mind and action.
Since their usurpation of the Chinese mainland more than twenty years ago, the Chinese Communists have inflicted vicious and atrocious persecutions upon our mainland compatriots. They have engaged in recurrent struggles within their party in an attempt to prolong their totalitarian rule. Recently, they have taken alarm at the confused thinking of their cadres and at the endless turmoil of overt and covert struggle. They have therefore dusted off the worn-out shibboleths of "studying the theory of the proletarian dictatorship " and "restricting the legal rights of the bourgeoisie." They have demanded that cadres of all levels "study proletarian theory" and sustain the process of political purge. From the disinclination of their cadres at various levels to study proletarian theory, we can discern that the dogfight between political lines continues. This dogfight has exposed the contradictions and rigidity of the Peiping regime's power structure and has raised a surging tide of mainland people and Communist party cadres to oppose Communism and Mao Tse-tung. We can assert that Peiping's claims of "stability" and "solidarity" are intended to cover up, even though unsuccessfully, the realities of turmoil and disruption.
Chinese Communist newspapers and magazines recently launched a campaign to "criticize Water Margin." They criticize Sung Chiang, the protagonist of the novel, and accuse him of "following the capitulationist line" and of "following the revisionist line." This implies that at present there are figures resembling Sung Chiang in the Chinese Communist hierarchy who will rise up to grapple for power and undertake posthumous attack against Mao the moment he is dead. The criticizing of Sung Chiang serves as a warning to the anti-Maoists of the party. It is also the groaning of Mao in his death throes.
Living in the crucible of Maoist spiritual and corporal torture, all our compatriots on the mainland have the utmost hatred against the Maoists and are determined to oppose the tyrant to the death. Now the workers, especially, are rising up en masse and rapidly and enthusiastically proliferating their stop-work and stop-production movement. The peasants have entered upon a movement of "eating up, using up and dividing up everything." The alliance of workers and peasants has touched off anti-Communist and anti-Mao flames everywhere. The pre-Republic history of our National Revolution tells us that on the eve of the Wuchang uprising in 1911, all the New Forces in all provinces had braced them selves for struggle and all patriotic compatriots had fervently looked forward to revolution. The mood of our compatriots on the main land today, including the disillusioned Maoist cadres, resembles that of the members of the New Forces and the pre-Wuchang patriots.
We are confronted by an un paralleled situation, in which justice is challenged by violence and freedom by slavery. Whether the free nations have the foresighted ness and courage to meet such a challenge will decide their weal or woe as well as the safety or peril of humankind. First, we must ask: Why does the Peiping regime seek to "rebel against the world? " Why does it clamor that "great disorder under heaven is a good thing?" And why does it try to deceive the so-called "third world? The answer is simple: Peiping wants to exploit the contradictions of the world so that it can fish in troubled waters, take advantage of the distress of others and carry out its conspiracy of dividing and conquering. In their attempt to break up the anti Communist front, the Chinese Communists have put on a smiling face, pretended to be friendly and generated a smokescreen of détente. Mao Tse-tung believes: "People will think a lie is true after it has been repeated a thousand times." If the free nations believe the Maoist lies, accept the phony as the real and regard foes as friends, they will fall into the Communist trap and can never escape.
As a consequence of rampant appeasement and rising Communist ferocity, some free nations have lost their direction and deviated from their principles. They have gone so far as to seek detente with the Communists in the hope of buying a few moments of peace. Others have adopted "a foreign policy of befriending Communist and a domestic policy of anti-Communism." Such a practice can only get them in to trouble and will leave no room for retreat. We all know that in external expansion the Communist goal is to communize the whole world and that so-called "detente" and "negotiation" are different means for reaching this objective. The Communists cherish no love for any free country. They will never change in their antagonism toward the free world. If we look deeply into the ugly face concealed behind the mask, we shall understand that Peiping will never withdraw support from the Communists of various countries and will never abandon its conspiracies to devour these countries merely because they have become "friendly" and entered into "diplomatic relations." The tragedy of Indo china once again verified that the illusions of detente and appeasement do not help improve the world situation and that, to the contrary, these illusions will aggravate Communist ferocity and exacerbate the tragedy of human kind.
