The Chung Yang Jih Pao (Central Daily News) of November 8 urged Richard M. Nixon to reassert the frontier and democratic spirit of his American forefathers when he takes office as president.
The paper said: "Most Americans still live by this tradition. Sacrifices of American young men in Vietnam is a case in point. They are emulating their forefathers who fought the British colonizers. American self-indulgence can be corrected by emphasizing the frontier spirit.
"Nixon has a deep understanding of world affairs, especially of developments in Asia. Europe has been tense since the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Egypt is seeking revenge against Israel and war in the Middle East may break out again at any time. However, the Russians are aware of the destruction that would ensue from nuclear conflict and dare not go too far.
"The center of gravity of world affairs is still in Asia, not in Europe. President Johnson sent American troops to South Vietnam to stop aggression, then placed public interest above personal ambition by removing himself from the presidential election. He then made the ultimate American concession by ordering a complete bombing halt. Further progress toward peace hinges on the sincerity of Moscow and Hanoi. Nixon soon will take over the task of talking peace with the Communists and we hope he sticks to his position of opposing a coalition government for South Vietnam."
The English-language China Post of November 19 reminded President-elect Nixon of the 81 crew members of the USS Pueblo still held in North Korea.
The paper said: "While attention is focused on the peace negotiations in Paris, the free world seems to have forgotten the 81 crew members of the USS Pueblo who have been under Communist detention since last January 23.
"Nobody can predict when the crew and the intelligence ship will be released. However, one thing is clear: If the United States does not get tough, the North Korean Communists will never release them.
"The Communists know full well that they cannot bury the United States now. Uncle Sam is too strong for them. That is the reason they have been trying to undermine American prestige. They hope to persuade the world that the United States is no more than a paper tiger.
"Unless Washington gets tough, it is playing right into the hands of the Communists. Kim Il Sung is trying to create the impression that the United States cannot protect the free world. His line of reasoning is that Washington cannot be expected to protect other nations if it is helpless in the face of the Pueblo issue.
"Richard M. Nixon will be sworn in as the 37th President of the United States on January 20. In addition to the Vietnam war, which has already become the longest the United States has ever fought, he will face many other difficult problems. One of the most urgent is to secure release of the Pueblo and its surviving crew members. Much more than the safety of the 81 Americans is at stake. All free Asians are watching. We believe Nixon will not disappoint them."
United Daily News - Johnson's bombing halt
The Lien Ho Pao (United Daily News) said November 2 that President Johnson's bombing halt decision over North Vietnam is a dangerous blunder.
The paper said: "President Johnson said the halt could lead to peaceful settlement of the Vietnam war. But the Viet Cong and the free world think otherwise. Even Johnson had to admit that 'we could be misled'.
"The Communists did not offer anything in return and Hanoi radio called Johnson's announcement a cheap intrigue. It is not likely that any understanding has been reached between Washington and Hanoi.
"Nor did Washington have the concurrence of South Vietnam or the other allies in the bombing halt. The South Vietnamese said Johnson's action was one-sided. Most other allies expressed regret.
"If nothing happens, will the talks be terminated and the bombings resumed?
"President Johnson has created new problems for his successor."
Commenting on the same subject, the China News of November 2 said that whatever Johnson's motives, he must keep his promise to act promptly and decisively in response to any increase in North Vietnamese aggression.
The English-language paper said: "President Johnson's announcement of the Vietnam bombing halt amounted to a defense of his decision - and with good reason.
"President Johnson did not mention even one specific North Vietnamese assurance or concession. He spoke vaguely of an 'essential understanding' with Hanoi; that was all. He told of progress at Paris and said action should be taken without delay. Yet at no point did he identify the progress, nor indicate why the bombing halt could not have been announced that day after election rather than five days before.
"He spoke of saving lives as though the termination of bombing would end the fighting in South Vietnam. It will not, of course, and it is in South Vietnam that most of the lives are being lost.
