2024/12/26

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Taiwan Review

Free China's Foreign Policy

November 01, 1954

I

The basic national policy of the Republic of China has been to oppose Communism and resist ever since International Communism became a menace to world peace and security. Our fundamental foreign policy is, therefore, to strengthen our relations with all the free nations and to do our utmost to bring about solidarity and closer cooperation among them in order to cope with the threat of Soviet aggression.

has been an aggressor by tradition. From Ivan the Terrible, the first Czar of Russia in the sixteenth century, down to Stalin and Malenkov, the Russian Imperialists have been engaged continuously in a policy of aggression and expansion.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Russian Imperialists invaded and took from the northern bank of the Amur River and the eastern bank of the , including . In the 1870's, the Russian Imperialists successfully annexed a large part of the Chinese . At the beginning of the present century, Czarist Russia's adventures in 's and brought about the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. In 1921 the Russian army invaded Outer Mongolia and established its first puppet "People's Republic of " in the Orient. The Chinese , which had been under the control of the Russian Imperialists for the past 30 years, was finally annexed by Soviet Russia in March, 1948. In the Northwest, the Soviet Union has fastened its grip on the largest , Sinkiang, by means of economic, political, and military infiltration and intrigue.

Soviet aggression in was intensified before and following World War II. The secret Yalta Agreement of 1945 placed Soviet Russia in effective control of the rich and pivotal region of our Northeastern Provinces. The entry of the Soviet Army into the Northeastern Provinces prevented the re-establishment of the authority of the Government of the Republic of China in this key area. When the Russians withdrew from the Northeast they transferred to the Chinese Communists immense quantities of Japanese arms and ammunition. and Dairen were turned into bases for 's eastward advance in the Pacific area. With military, political and economic aid from Soviet Russia, the Chinese Communists overran our Northeast.

It was in the Northeastern Provinces that the Chinese Communists made preparations for the conquest of the Chinese mainland and aggression in . The vast resources and manpower of the Chinese mainland have been used by International Communists to further the Kremlin's design of world conquest.

The gravest problem of the world today is the spreading of the aggressive activities of Soviet Russia, which has wiped out countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and reduced to the status of satellites such countries as Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, North Korea as well as the Chinese mainland. An estimated 800 million people of some 15 nations have been brought under the Soviet yoke. These people under Soviet domination have lost not only their political independence but their national identity, freedom, and even the right to live.

The methods and weapons· employed by the to conquer the world have been far more ruthless than those of Czarist Russia. These methods and weapons were and are still being used by Soviet Russia to hasten, for want of a better term, the process of "satellization."

In the process of satellization, indirect aggression by Soviet Russia is disguised as internal movements for self-liberation. The process of satellization may vary from country to country and from time to time, but, in the main, it conforms to pattern. It usually begins at a time of popular discontent. The Communists would ride on the wave of popular sentiment to stage violent demonstrations against the established authorities and to prolong the unrest even after its immediate cause has been removed. The truth is that the process of satellization, be it in Asia or in Europe, is not only direct interference with the internal affairs of other states, but is also an effective means to implement the Soviet program of world conquest. According to Soviet policy, world conquest is nut necessarily to be realized by force. If it could be brought about by political means, so much the better.

Since World War II, the process of satellization has taken place in many lands. We find the same sordid story repeated in every country conquered from without, or captured from within, by the Communists. Whether the final product is labelled a "People's Government," as on the enslaved Chinese mainland, or a "Democratic Republic," as in North Korea, or a "Soviet Socialist Republic," as in Eastern Europe, the result is the same. The helpless victim is forced to become a part of the Communist empire.

Politically and ideologically, the Communist puppets in represent an alien power. The Peiping regime is as completely a puppet of Soviet Russia as the Communist regime in . Mao Tse-tung's policy of "lean­ing to one side" is conclusive proof of the absolute subservience of the Chinese Commu­nists to . The leaders of the Chinese Communists are Moscow-trained. Their policies and actions are all directed by their Kremlin masters.

