Taiwan Today

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's inauguration on May 20 for a second term as President of the Republic of China was undoubtedly an event of supreme importance in the history of the nation. When the General­issimo was inaugurated in Nanking six years ago as the first President of the Republic under tile newly adopted Constitution, the situation confronting the Government as a result of the Communist revolt was already very critical, but it was thought that there was still hope of checking the Communist onrush and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for the Chinese people. Unfortunately, such was not to be the case. Both financially and mili­tarily the strength of the Government was on the verge of utter exhaustion, and the advance of the Communist rebels, who had the full backing of their Soviet masters, proved to be unstoppable. What happened in 1949, the most disastrous year for the Central Government in its struggle with the Communists, is well known to the world and need not be repeated here. The last days of 1949 and the first two months of 1950, indeed, were the darkest period for the Chinese people since the founding of the Republic. With their Acting President taking refuge in the United States, the ship of state was rudderless, and the rest of the world was beginning to feel that there was no more hope of salvation for the Chinese nation. The light of fresh hopes, however, began to appear over the horizon when President Chiang resumed his duties on March 1, 1950, following one year's temporary retirement. With the President again at the helm of the Government, the people of Free China were able to devote themselves to the task of national reconstruction with renewed vigor and their confidence in the ultimate success of the anti-Communist struggle was strengthened. During the last four years, substantial progress has been made by the Government in various fields of endeavor. Land reform has been successfully carried out; the program for the promotion of local self-government has been fully implemented; economic and social stability has been achieved; and reorganization and intensive training of the armed forces are rapidly nearing completion. Under President Chiang's inspiring leadership Free China has taken great strides in internal reconstruction and is making feverish preparations for the liberation of the Communist-controlled mainland. The President enjoys the loyal support not only of the 8,000,000 people in Taiwan but also of the 13,000,000 overseas Chinese. As for the 450,000,000 Chinese suffering from Communist oppression on the mainland, there can be no doubt that they are eagerly looking to President Chiang for their eventual deliverance from the Communist scourge. President Chiang's second term in office, therefore, will truly be a turning-point in Chinese history. In the course of the next six years, the world will surely witness the recovery of the Chinese mainland by Free China's armed forces and the emergence of a new China united, democratic and fully rejuve­nated. To the Chinese people President Chiang is a leader whose services are absolutely indispensable; and to the other democracies he will always be a staunch and dependable ally in the struggle with the Communist aggressors. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu Dien Bien Phu, that little known fortress in North Indo-China which the stout defense put up by the French Union forces hail helped to place on the map, was finally occupied by the Vietminh rebels early last month after more than fifty days siege. The battle of Dien Bien Phu should have served as an object lesson both to France and to the other democracies which have been watching the development of the military situation in Indo-China with great concern. From this battle France should have learned the lesson that no nation waging a war can hope for victory if it carries on the struggle half-heartedly. Prior to the fall of Dien Bien Phu, the efforts made by France in Indo-China were at best only half-hearted. While the French Union forces were fighting valiantly at the front, many leaders in the French Government were continually making statements in which they openly expressed their desire for a peaceful settlement, though they knew very well that any settlement acceptable to the enemy would be tantamount to an abject surrender on the part of France and Vietnam. Granting that this half-hearted attitude in Paris did not have any noticeable effect on the morale of the defenders of Dien Bien Phu, at least it made the other democracies hesitate to give France active assistance to help check the Communist aggression. Since France was obviously afraid of having the Indo-China war "internationalized," why should other anti-Communist nations have insisted upon perusing a policy of intervention? As for the democratic nations, the attitude of apathy and indifference adopted by some of them was most deplorable. Great Britain, for example, was mainly responsible for Mr. John Foster Dulles' failure to carry out his policy of "united action" before the commencement of the Geneva conference. To the British Government the loss of Indo-China to the Communists could not be anything serious since Singapore and Malaya are not yet in immediate danger. Indeed, even the loss of Singapore and Malaya would be no great disaster for the British, as may be seen from the feeble effort they made for the defense of that area during World War II. Moreover, a conciliatory attitude toward Moscow and Peiping might