The Republic of China will always remain firmly in the democratic camp and adhere to its anti Communist policy. Internally, we shall carry out constitutional government, respect the wishes and aspirations of the people, defend their rights and interests, and promote their welfare and happiness. Externally, we shall pro mote international cooperation, fulfill international obligations and ensure world peace. We want to join hands with all nations that love freedom and respect justice so as to struggle shoulder to shoulder for the ideal of a world of great harmony and bring humankind into the realm of freedom and peace. In this bewildered world, we have been actively using all channels to promote our political, cultural, economic and trade relations with the free nations in an effort to break through the cordon of international appeasement and smash the united front scheme of the Peiping regime. In this way we shall contribute our crucial position as an anti-Communist outpost and our high goals of national recovery and national construction to the great under taking; of human peace and free dom. This is our consistent policy and unanimously determined position. We shall never move from this position nor change this policy regardless of how the world situation may change.
The Republic of China has taken up the sacred and solemn task of reconstructing Taiwan, recovering the mainland and serving as the vanguard of the global anti-Communist forces. Today, in the anti-Communist bastion of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, we have built a powerful military strength, made rapid progress in economic development, scored great successes in various construction projects and steadily elevated the people's standard of living. All these put together equate to our solid national strength. These are the realities that give us unshakeable confidence for the accomplishment of our sacred and solemn task: Armed forces of the highest morale; reserve forces that are combat ready; people who are working hard at their posts of construction; overseas Chinese who enthusiastically support the free fatherland despite Communist threats and temptations; and mainland compatriots who are rising up against totalitarianism and enslavement in fervent pursuit of democracy and freedom. These are clear evidences that all Chinese belong to one entity and share a common will and that they are helping one another like passengers aboard a ship in stormy weather. No matter where they are - at home or abroad, in front of or behind the enemy lines, the people have succeeded in forging themselves into one combat body.
Our construction undertakings have made progress because national defense has been combined with the people's livelihood, the economy serves the people, and government and people work together. All our accomplishments are to be attributed to the guidance of San Min Chu I (the Three Principles of the People), and are rooted in the soil of Chinese culture. We believe that only when our thought is guided and our actions are supported by San Min Chu I can we restore and expand the foundation of national independence, democracy and social well-being, and that only through the implementation of San Min Chu I can we assure the renaissance of Chinese culture. The benevolent rule of Sail Min Chu I here in our bastion of construction provides a striking contrast to the tyranny of Communism on the Chinese mainland. So we shall use the experience of our San Min Chu I construction as the basis for reconstruction of the recovered mainland. We also shall use the light of Chinese culture to penetrate the darkness of the Communist world and expose the true face of Communism.
Only when one helps himself can he expect help from others. Only when one establishes him self can he make himself strong. At this time we must further strengthen ourselves, persevere and work harder to channel all our strength into construction so as to augment our achievements. We must devote all our effort to fighting against Communism to the victorious end. We should recognize and carry out the following:
- Politically and socially, we need to renovate the political climate so as to set an example for improvement of social morale.
- Psychologically and physically, we have to strengthen our mental reconstruction in order to assure the success of material reconstruction.
- Legally and democratically, we must practice the rule of law in order to achieve genuine democracy.
My fellow countrymen: The mainland is yet to be recovered; the scourge of Communism goes on. Our land of more than 10 million square kilometers is still under Communist occupation; our 700 million compatriots are still waiting for us to set them free. This is the most solemn and decisive moment in the shaping of our destiny and that of our ensuing generations. Our Founding Father said: "The destiny of a country is to be decided by its citizens." "National Revolution is the duty of all the people." The late President Chiang Kai-shek said: "I regard as my personal responsibility the nation's rise or fall; I leave aside' concern for my own life or death." Our sense of responsibility is goading us; our self-confidence is encouraging us. All our fellow countrymen, military and civilian alike, must con tribute their intelligence, energy and determination to mainland recovery and dedicate themselves to this great undertaking. Maoist cadres must make their timely decision and come over to us. We must be sincere and frank with each other. Let the inside respond to the outside and join forces. Then the iniquitous Maoists can be destroyed and our mainland compatriots liberated.
My fellow countrymen: The situation is ripe for another Wuchang uprising; the torch of the third phase of the National Revolution is shining brightly. Every one of us should heed the late President's last will and testament. Every one of us is essential in the implementation of San Min Chu I. Every one of us is a vanguard of mainland recovery. Everyone of us is an advance guard for national cultural revival. Every one of us is a defender of democracy. This is the dawn of the reconstruction of China.
"The helm of history" is in our hands. So is "the key to victory." Let us sail straight ahead to accomplish the historic mission of restoring benevolent rule and putting down tyranny. The glorious victory of national recovery and reconstruction is waiting for us.