After the inauguration of the so-called "People's Republic of China" by the Chinese Communists, the Soviet Union lost no time in tightening its control over its new puppet by concluding a number of treaties with Peiping and by sending to the mainland a horde of Soviet military, economic, technical, cultural and political workers. Thousands of Soviet agents are supervising every phase of the activities undertaken by the puppet Communist regime

The Chinese Communists, like the Soviet Communists, are aggressive abroad and tyranni­cal at home. The Chinese Communist regime maintains its power by perpetuating a ruthless reign of terror which is an integral part of the process of satellization. According to the latest report, over 43,400,000 people on the Chinese mainland have been slaughtered either directly or indirectly by the Chinese Communists in the past four years. Millions of our people have plunged into the depth of degradation and slavery. Millions of our people have been turned into cannon fodder in fighting aggressive wars for the . The large territory, the teeming population and the enormous resources of the Chinese nation have been employed by the Soviet imperialists to threaten the peace and security of the world and to attain their final goal of world conquest.

These facts show that Soviet Russia is bent on world conquest. Its aim is to enslave the whole mankind. Half of the world has already fallen under the yoke of International Com­munism. The threat of Communist aggression is so great and so immediate that unless the democracies stand united against the Commu­nist aggressors while there is yet time, it may soon prove to be too late.

The increasing unrest behind the Iron Curtain today shows that the torch of freedom is burn­ing bright and that the enslaved peoples are anxiously awaiting deliverance from Communist oppression. is the key to world peace and security. Unless and until the Chinese mainland is liberated, its vast manpower and material resources will continue to be employed to fight aggressive wars for the Kremlin.

The 450 million Chinese people have suffered enough of Russian oppression and Communist persecution. They are ready to rise against the Communists whenever they are given a chance. This has been amply reflected in the decision of the patriotic anti-Communist Chinese ex-prisoners of war in to come to . Given freedom of choice, these 14,000-odd ex-captives refused to go back to the Communist-controlled Chinese mainland and chose to come to Free China. Given the same chance to choose, the overwhelming majority of the people on the mainland will undoubtedly express their opposition to the puppet Communist Peiping regime and pledge their loyalty to Free China. We are confident that when we return to the mainland, the people will greet us with open arms and join us in overthrowing the puppet Communist regime.

's anti-Communist and resist-Russia policy is aimed not only at the recovery of the Chinese mainland but also at safe guarding the peace and security of . The recovery of our mainland will serve not only to deliver our 450 million people from the Communist yoke but also to foil the designs for world conquest pursued by the Kremlin.

As Communism is global in scope and aggressive in character, we can never pin our hopes on containing Communism on the fringes of the Chinese mainland. The Chinese Communists have already crossed the . The fate of Indo-China has been sealed. , , , and the rest of are now under the threat of Communist aggression. The free world has already failed to contain Communism on the fringes of the Chinese mainland; it will never be able to do so as long as the Chinese mainland remains in the hands of the Kremlin and its stooges, the Chinese Communists.

II

For over a century, has maintained, and still maintains, very friendly relations with the . Formal relations between the two nations began in 1844 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Wanghsia which set forth the fundamental principle of the equality of commercial opportunities.

To preserve 's sovereign rights and territorial integrity has long been the policy of the towards . The Open Door policy declared by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 gave concrete expression to the principle of equality of opportunity. In 1900, Secretary Hay further declared that the "policy of the Government of the is to seek a solution" to the difficulties in , to "preserve Chinese territorial and adminis­trative entity," and to "safeguard for the world the principle of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire.”

American goodwill towards has been attested to by many acts, including the use of the Boxer Indemnity, Fund for the education of Chinese students, the enunciation of the famous Non-recognition Doctrine of Secretary Henry L. Stimson, moral and material support to , and relinquishment of extraterritoriality in during the

War. The relationship between the two peoples has been further strengthened by religious and cultural ties.

The only low-water period in the relations between and the occurred in the dark days of 1949, when the Chinese mainland was about to fall to the Chinese Communists. In the summer of that year, the American Government issued a White Paper entitled "United States Relations with ," which was evidently meant  to justify the then American hands-off policy towards .

When the Government of the Republic of China moved to in 1949, the United States Government maintained only a Conuslate-General at . It was not until December 24, 1949, that the U. S. Government appointed Robert C. Strong Charge d'Affaires a. i. of the American Embassy in . On August 10, 1950, the present Ambassador, Karl L. Rankin, arrived in with the status of Minister in charge of the Embassy. From then on a spirit of cooperation has characterized the relations between Free China and the .

