Taiwan Today

"At present," Dr. Sun Yat-sen wrote in the New York Independent of September 19, 1912, "I am more interested in the social regenera­tion of my country than I am in the question of party and politics. Having finished the task of bringing about a political revolution, I am now devoting my thought and energies to the recon­struction of the country in its social, industrial and commercial conditions. I have seen enough of the discord between capital and labor in Western countries, and the misery that besets the multi­tudes of the poor, that I am desirous of forestalling such conditions in China. With industrial develop­ment there will come an increase of manufacturing, and with the change of conditions there is a danger of widely separating the working classes and those who possess the capital. I wish to see the masses of the people improved in their condi­tions rather than to help a few to add power to themselves until they become financial autocrats."

This was still the spirit of the Kuomintang, a political party founded by Dr. Sun, as more than 1,100 members gathered in Taipei for the Fifth Plenary Session of the Tenth Central Committee. The occasion also marked the 80th anniversary of the party, which was the moving force in over-throwing the Ch'ing dynasty in 1911 and estab­lishing the Republic of China in 1912. For four days of the Fifth Session, the Kuomintang con­cerned itself not with "politics as usual," but with the construction of the nation and especially with the work to be undertaken after the defeat of the Communists and recovery of the Chinese mainland.

President Chiang Kai-shek, speaking in his capacity of Tsungtsai (Director-General), addressed an 80th anniversary message to the opening session held in the huge auditorium of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. Vice President Yen Chia-kan read the text to the jam-packed crowd of some 2,000 delegates and dignitaries.

The Kuomintang's Tsungtsai recalled that the Founding Father had vowed to destroy the Manchu regime and establish a republic when he was only 20 years old. That was 89 years ago. Then, in 1894, he organized the Hsing Chung Hui (Reviving China Society, a predecessor of the Nationalist Party) at Honolulu. Only three years later a branch of the Hsing Chung Hui was established in Taipei. President Chiang went on to review the history of the Kuomintang and the Republic their triumphs and disappointments. This history teaches, he said, the necessity of abandoning "the psychology of dependence on the international situation. "

When Dr. Sun took up the leadership of the National Revolution, there were 29 foreign con­cessions in China. Fifteen countries had imposed unequal treaties. "Our country," the Tsungtsai said, "had been forcibly reduced to permanent sub-colonial status." Dr. Sun could not expect any help from the "imperialists." In fact, President Chiang said, "Foreign powers did everything pos­sible to obstruct and interfere with the Northern Expedition undertaken by our National Revolu­tionary Forces." The League of Nations was later to prove a reed of weak reliance. China was able to struggle against and defeat the Japanese aggres­sors but only by "depending on the concentration of our will and effort rather than by hoping for a change in international relations."

The "psychology of relying on international relationships has continued down to this day," the Tsungtsai said. "I have singled out this experience and lesson," he continued, "so that all of you will understand that we must depend on ourselves and not foreign relationships. We can depend wholly on the concerted efforts of our sincere and honest people and must not cherish an iota of wishful thinking that international relations may change. I don't mean that we should no longer give attention to international develop­ments. To the contrary, we should be prepared psychologically to break through obstacles in international relations and should possess the measures, the courage and the knowledge required for revolutionary diplomacy."

President Chiang emphasized one other "sig­nificant point:" the renunciation of what he described as "the supercilious intelligentsia men­tality and habits" - meaning an intellectual af­fectation which would deny the nation's capability for counterattack and national recovery. He re­ called the supposedly impossible feats of heroes and martyrs in the National Revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japan, and said:

"Anyone who asserts his independence and his self-confidence can become a vigorous man of action. Internally, he will not be perplexed by the buffetings of international relationships. By the same token, internally he will be able to intensify his psychological construction and externally he will be able to increase the tempo of psychological warfare against the Chinese Communists." In other words, the intellectual must be a man of action who stands for what is right; otherwise he becomes a victim of "affectation of the intelligentsia."

