2024/12/27

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U. S. Leadership - An Open Letter to Governor Thomas E. Dewey

August 01, 1951
An Open Letter to Governor Thomas E. Dewey

Dear Sir,

I beg to present to you in this letter my personal opinion about U. S. leadership in the Free World, which, you may be assured, is above any political and national interests.

It seems to me that the present world struggle, so far as your country is concerned, differs from the past two wars in two ways: (1) Your country was dragged into the last two wars, while in the present struggle, she is the leader acting on her own initiative. She has borne and will bear the heaviest burden in almost every respect, financial, technical and military. (2) In the present struggle, the so-called cold war has created a tension all over the world. This cold war, so far as the relation between your country and the Soviet Union is concerned, actually began from the time of Postdom Conference. It is a fact known to all that the Kremlin monster aims at world conquest through the continuation of the cold war without shedding a sing drop of Russian blood. Judging from the above mentioned points, I am inclined to believe the fate of mankind depends upon the leadership of your country. Let me state my opinion briefly as follows:

I. Fullest Cooperation with Anti-Communist and non-Communist Countries

There is no exaggeration in saying that America is the leader of the Free World. In this Free World there exist both anti- and non-Communist countries. Their efforts will contribute much to the cause of liberty and democracy, if they can he united to curb the Communist aggression. On the contrary, they will, if divided, fall into the strangling hands of Communists. At least, it will be then much easier for Stalin to disintegrate them. The non- Communist countries may be more or less considered as neutral. As neutrality does not actually exist and cannot be of any service to either side, it is absolutely necessary for your country to win their support in the anti- Communist campaign. Some of the anti-Communist countries, owning to the dissimilarity of the cultural, historical and political traditions, have different forms of government. They are undergoing democratization, and their determination in combating Communists will have far reaching effect. It is my hope that your country will realize the actual situation and spare no effort in helping them to fight for the common cause. Accordingly, I suggest the Atlantic Pact be expanded to include more countries. As to the Pacific Pact now in planning, it is also advisable to includc as many signatories as possible.

II. Further Clarification of Your Foreign Policy

Leadership, as we know, should be accom­panied by firmness of policy. It is true that America stands firm in her foreign policy, but it is often said that America is under the influence of the United Kingdom and some other countries. This is really something regrettable. What is needed, I think, is a further clarifica­tion of U.S. policy in the anti-Communist campaign; and it is high time to do so. It may be recalled that, in the World War II, the late President Roosevelt differed with Churchill in views concerning the Burma Issue. Roosevelt was consistent in his views and had them clari­fied. So was his attitude towards France. Since June 26, 1950, U.S. policy towards China has been definitely modified, but it still leaves room for further clarification. Otherwise, the Chinese people as a whole may feel that what America has intended to do for China is only a half measure. This shows that a determined policy without complete clarification will not serve as an effective means to an end. The point I have just brought up has a very important bearing on the cold war in progress, and particularly on peace treaty with Japan. The draft of peace treaty with Japan, recently released by your Government, may give rise to dissatisfaction and disappointment on the part of peoples of certain countries for the same reason.

III. Moral Backing in Line with Economical and military Aid

By this, I mean that in leading the anti-Communist campaign there must be some sort of support to be extended by your country, which cannot be measured so visibly as economic and military aid. I call this "Moral Aid" Your generosity in giving out enormous amount of material aid to peoples of the Free World can only answer half of your purpose; the rest should be made up by your moral backing. Take the recent cease-fire talks in Korea for instance. It is known to everybody that your country has spent billions of dollar sand sacrificed thousands of lives for the cause of a unified and independent Korea; but if the cease-fire talks have anything to do with appeasement and do not allow the Government of the Korean Republic to express their own will, your billions of dollars and thousands of lives will be sacrificed all in vain, and you may finally lose the confidence of the Korean people. Anything of this sort will mean a defeat in the cold war. The Korean case serves just as an example.

IV. Propaganda Work in the Cold War

It goes without saying that your country is highly democratic. Public opinion has a great deal to do with the policy-making of your Government. It is, therefore, in my opinion, that in fighting a cold war with Stalin, your Government must first of all convince your people of the hard fact that they cannot live side by side with the Communists. I am quite of the same opinion with a certain statesman in your country, who has said that we must not smile while Stalin smiles. This is, really a timely admonition, which should be a guiding principle for your information service both within your own country as well as on an international level.

V. Exchange of Information among Democratic Nations

In regard to this point, I have not much to say; but we all know that Stalin has long infiltrated his agents into other countries for intelligence service. He is always taking advantage of the freedom of information in democratic nations. I beg to remind you that as long as the state of cold war exists, speeches, re­ports, hearings and publications in your country of confidential nature should be dealt with properly so that they may not fall into the hands of the Communists. There should be a centralized, organization for the exchange of information among the democratic nations.

Yours truly,

S. H. Wang

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