Following the outbreak of the war in , the United States Government and people came to know better than ever the true nature of the Chinese Communists and to recognize the strategic importance of Free China to the defense of the free world. On June 27, 1950, President Truman ordered the Seventh Fleet to prevent any attack on the island of Taiwan, and as a corollary of this action, he also called upon the Chinese Government to cease all air and sea operations against the mainland. In consideration of the urgent nature of this request and of the common interests of the two countries, the Chinese Government expressed its agreement in principle and informed the United States Government that the necessary orders to suspend air and sea operations as requested had been issued Minister of Foreign Affairs George K. C. Yeh made it clear in a statement to the press on June 28. 1950, that in accepting the American proposals, the Government of the Republic of China did not intend to depart from its dual policy of resistance against the aggression of Interna­tional Communism and the maintenance of the territorial integrity of China.·

The fate of the free world is indivisible. In presenting the Mutual Security Program to the American Congress, President Truman said: "Our country has greater economic strength and larger potential military power than any other nation on earth. But we do not and we should not stand alone. We cannot maintain our civilization, if the rest of the world is split up, subjugated, and organized against us by the Kremlin."  

In defining the American aid program, the United States Department of State wrote in "Our Foreign Policy 1952": "The Mutual Security Program means that the United States works with the rest of the free world in a unified defense effort. It is helping to build the military and economic power that will make impossible the Communist dream of world conquest."

It is clear, therefore, that the aim (If the Mutual Security Program of the is to create the strength necessary to the prevention of aggression. Self-help and mutual aid constitute the keynote of the Mutual Security Program.

It is with this understanding that the military and economic aid has been flowing into Free China to help strengthen this essential link in the chain of defense of the free world. The wise and effective utiliza­tion of the economic and military assistance provided by the in the past few years has served to further strengthen Sino­-American cooperation.

The fact that United States military aid to Free China for Fiscal Year 1954 will be increased by 20% over that for the previous year, while economic aid has received a slight boost, indicates that the American Government and people have come to understand Free China better than before. This understanding, as Vice-President Chen Cheng pointed out early this year while he was still Premier, "we treasure even more than material aid."

Another form of military assistance to Free China is the Military Assistance Advisory Group, which has been with us in since May 1951 and whose task it is to help the Chinese Armed Forces to strengthen the defenses of and the . It is gratifying to note that the MAAG under Major General William C. Chase has worked with us in full cooperation. As a result of our efforts in making effective use of military aid, our defense establishments have been greatly improved and our military strength has been augmented, though much still remains to be done.

Sino-American relations have been further strengthened by Washington's denaturalization of Taiwan, its appointment of a diplomatic representative in China of full ambassadorial rank, and the increasing number of American leaders in various walks of life who have been visiting Taiwan with the: object of appraising the potentiality of Free China in the fight against International Communism.

Since the denaturalization of declared by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on February 2, 1953, Free China has been given a free hand in her operations against the Chinese mainland. As a matter of fact, we have the legal right and moral responsibility to recover our mainland and restore freedom to our compatriots now living behind the Iron Curtain. President Eisenhower's decision to lift the lim­itation on the operations of our armed forces is, as has been pointed out by President Chiang Kai-shek, not only politically judicious but militarily sound.

President Chiang said: "The Government of the Republic of China and, I am sure, its 450 million people, unanimously welcome such a decision. While our own plan for fighting the mainland puppets will necessarily form, in my opinion, an important link in the general plan of the free world to combat world-wide Com­munist aggression, I would like to assure our friends abroad that the Republic of China will not ask aid in ground forces from any nation to achieve our own goal. In fact, has never made such an appeal nor has ever cherished such illusions."

It is true that we need help from all freedom-loving countries, especially from the , in the gigantic task of counterattacking the Communist-held mainland, but we do not wish to have a single American soldier to fight the war for us. We value moral and logistic support more than anything else.

III

In view of their geographical propinquity and common cultural heritage, and have always been regarded as brother nations. Despite the frequent unfortunate incidents in the past which marred the friendly relations between the two countries, has time and again made known her desire for sincere friendship and cooperation with the people of .

It may be recalled that Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Father of the Republic of China, was the leading advocate of close cooperation between and . While Dr. Sun was not unaware of the injuries suffered by at 's hands, he never gave up his basic ideal of Sino-Japanese friendship. Dr. Sun said:

"Should desire an ally, she should not look beyond and the of . The relationship between and is one of common existence or extinction. Without , there would be no ; without , there would be no . For the sake of establishing a lasting peace between the two countries, no trifling cause should be permitted to disturb their friendship. Next comes the . Although is far away from us, her geographical position prescribes her to be 's natural friend, not her unnatural enemy. Moreover, both countries have a republican form of government, so they should endeavour mutually to assist each other.