"Peace is still a long way off. South Vietnamese, American and other Allied troops may now be in greater rather than lesser danger. Saigon was under rocket attack just before Johnson's announcement.
"President Johnson will occupy the White House until January 20. Whatever his motives in announcing the bombing halt at this particular moment, he must keep his promise to act promptly and decisively in response to any increase in North Vietnamese aggression.
"'We are prepared for such a contingency,' President Johnson said. South Vietnam and free Asia devoutly hope so."
New Life Daily News - Impossible dream
The Hsin Sheng Pao (New Life Daily News) said November 11 that the U.S. hope of attaining Vietnam peace through a bombing halt is an impossible dream.
The paper said: "More than half a million U.S. forces have been sent to Vietnam to fight in a righteous cause. This cause has been misrepresented by Communist appeasers at home. The Americans are forbidden to win the war or to retreat. Under such circumstances, the U.S. authorities must seek peace through negotiations and the Communists always come out on top in negotiation.
"Hanoi and the Vietnam National Liberation Front called the bombing halt a victory. They demand that the Americans go home and destroy all military facilities. They insist on the establishment of a coalition government.
"Military information indicates that North Vietnamese regulars have moved into Laos and Cambodia in readiness to attack. U.S. defense chief Clifford has warned that the Viet Cong are preparing winter and spring offensives. Reuters reported four Communist divisions are massed along the South Vietnam border.
"The morale of Vietnamese and allied troops has been hurt by the bombing halt. Most of the U.S. soldiers are homesick. They don't want to fight a war that their countrymen think is unnecessary. They know more of them will be sacrificed if their hands are tied. The fighting in Vietnam is more difficult and it is harder to attain a favorable balance on the battlefield.
"The bombing halt did not spur the Paris negotiations. The rest of the war has not been de-escalated. The next U.S. president has been elected and the outgoing Johnson administration will not do anything else. The burden will pass to Nixon when he becomes president next January. To seek an honorable and permanent peace with the Communist aggressors is an impossible American dream."
The China News of November 7 said the Johnson administration should not blame South Vietnam for failure to get the Paris talks started on schedule.
The paper said: "President Thieu never gave the slightest indication of any change of position on the National Liberation Front. The South Vietnamese are prepared to accept the NLF (Viet Cong) at the conference table only as members of the North Vietnamese delegation.
"President Johnson surely must have known it couldn't be any other way. Separate representation would play directly into the hands of the Communists, whose bargaining position is based on the claim that they are exclusively entitled to speak for the people of South Vietnam.
"Realistically, the Communists are aiming at membership in a postwar coalition government. Their presence at Paris in a separate capacity would imply acceptance of such a coalition by both the South Vietnamese and the United States.
"President Johnson went ahead with the bombing halt announcement without obtaining President Thieu's approval of the separate NLF delegation. The lack of concurrence was made obvious (1) in Johnson's failure to be specific about the status of the NLF and (2) in his statement that Saigon was free to send representatives to Paris. He carefully avoided a flat statement that the South Vietnamese would be present.
"This is a problem that President Johnson must solve before the Paris talks can get under way. He won't solve it by trying to put the onus on President Thieu and South Vietnam.
"If the United States has already agreed with Hanoi that the NLF is to have separate representation, then it is up to Washington to go back to the bilateral discussions with the North Vietnamese and make other arrangements."
New Life Daily News - Moscow's unmasking
The Hsin Sheng Pao said October 30 that Moscow has discarded its mask of peaceful coexistence.
The paper said: "Sporadic armed clashes have taken place in the Middle East and have been escalated recently. There is a confrontation of NATO and Warsaw Pact countries. Western European countries and Britain are drawing closer together. Russia is increasing its naval strength in the Mediterranean and Baltic.
"Moscow has taken off its mask of peaceful coexistence. The subjective reasons are the unrest in Eastern Europe and disagreements in the Kremlin. Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia has aroused anti-Russian sentiment behind the Iron Curtain. Moscow wants to push its military influence to the borders of free Europe. This has created a tense atmosphere and threatens to change the balance of power as it has existed since World War II.
