Man's struggle to terminate enslavement and assure freedom entered upon a new era on Monday, September 25.
Gathered in Taipei for a five-day meeting were 220 delegates and observers from 67 countries and 13 international organizations. The objective was the uniting and intensification of resistance to Communism in every corner of the earth.
The conference was the first of the World Anti-Communist League, which was established in response to the summons of last year's Seoul Conference of the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League. Among the distinguished company of freedom fighters that came to Taiwan for the historic sessions were three former presidents, three former prime ministers, and dozens of other internationally known leaders.
By September 29, the organization had taken substantial form and had passed a series of resolutions to shape its future course of action. One of the most important advocacies communicated to the anti-Communist states of the free world was that of a "second front" to win the war in Vietnam. Other resolutions urged:
— Barring of Red China from the United Nations.
— Condemnation of Peiping's nuclear tests.
— Support for the people of the Chinese mainland in overthrowing Communism.
— Strengthening of free world anti-Communist solidarity.
President Chiang Kai-shek was the principal speaker at opening ceremonies at a hall dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Republic of China's Founding Father. More than 1,000 Chinese and foreign dignitaries joined the WACL delegates in listening to the Chinese chief executive.
The President and Generalissimo said the conference "symbolizes the grand mustering of all humankind under an anti-Communist banner and manifests our determination to serve the cause of freedom and wipe out slavery ... With the inauguration of the World Anti-Communist League, we have developed a truly universal anti-Communist organization and can foresee that it will take action for freedom and justice".
President Chiang said he was speaking as "an old soldier" prepared to share the experiences and lessons of his 40 years of struggle against the Communists, hopeful these will be "helpful to other nations facing the same Communist threat".
"The anti-Communist struggle is not a task for any single nation or region alone," the chief executive declared. "It is the common mission of the entire world and of all humankind. As the Communists never limit their goal of aggressive expansion, the free people should not try to fight each of their own battles by themselves alone and run the risk of being defeated one by one. We must adopt a consistent strategy and take concerted action. In the past, we could see a united Communist bloc attacking a contentious free world. Our task today is to forge a free world unity and defeat the divided and self-contradictory Communist order.
Free World Too Slow
"It is to be regretted that the free world moves so slowly in resistance to Communist evils and is particularly sluggish in its undertaking to expose Communist wickedness, infiltration, and chicanery. In some places, we have moved in the opposite direction. Many people have mistaken the perverse Communist ideology for symbols of 'progress' and have euphemized Communist violence into 'revolutionary' actions."
"All of us seek peace," the President continued. "But peace cannot be won with random efforts and at no cost. We can win real freedom and honorable peace only by displaying courage in the cause of justice and by paying the cost in self-sacrifices. This determined will to victory in our anti-Communist struggle is a prerequisite to world peace."
As for the problem of the Chinese Communists, President Chiang said: "We can unite with the 700 million anti-Communist people and with the vast anti-Communist forces on the mainland and, supported by the free world, destroy Peiping's vicious rule and prevent a nuclear holocaust. There is no need to call for the service of a single soldier from other nations of the free world. The free world will from then on be saved from the exhausting necessity of rushing to extinguish the flames of war which the Peiping regime ignites here and there and anywhere at will."
President Chiang invited the Conference participants to remain in the Republic of China as long as possible, to look into "our anti-Communist activities and give us your valued counsel on how we can do better". He received a standing ovation. During the course of the Conference, he met with a number of the freedom fighters. Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who accompanied him to the opening session, invited the women delegates to a luncheon.
Business meetings were held in an Ambassador Hotel Hall which has a four-language translation system. (File photo)
The 220 participants got down to business the afternoon of the first day. There was much to be done. The World League had to agree on the details of its basic organization, elect officers, plan a program for the year to come, hear the reports of each country and organization represented, and choose the site for the 1968 Conference.
All went smoothly. Most of the Asian members of the new organization had a background of up to 13 years of experience in the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League. The newcomers brought anti-Communist know-how from other parts of the world. Knowledgeable Ku Cheng-kang, who has been an APACL leader since the inaugural Conference in Chinhae, Korea, in 1954, was the unanimous choice for chairman. Named Vice Chairman was Jose Figueres, former President of Costa Rica. Jose Ma. Hernandez, also a veteran of Chinhae and one of the leading figures in the Philippines' Anti-Communist movement, was chosen Secretary General.