Quoting from Dr. Sun, the Tsungtsai said: "'The people are the basis of the Republic of China; the people rely on political parties' which 'are to promote the welfare of the country and the happiness of the people. Members of political parties have many obligations to the people.''' The Tsungtsai added, "This is to say that the party is under obligations to its members and that they in turn have obligations to the people. This revolutionary recognition clearly delineated the goal and the nature of our Party's struggles."

The President said that a modern political party must:

- "Base itself on national spirit and cultural principles."
- "Possess principles of its own for establishing the country and have the faith
    and  determination to materialize them."
- "Impress on its members that they are survivors of the Revolution, that they
    cannot coexist with the enemy and that they can live only by risking their lives."

"In the present era, China must have a revolu­tionary and democratic party," he said. "If a party is democratic but not revolutionary, it cannot hope to cope with the changes of this great epoch. If the party is revolutionary but not democratic, it stands in contradiction to the requirements of human nature and the times and has' therefore lost its revolutionary purpose. Our Party, the Kuomintang, which is rooted in both revolution and democracy, is truly a modern political party."

No matter what the progress on Taiwan, the Tsungtsai said, this is no more than 1 percent of the Party's goal, so long as the Chinese mainland remains in Communist hands. What has been done in the single province of Taiwan, he maintained, was scheduled in the plans for the National Revolution. Even so, no blame attaches to Dr. Sun's Three Principles of the People, to which "all accomplishments are to be credited." He quoted a Western commentator as saying that the confidence, determination and defiance of the Republic of China are to be compared with the British after Dunkirk. Actually, the Tsungtsai said, the Republic of China's situation is twice as difficult as that of Britain in 1940. "But our honest and upright servicemen and people have greater faith and larger determination than the British had."

Numbers are not decisive, President Chiang told the Party leaders. "In fact," he said, "we are spiritually replete and they (the Communists) are empty. In terms of justice, we are right and they are wrong. We are benevolent; they are tyrannical. We have great popular support; they have little. The wind is blowing our way and against them. If we can rid ourselves of the intelligentsia mentality, there is nothing we cannot do for the Revolution. If we are sincere in rejecting psychological dependence on interna­tional relationships, and if we work hard and persevere, there is no reason for us to hesitate or be afraid."

The 1,200,000 members of the Party are not alone, their Tsungtsai told them. "The 16 million people of this bastion of freedom (Taiwan), the 20 million overseas Chinese throughout the world and the millions upon millions of anti-Communist, anti-Mao people on the mainland are our friends and comrades both directly and indirectly." They will, he confidently predicted, "surely rescue our compatriots" and "provide for the welfare of our country."

As for mainland recovery, President Chiang said, it is a matter of 70 percent politics and 30 percent military action. "Merely to emphasize material construction and ignore psychological construction will lead people to underestimate the potential spiritual and psychological power re­quired for revolution," he said, "to yield to pressures arising out of superficial estimates of the ratios of numbers and sizes, and to overlook the contrasts between real strength and apparent strength, between order and disorder, and between unity and dissension... material construction can be further improved and psychological reconstruc­tion made more extensive and profound."

Delegates got down to the business of the plenary session at the Chungshan Building in suburban Yangmingshan that first afternoon. The prin­cipal speaker was Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, who appeared in the capacity of a party member serving in the government. He pointed to the long struggle against the Communists, and said: "We are the only people who are determined and dedicated to the fight against Communism."

"Looking around us," the Premier said, "we find that the world is passing through a time of great change and disorder. Because the world situation is abnormal and confused, the adverse currents of international appeasement are multiply­ing this way and that. I believe this treacherous and complex situation is testing our confidence and fortitude. The question whether our future is to be good or bad, and whether our prospect is to be life or death, must be answered by us and not by others."

Premier Chiang agreed with the Tsungtsai that "psychological construction is the basic assurance of success in our Revolution." To "open up a road of life and save ourselves and our country," he called on comrades and countrymen to "see their responsibility clearly, rise up with determina­tion, abandon the psychology of relying on good luck,' temporary peace and evasion, renounce pessimism fear and bewilderment" and "act in concert, concentrate our efforts and move ahead with one mind and one will." Material construc­tion, he added, should bolster national strength and combat capability to assure victory. "Every one of us must work hard and then harder," he said, "put aside luxuries and concentrate on invest­ing all our strength in national construction."