"The administration of Brezhnev and Kosygin is not united. The Stalinists, including Shelepin and some military leaders, want an adventurous policy. These diehards are reportedly responsible for the military occupation of Czechoslovakia.
"For the last 10 years or so, the Western countries have been obsessed with Russian gestures of peaceful coexistence. De Gaulle hopes to create a third force between the United States and Russia and is trying to persuade Turkey to leave NATO. Military force among the leading Western countries is required to mitigate the danger of war."
The same paper of November 15 said this year's ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations is extraordinarily important because of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia.
The paper said: "Confrontation between NATO and Warsaw Pact nations has been sharpened by Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Warsaw Pact forces have been increased on the borders of West Germany and Austria and Russian naval vessels have become increasingly active in the Mediterranean Sea. A Russian naval commander said his country has become a Mediterranean Sea power.
"Russia has three motives in increasing naval strength in the Mediterranean - to exploit the Mideast conflict, to counteract the U.S. Sixth Fleet, which is the mainstay of the peacekeeping force in the Mediterranean, and to prepare for invasion of West-leaning Yugoslovia and pro-Peiping Albania.
"NATO nations must ensure collective security with strengthened defenses.
Commenting on the same subject, the Chung Yang Jih Pao warned of Russian moves on the Pacific front.
The paper said: "The cold war of today has two fronts - Atlantic and Pacific. Tension has mounted since Russia invaded Czechoslovakia and stepped up naval activities in the Mediterranean Sea. In the Pacific, it has adopted a different strategy. Moscow is seeking to improve relations with the United States by urging the latter to discuss limitation of armaments and of defenses against nuclear missiles. It also seeks to spur Paris talks on Vietnam. These moves are rooted in Russia's power struggle with Peiping. We must heighten our vigilance."
The Lien Ho Pao of November 19 warned that Russia is trying to make Algeria a second Cuba.
The paper said: "Russian military expansion in the Mediterranean has reinvigorated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and revived the cold war. The progress toward East-West rapprochement has ended.
"Russia's build-up in Eastern Europe has tipped the military balance and nullified NATO's defense strategy. The West thought any Russian attack would have to come through central Germany. With the massive build-up of troops in Czechoslovakia, the Russians might move toward France via Bavaria. NATO nations must beef up their military strength and readjust their defense planning.
"Beside increasing its Mediterranean naval power, Russia is seeking control of air and naval bases in the UAR and Algeria. If Algeria falls into Russian hands, France, Spain and Italy will be exposed to attack. Use of the Mediterranean would be disrupted and the whole of Western Europe brought under the threat of Russian missiles installed in Algeria."
The Hsin Sheng Pao of November 11 said: "The world situation has the feeling of calm before a storm. Russia's plans for European conquest are made clear by its invasion of Czechoslovakia. Soviet admirals are boasting that Russia is a Mediterranean Sea as well as a Black Sea power.
"In Asia, the Peiping regime still threatens peace and security. The destruction of this aggressive regime is of importance to all peace-loving nations and especially to the Asian and Pacific countries. However, unity cannot be attained if each nation is preoccupied with its own petty problems. Agreement on common goals is essential.
"The motive promoting unity and cooperation among the nations of Asia and the Pacific is anti-Communism. The objective is survival. This banner should be raised high for all to see.
"The major content of unity and cooperation must be military. Economic, technical and cultural cooperation is all very well - but in the absence of military cooperation, will be like a house without a roof. European postwar prosperity brought about by the Marshall Plan and the Common Market has not stopped Russia's advance. The Soviet is given pause only by the military strength of the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Peiping's aims in Asia are not less ambitious than those of Moscow in Europe. Regrettably, there is no alliance in this part of the world to compare with NATO.
"The Asian and Pacific Council is a good beginning. The urgent need is to give ASPAC some muscle."