League Declaration
By Friday, the League was ready with a stirring Declaration that will provide the basic guidelines for the world anti-Communist movement. The Declaration reviews man's long struggle for freedom, traces the rise of Communism, assesses the present situation, and then sets forth five basic beliefs to serve as the foundation for a program of action. The Declaration said:
"First, it is our firm belief that the anti-Communist struggle is an historic one between freedom and slavery. We are opposed to the Communist ideology of the class struggle, to the wholesale enslavement practiced by the Communist rulers, and to the unbridled ambitions of world conquest, which is the ultimate objective of international Communism.
"Second, we proudly proclaim ourselves to be staunch defenders of freedom. As we see it, what the world needs is political freedom under which democratic institutions flourish and human rights are fully guaranteed, national freedom as reflected in national independence and racial equality, economic freedom which enables the people to be free from want and the community prosperous, and last but not least, a free and happy life for every individual whose personal dignity is inviolate.
"Third, it is our firm belief that freedom is indivisible and that freedom and slavery cannot coexist. To permit over one billion people to be enslaved is both a shame to mankind and a danger to those who are yet free.
"Fourth, it is our firm belief that freedom will ultimately triumph. All previous slave drivers in history have come and gone; so will the Communist tyrants.
"Lastly, it is our firm belief that with the downfall of Communism, the last serious obstacle in the age-long struggle for freedom, man will have realized his cherished ambitions and all captive nations and peoples will have been liberated."
These convictions will be implemented, the League said, without regard to race, nationality, religion, politics or occupation. The final goal is an age of "freedom, peace, and happiness."
Charter Approved
Also drafted and adopted was the Charter of WACL. The supreme organ will be the annual Conferences. The WACL Council—composed of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Secretary General, and the Chief Delegates from each member unit—will be the governing body between Conferences. When the Council is not in session, League affairs will be administered by the Executive Board of nine members elected to three-year terms. The first Executive Board is composed of Argentina, Germany, Libya, Iran, Korea, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Canada.
A dramatic decision was made to hold the Second Conference in Saigon, capital of embattled South Vietnam and the very heart of the struggle against Communism. The 14th Conference of the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League will be held in conjunction with die world meeting.
Reports made during the course of the First Conference were concerned with recommendations for more militant anti-Communism and with progress in the freedom struggle throughout the world.
Former Representative Walter H. Judd, the chairman of the Committee of One Million to Oppose the Recognition of Red China, an American organization, urged the establishment of an institute to train young freedom fighters. He said the "agit-prop" techniques of the Communists had been all too effective and that they would have to be answered in kind. Korea announced that it had obtained new financing for the Freedom Center in Seoul. The training of anti-Communist youth is expected to begin soon.
The Key to Asia
Judd also said the key to Asia is mainland China. "Asia is like a giant hand," he said. "China is the palm and out from it come fifteen fingers—fifteen countries occupying peninsulas and island groups around China. In these fifteen fingers live one-third of all the people in the world. These are what is at stake in the Vietnam war."
Judd, who was a medical missionary on the Chinese mainland for many years, declared that if either Mao Tse-tung or Liu Shao-chi is to win in the Chinese Communist power struggle, it will be better if Mao comes out on top. If Liu were to win, Judd said, he would "promptly get back into bed with the Soviets and the threat to the world would be enormously increased. Moscow would be in substantial control again of both Russia and China". But the world can hope, he added, "that the conflict within China will go on with neither side winning—until the Chinese people can again become free".
Free China's armed forces staged a special maneuver for the more than 200 world anti-Communist leaders.(File photo)
Both Judd and Dr. Lev E. Dobrianski, a leader of the Captive Nations Week movement in the United States, said American public opinion is becoming more favorable toward the Republic of China's counterattack against the Chinese Communists. Dobrianski said the opportune moment for action will come when Red Chinese military leaders split among themselves and try to carve out warlord fiefdoms.
Pu Shao-fu, a Hongkong publisher, said the Communists are seeking an opportunity to back away from violence in the British crown colony.
Korean National Assemblyman and former Minister of Defense Kim Chung Yul reminded the Conference of the losses suffered by the free world since World War II. He said that these reverses were not necessary, because the free world is stronger than Communism militarily, economically, and ideologically. It is essential, he maintained, that free men come to understand the "total irreconcilability" of Western civilization and Communism.
Chairman Ku Cheng-kang described convening of the WACL Conference as "an occasion of great moment in the history of mankind, a firm evidence that our struggle for freedom and against enslavement has reached a new turning point".