Hardships may lie ahead, the Premier said, but "our Party and government will never com­promise themselves and will never yield them­selves. Nor will our Party and government fear either difficulties or determined enemies. To the contrary, we shall move constantly forward and continue to write one new page after another in our history. This is what we have been in the past, what we are now and what we shall be in the future. We are confident that as long as we can assure for ourselves the magnificent attitude and great determination of being born for the Revolu­tion and being ready to die for the Revolution, we can create a new life for the Revolution and open up a new road to victory no matter how great the difficulties or how violent the storms we shall face."

Construction in Taiwan is not a provincial undertaking, the Premier declared. "We are pre­paring the way for mainland recovery," he said. "We are transforming the construction of Taiwan into a blueprint for implementation of the Three Principles of the People on the mainland. The results of construction will provide a model for the construction to come on the mainland."

Premier Chiang implied that the Republic of China has nothing to fear despite the appearance of adverse currents in a troubled world. "Diplo­matically," he said, "we do not fear the ominous state of the world and we shall not be moved by temporary gains or losses. We are adhering firmly to our national spirit of upholding justice and not budging from our basic intention to fight the Communists to the end. Guided by sincerity and faithfulness, we are doing our best to maintain relations with friendly countries and to expand in various ways our substantial relationships in the international community. More than a hundred countries continue to maintain economic, trade and cultural relations with us. We shall never permit the Communists to succeed in their sinister designs to isolate us.

"We are firmly of the view that the forces of democracy and freedom will eventually prevail over evil. As between justice and evil and between benevolence and violence, we shall always stand on the democratic side of the fence. We shall never contact the Communists, nor shall we bow to violence. For the independence of our country and the freedom of our people, we shall never accept reconciliation with the Chinese Commu­nists, our arch-enemy."

Militarily, the Premier declared, "we are en­suring national security and preparing for counterattack based on a strategy of total war. Our strategy is to forge the political, eco­nomic, spiritual and other forces of our country into a strong combat entity. We are building up our armed forces in preparation for war. While holding a defensive position, we are at the same time strengthening our capability for the launching of a sudden and powerful attack." He spoke of "breakthroughs" in military science, armaments production and logistics.

Economic difficulties are being overcome, he said, as a result of cooperation between the govern­ment and people. "The present sickness of the world economy is due," the Premier said, "to the pressures of inflation and the threat of stagnation. In the face of this unusual situation, our basic economic construction policy is to seek further development in an atmosphere of stability. Our approach is to prevent inflation, control credit optimally, adjust the supply and demand of daily necessities and stabilize the price level so as to provide a stable economic foundation. At the same time, we have liberalized the granting of loans to business and industry, speeded up rural construc­tion, increased farm and industrial production and expanded foreign trade to promote continued economic growth. Our implementation of the ten basic construction projects is intended not only to strengthen the sinews of economic development and usher our country into the ranks of developed nations, but also to rectify possible dislocations resulting from economic stagnation."

Political development will not be neglected, the Premier promised. "We shall rely on the guidance of our Party to strengthen constitutional democracy, dedicate ourselves to political reform and implement enlightened and responsible gov­ernment." Local government will be improved, he said, in order to "consolidate constitutional democracy."

Premier Chiang laid down these principles for social construction to "establish a new society of balance, harmony, justice and vigor:"

- Social welfare for all who are in need of assistance.
- Emphasis of both quality and quantity in education.
- Steps to assure that the people are strong and healthy.
- Narrowing of the gap between rich and poor in the standard of living.
- Elimination of luxury, violence, despair and delinquency in favor of an
   environment of plain living, diligence and tranquility. "We want to give our
   people a fresh, comfortable and orderly society," the Premier said.