conceivably so please the Communists that they would generously let Great Britain increase the volume of her trade with them. The American Government, however, is much more farsighted than the British and cannot afford to pursue such a policy of appeasement. The United States is fully aware of the importance of Southeast Asia and has repeatedly stressed the necessity of preventing the Communists from seizing that pan of the free world. The fall of Dien Bien Phu does not mean the ill­ evitable loss of the rest of Vietnam-much less of Laos and Cambodia. Any policy that is designed for insuring the security of Southeast Asia should begin with the defense of Indo­ China. If the democracies should regard Indo-China as expendable, they would find it very easy to create some pretext for making fun her concessions to the communists when the latter embark upon their invasion of Burma and Thailand. The battle of Dien Bien Phu, though militarily a setback for the French Union forces, should have produced one heartening effect: the "unprecedented heroism" of the defenders, which even the Vietminh rebel could not refrain from praising, cannot but remind us of the battles of Verdun and the Marne. A country which has such a brave soldier as Brigadier General Christian de Castries has good reason to be proud of itself and should be able to overcome any difficulties confronting it if it has the determination to uphold its noble traditions. In the meantime, the heroic defense of Dien Bien Phu should also be a source of inspiration to all other anti-Communist peoples. Peiping's "Industrialization" Program That the Peiping puppet regime's so-called "five-year industrial plan" has not produced the results expected despite the boastful predictions made by Chou En-lai and other top Communists under Mao Tse-tung is a conclusion which may be drawn from information emanating from various sources, including reports occasionally appearing in the Communist newspapers. So far, however, the most authoritative information testifying to the failure of Peiping's "industrialization" program has come from a German industrial expert, Dr. Heinrich Leuschner, who has recently returned from a six-month visit to the Chinese mainland. Dr. Leuschner, former official of the East German Ministry of Economic Planning who lived in China for a number of years before the war, was ordered by the East German Red Government to accompany a trade mission sent to Peiping last year because of his familiarity with Chinese conditions. After his return to East Germany, he escaped to West Berlin and is now serving as technical adviser to a Cologne merchants' association interested in the development of new factories. According to Dr. Leuschner, the Peiping regime's plan to industrialize the Chinese mainland is "failing miserably." Prior to his visit to Peiping, he was assured by Chinese Communist trade officials in East Germany that certain iron and steel plants were already in full operation; yet, when he got there, he discovered that the plants were still in the blueprint stage. Dr. Leuschner is reported by a recent Central News despatch from Cologne to have said: "I cannot help feeling that, while the top Red Chinese leaders may be eager to create major industrial developments in the country, the technicians who must carry out these plans just do not exist. A number of the younger Chinese technical experts I met had been educated in Russia. They may have been 'experts' in Marxism and Communist ideology, but as far as engineering is concerned, they were extremely deficient." The Chinese Communists' "Ministry of Heavy Industry" was crowded with Russian "advisers," but the only work these "advisers" did was to raw good salaries and special living allowances while the bulk of the Chinese experts on the mainland were expected to live on starvation wages. One Red Chinese official told Dr. Leuschner that the Russians had completely failed in their promises to send very much needed technical equipment and machinery. This, of course, is nothing to he wondered at. Although the Soviet Union's industrial development is much more advanced than that of the Chinese mainland, Russian industries are mainly occupied with the production of armaments rather than consumer goods, of which there has always been an acute shortage throughout Russia. Moreover, even if Russia were in a position to help the Chinese Communists tie­ develop their industries, she certainly would not do it whole-heartedly for fear that the Peiping regime's success in carrying out its "five-year industrial plan" might make it less dependent on Moscow and its other satellites. Obviously Russia wants the Chinese mainland to be a country industrially backward but agriculturally capable of producing the raw materials she requires. Dr. Leuschner is also reported to have said that the morale of the Chinese people on the mainland has been shattered by the Communist occupation. The condition of the peasants is much worse than before the war. Gripped by war-weariness and a feeling of despair, the people are convinced that their political freedom cannot be restored and their living conditions improved until the Peiping regime is overthrown. Needless to say, this information cannot but make the people of Free China redouble their efforts for the liberation of the mainland. The Reds Lose Face "International Communism has suffered its greatest loss of face in the refusal of more than 20,000 Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war to return to Communist control." -Senator William F. Knowland.