"Should there be no hope for to develop, nothing more is to be said. But should have a chance to develop her industries, assistance must be sought from and the . should rely on these two friendly States for capital and technical advice as well as raw materials. , because of the similarity in language and race between the two countries, can be of even greater assistance to than , and on the reconciliation with depends the welfare of , peace in the , and the civili­zation of the world. From the racial point of view, and are brother countries. From the political point of view, and the are democratic countries, being related to as a pupil to his tutor."

While times have changed since Dr. Sun urged close cooperation with both and the , his views have stood the test of time. The world today is facing an aggressor more ruthless than any other in history. It is faced with imperialistic Soviet Russia, whose ambition is to dominate the world. The has assumed the great responsibility of rallying and strengthening all freedom-loving countries in the common fight against International Communism. A strong and democratic will no doubt be able to make great contributions to the maintenance of peace and security in the . We should, therefore, make it a part of our policy to enhance the good relations and close cooperation with both and the , especially when we are all facing the same deadly enemy, Soviet Russia. Solidarity among , and , will be a decisive factor in checking Soviet aggression and in maintaining world peace and security.

President Chiang has also repeatedly pointed out the need of Sino-Japanese friendship since V-J Day in 1945. On September 15, 1945, he exhorted the Chinese people not to dwell on the past wrongs that had been done to them, but to return good for evil to all men. Again on June 18, 1951, he reiterated Dr. Sun's policy that the security of Asia could be assured only through the sincere cooperation between and .

On the basis of Dr. Sun's advocacy of Sino-Japanese cooperation and President Chiang's policy of magnamimity towards the people of Japan, the Chinese Government signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan on April 28, 1952, in the hope that this instrument would pave the way for further measures of Sino-Japanese cooperation and for the promotion of the solidarity of the free world.

Normal peaceful relations between and were formally restored when the instru­ments of ratification of the Peace Treaty were exchanged at on August 5, 1952. Ambassadors were exchanged shortly after the entry into force of the Peace Treaty. The Chinese Consulates-General at and and the Consulate at , which had been closed, since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, were reopened.

The resumption of diplomatic relations be­tween and , however, is just the beginning of further cooperation. In the face of the menace of world Communism, Free China and must strengthen their economic, cul­tural and other ties. The fate of and that of Free China are closely bound together. With out Free China, cannot long remain free from Communist aggression. The same is true vice versa.

IV

Though the shooting war in has been temporarily hailed, though an uneasy peace has been patched up in Indo-China, the whole of is facing the danger of new Communist aggression. Under the smoke­ screen of "peace", the Kremlin has been trying hard to drive a wedge between the democracies and to accelerate its pace of encroach­ment upon the rich areas of .

"The Asian peoples must assume the responsibility of defending their own continent against aggression," said General Chen Cheng, then Premier, in his "State of the Nation" speech delivered at the Legislative Yuan on February 9, 1954. "Only through unity and continuous effort on the part of the Asian peoples themselves can survive. Asian countries cannot beg for the enemy's mercy. Neither can they build castles in the air based solely on the help from their allies. They must understand the problems confronting them and unite in action to fight for their own survival. The formation of an anti-Communist Asiatic alliance is a major step for the survival of the Asiatics. On the success or failure of this alliance hinges the fate of the nations in this area."

Free welcomes the early formation of an anti-Communist Asiatic alliance. The question of such an alliance was first broached in the talks between Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and President Elpidio Quirino in July 1949 at . After their conference in , Generalissimo Chiang and President Quirino issued a joint communique, a part of which reads:

"In view of the close collaboration among them (the Far Eastern countries) in the past and considering the gravity of the Communist men­ace which confronts their freedom and independence today, we deem it necessary that these countries should at once organize themselves into a union for the purpose of achieving soli­darity and mutual assistance to contain and counleract that world menace."