The Party, Premier Chiang attested, "is the soul of government. The government considers itself responsible for implementing the Party's Will, fulfilling the Party's policy, creating benefits for the country and promoting the happiness of the people. So when the government promotes national construction, it must not fail to review and examine each of its actions from time to time in order not to betray the mandate of the party and the country and to make sure of living up to the expectations of the people. Only if we do so can we be proud of our membership in the Kuomintang, a party with a history of 80 years."

Contrasting the situation on the mainland with that of Taiwan, the Premier declared: "An ancient saying has it: 'The popular will prosper; the un­popular will be extinguished.' The tyranny of the Maoist regime has deprived it of all popular support in these times. Tens of thousands of people are escaping from the mainland each year at the risk of their lives. Isn't this a clear indication of the regime's popular rejection? In contradistinc­tion, there is only a single will in our bastion of freedom and national revival. We have neither gap nor barrier between government and people. The twenty million loyal Chinese across the four seas continue to oppose Communism determinedly and to support our government and the great Revolution, regardless of the difficulty of their position. Especially so do our persecuted and enslaved compatriots on the mainland, who hope with one heart that the government will launch the counterattack and destroy the Communist regime at the earliest possible moment. Isn't this the perfect assurance of the success of a popular government? Popular support versus the lack of it clearly delineates the enemy's decline and our growth and the enemy's weakness and our strength. This is the prospect of victory."

Premier Chiang pledged forgiveness for former Communist cadres and soldiers. To the people of the mainland, he said all "will be entitled to the legal protection of their lives, property and free­dom and to all the services provided by the gov­ernment regardless of their past deeds. Politically, the government pledges to implement the system of constitutional democracy and to eradicate Com­munist despotism so that everyone will become a master of the nation and enjoy the rights of equality and freedom. Economically, the govern­ment pledges to restore private ownership of property and re-establish free enterprise."

In foreign relations, he promised that the Republic of China would "follow the principle of equality and reciprocity, honor our international obligations, promote close diplomatic relations and cooperate with all friendly nations in common efforts to safeguard world peace and uphold international justice."

Dr. Chang Pao-shu, secretary-general of the Kuo­mintang's Tenth Central Committee, reported on the Party's operations. "The openness, dedication and solidarity of our government have convinced the people that it is a government of, by and for the people," he said. He cited the popularity of the "Ten Basic Construction Proj­ects," the "Measures to Accelerate Rural Recon­struction" and the "Measures to Stabilize the Economy." Public opinion polls have shown, he said, that the people regard the government of the Kuomintang as "open, vigorous and thriving gov­ernment dedicated to national reconstruction and the people's well-being."

Hsu Ching-lan, the Kuomintang's director of Mainland Operations, told Party leaders that if the Communists dare to undertake any new mass movement, widespread anti-Communist resistance could break out overnight. The Kuomintang must watch mainland developments carefully, he said, and take positive steps to support anti-Communist operations. He said the Party has two plans ready for implementation - one for psychological war­fare against the Communists and the other for support of anti-Communist activities on the main­land.

Y.C. Chen, director of Overseas Affairs, said the Communists had failed in their campaign to win over Chinese living abroad. Peiping is undertaking a "smiling offensive" abroad and trying to isolate the Republic of China, he said, but overseas Chinese remain loyal to the free Chinese cause. He said this is an important assurance that the Communists will not be able make any progress in overcoming the Republic of China's defenses.

Resolutions adopted by the Party after dis­cussion on the third day of the convocation set these objectives:

- Keep close watch on mainland developments and be ready for action at any
   moment.
- Promote study of the Three Principles of the People and intensify psychological
   warfare against the Chinese Communists.
- Expedite rural reconstruction, social welfare and reconstruction of society.
- Speed up psychological reconstruction.
- Support the anti-Communist people of the mainland and help them in their
   struggle against oppression.
- Revitalize the Party's organizations and ac­tivities outside Taiwan so as to
   counter Chinese Communist infiltration and subversion.
- Expand cultural interflow with overseas Chinese and give them financial and
   other support.
- Promote people-to-people diplomacy.
- Increase military strength and preparedness.
- Push basic construction projects to completion and make Taiwan into a model
   province for the forthcoming reconstruction of the mainland.
- Improve and simplify the tax system.
- Stabilize the economy in the face of the international economic upheaval.
- Develop a sound educational system which stresses psychological and moral
   education as well as academics.
- Unite freedom-loving peoples of the world to oppose Communism.
- Provide for the efficiency of government and legislative organs.
- Exercise tight budget control and eliminate corruption.
- Recruit public functionaries equitably.