Messages of encouragement came from many world leaders. Pope Paul VI sent congratulations through Archbishop Lo Kuang, who told the Conference that Catholics oppose Communism not only because of religion but in defense of humanity.
King Feisal's message was read by Saudia Arabia Ambassador to China Nasser Almankour. His Majesty declared: "Our present world should realize that any civilization not based on spiritual foundations will eventually disintegrate. This is why Communism, which opposes religions and spiritual values and depends only on materialism, cannot attain the prosperity it hopes to bring to humanity." He sounded a call for anti-Communist unity.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos said the Communist threat to Asia is greater than that in other parts of the world. He termed WACL "an expression of strength that truly represents the universal longing and determination to redress the intolerable balance of a world half free and half slave".
South Vietnam President-elect Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu said WACL "will strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity between all nations sharing the ideals of freedom and human dignity and facing the common danger of Communist expansion and enslavement",
Korean President Park Chung Hee asked WACL to work out "concrete measures" to crush Communism. The establishment of the world organization, he added, provides a bright new hope for the attainment of universal peace.
Press Support
The free Chinese press gave the Conference intensive coverage and strong editorial support. The China News said:
"Somewhere in the world, somebody has been fighting Communist conspiracy and aggression throughout this century. But until now, the anti-Communist movement has been divided into separate enslaves and interests. Agreement on overall strategy and common actions has not existed. Now the centrifugal tendency of anti-Communism is being reversed. The birth of the World Anti-Communist League assures a steadily increasing unity among those who combat the most lethal political and social plague of our time.
"What can the World Anti-Communist League do that APACL and other regional or national organizations could not? Its most important function will be to speak in the world anti-Communist cause with a single voice. The Communists have had their International and the Com intern and Cominform. Never before has the free and anti-Communist world had a comparable organization for response and counteraction."
President Chiang had asked the Conference participants to study the Chinese anti-Communist movement and see something of the island province of Taiwan. They did. The Chinese Armed Forces staged a joint exercise of airborne and land troops. After Conference adjournment, many of the delegates went down-island to observe Taiwan's industrial and agricultural life.
On September 30, the APACL members of WACL convened their own 13th Conference. Vice President C.K. Yen was the keynote speaker. "Asia is the region most seriously afflicted by Communism and has had the largest number of victims," he said. "But Asia's anti-Communist strength is also the greatest.
"We must emphasize that the love of peace is instinctual among humankind and that freedom is the inherent right of man. Consequently, the positive implementation of the free and democratic way of life will constitute the most powerful appeal to people now trapped under tyrannical Communist rule and will unite our strength for a mighty surge of anti-Communism."
A Declaration and seven resolutions were adopted during the two days of deliberations. APACL called for:
— Military alliance among anti-Communist Asians.
— Assistance to South Vietnam and its allies to win the Vietnam war.
— Embargoing of trade with Red China and North Vietnam.
— Sanctions against the Chinese Communists.
— American assistance for countries threatened by Red China's nuclear weapons.
— Help for the Republics of China, Korea, and Vietnam in recovering lost territories and liberating enslaved compatriots.
Vietnamese Chairman
Phan Huy Quat of Vietnam was elected Chairman of the Council of APACL. Named to the nine-nation Executive Board were Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The APACL Secretariat will be moved from Manila to Saigon and Phan Huy Quat will nominate a new Secretary General and submit the name to the Executive Board for approval. Jose Hernandez, the new WACL Secretary General, resigned that post with APACL and will maintain the world organization's Secretariat in the Philippine capital.
This is the roster of WACL membership:
1. Full Members:
A. National Member-Units: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ceylon, China, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macao, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Ryukyus, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam.
B. International Anti-Communist Organizations: Canadian Anti-Communist League (Canada), Cantro Anticomunista Rogelio-Benitez, Clergymen's Committee on China (USA), Diffusion Information Documentaire (France), Grupo Vanquardia (Peru), Inter-American Confederation for the Defense of the Continent, International Committee for Information and Social Activity (Europe), Inter-American Democratic and Social Movement of Costa Rica, World Buddhist Sangha Council.
2. Associate Members:
Anti-Communist Commission of Nicaragua, Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, Committee to Fight Red Chinese Aggression (India), Free Pacific Association, Information Center, Dossier-Foundation (Netherlands), International Conference on Political Warfare of the Soviets, National Freedom Education Center, Representation of Cubans In Exile, SSV "Sieng Seri" (Voice of Freedom) (Laos), Western Mexican Anti-Communist Federation (Mexico), World Youth Crusade for Freedom.