The proposal for the formation of an anti­-Communist alliance of the Far Eastern countries was immediately agreed to by President Syngman Rhee, who subsequently joined Generalissimo Chiang in asking President Quirino to speed up all the preliminary steps necessary to its implementation. However, when it became apparent that the Baguio Conference summoned by the Philippine Government on May 26, 1950, was to limit its discussions to political, economic and cultural cooperation rather than the institution of an anti-Communist union, the Chinese and Korean Governments let it be known that they had no interest in participating in such a conference.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, and with the aggressive designs of world Commu­nism more clearly exposed, the need for the formation of an alliance to be patterned after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization became quite obvious. The next proposal for the formation of anti-Communist Asiatic alliance was made jointly by President Chiang and President Syngman Rhee when the latter made his state visit to Free China on November 27, 1953. In a joint statement issued on No­vember 28, the two great anti-Communist leaders declared: "The governments and peo­ples of our two countries stand firmly united in our determination to mobilize all our moral and material forces to defeat the aggressors in . To this end, we on our own part offer all that we are and all that we have. We further pledge to ally ourselves with other free countries in to resist the aggression of International Communism - in the Asiatic and Pacific area. Our two countries therefore jointly appeal to all governments and peoples of the free countries in Asia to organize a united anti-Communist front and earnestly hope that our desire to achieve solidarity in this part of the world will have the moral and material support of other freedom-loving nations, particularly those bordering on the Pacific such as the United States of America. The threat of Communism in this area may thus be removed and peace and security on this continent restored.

It was hoped that the would lend her support to such an alliance, especially since she had already committed herself to maintaining the security of the Pacific by concluding mutual security pacts with and , the , the of and .

The conclusion on September 8 of the Southeast Asia Collective Security Treaty at Manila by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, though undoubtedly a step forward in the right direction, did not arouse much enthusiasm in the Republic of China mainly because the treaty had no teeth in it.

As a vanguard of the anti-aggression front and a member of the Asiatic family of nations, Free China has been striving and will continue to strive to strengthen her relations with all other anti-Communist countries and to do her best to bring about greater solidarity and closer cooperation among the anti-Communist countries in the Pacific. Our relations with most of the countries in Southeast Asia are friendly and harmonious, particularly with such anti-Com­munist countries as the and Thai­ land.

It is gratifying to note that the Thai Government has outlawed all Communist activities, thereby setting an example for other Asiatic nations by showing its determination not to fall a prey to the Communist process of satellization.

In the North Pacific, the of has much in common with us from the racial and cultural points of view and in the struggle against International Communism., We have supported the aim of the United Nations to bring into being a unified, independent and democratic . We shall do everything within our power to help attain this objective.

V

The two major tasks confronting Free China are: reconstruction of and recovery of the Chinese mainland. To liberate the mainland from the yoke of Communism, we must depend largely upon our own strength which in turn depends upon the reconstruction of . Our reconstruction efforts in are directed towards winning the support of our people on the mainland and the overseas Chinese and enlisting the sympathy and assistance of the free nations.

The attainment of this dual objective of national reconstruction and recovery of the mainland is no easy task. We are now working hard to build up and prepare for the counteroffensive. Our efforts are guided by the two principles enunciated by President Chiang in 1950 that Rejuvenation must be achieved through our own efforts and that "It is only through self-help that we can count on the help of others."

In trying to accomplish the task of reconsruction, we welcome foreign investment in Free China to help our industrial development. In this connection, Dr. Sun was farsighted enough to suggest over three decades ago a plan for the international development of , in which he gave expression to the idea that international cooperation in the development of 's vast resources would be of benefit to as well as to the rest of the world.

In his International Development of , Dr. Sun suggested that "the vast resources of should be developed internationally under a socialistic scheme, for the good of the world in general and the Chinese people in particular." It goes without saying that international development of Free China on a basis of equality will not only speed up the industrialization program in but will place Free China in a better position to fight against Communist aggression.

Free is now able to maintain economic stability, and has also created an environment favorable to foreign investment. Although certain wartime measures of control will have to remain, it is the policy of the Government to give every possible assistance and facility to foreign investors in the matter of importa­tion of materials, remittance of profits and power supply.

For the purpose of encouraging foreign investments in Free China, the Legislative Yuan has enacted the Statute on Investment by Foreign Nationals. To encourage the coming of private capital from the , notes were exchanged between the Governments of the Republic of China and the in on June 25, 1952, which dealt with the investment of American private capital in .

Furthermore, in an effort to encourage overseas Chinese to make investments in , the Government in 1952 promulgated on September 24 and October 24 respectively two sets of regulations entitled (a) Regulations for Encouraging Overseas Chinese in Hongkong and to Promote Productive Enterprises in and (b) Regulations Governing Importation of Commodities as Capital Investment in .

The policy of encouraging investments both by overseas Chinese and by foreign nationals, which is now being implemented in , will be enforced on the Chinese mainland after Free China's counterattack has brought about the collapse of the Chinese Communist regime.

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