The Party had honored Madame Chiang Kai­-shek, the wife of the Tsungtsai and the Republic of China's First Lady, at the opening session. At the closing session, it conferred on Madame Chiang the Party's highest honor, the Chungshan Medal, for her meritorious service to the Kuomintang and the country. Addressing the Party leaders briefly, Madame Chiang urged them to accept constructive criticism courageously and rectify their mistakes. She also urged the recruitment of new talent and the rejuvenation of revolutionary spirit and spiritual vitality. She said she had done only her duty and that the credit given her belonged to the Party. The National Revolution will remain uncompleted, she declared, until the Chinese people on the mainland are set free to enjoy life under the Three Principles of the People. She was the first recipient of the Chungshan award.

All 21 members of the Central Standing Com­mittee, the Party's policymaking body, were re-elected. The Central Committee is made up of 99 full members and 44 alternate members. This is the Standing Committee membership:

- Vice President C.K. Yen.
- Premier Chiang Ching-kuo.
- Ku Cheng-kang, vice chairman of the Na­tional Assembly Constitutional
  Research Com­mittee.
- Huang Shao-ku, secretary-general of the Na­tional Security Council.
- Nieh Wen-ya, president of the Legislative Yuan.
- Hsieh Tung-min, governor of Taiwan.
- General Huang Chieh, strategy adviser to the President.
- Chang Chi-yun, president of the China Academy.
- Yuan Shou-chien, director of the Research Institute of Revolutionary
   Practicalism.
- Cheng Yin-fun, presidential secretary-gen­eral.
- Hsu Ching-chung, vice premier.
- Shen Chang-huan, foreign minister.
- Tsiang Yien-si, education minister.
- K.T. Li, finance minister.
- General Kao Kuei-yuan, defense minister.
- Kuo Chi, secretary-general of the Planning Committee for the Recovery of the
   mainland.
- Y.S. Sun, minister of economic affairs.
- General Lai Ming-tang, chief of the general staff.
- Lin Ting-sheng, speaker of the Taipei City Council.
- Kuo Cheng, minister without portfolio.
- Wang Jen-yuan, minister of justice.

The Fifth Plenary Session issued a Declaration to sum up the state of the Party and the accom­plishments of the meeting. "The history of modern China," the Manifesto said, "is in reality a record of the Party's struggle to save the nation from the brink of an impending danger and to open up the promising prospect of a bright future for the country." After reviewing the Party's history and that of modern China, the document declares: "The Republic of China is proud to be the first country to have stood out boldly against Communism and the Communists. It is also the first country to be still holding out on its own soil against the Communists after having suffered serious reverses at their hands and is continuing to fight for eventual victory."

The Kuomintang faced up squarely to the frequent assertion that the mainland cannot be recovered because the struggle is that of an island province with 16 million people against a subcon­tinent with a population of 800 million. These doubters "fail to note," the Party said, "that when Dr. Sun initiated the revolutionary movement, he did not have one square inch of territory or a single soldier under his command. However, rely­ing on the powerful appeal of his revolutionary doctrines and the heroic efforts of the revolu­tionary martyrs, he eventually aroused the people to action and succeeded in overthrowing the deep­ rooted monarchy.

"When our Tsungtsai, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, began the Northern Expedition in 1926, he had at first only Canton as his base of opera­tions and just 500 rifles. But wherever the revolu­tionary flag was hoisted, his troops roundly de­feated the millions of forces fielded by the northern militarists. When Japan launched the war of aggression against us in 1937, she publicly boasted that she could conquer the whole of China in three months. Though our military preparedness was far inferior to that of Japan, we won the ultimate victory by relying on the spiritual strength of the Chinese nation."

Based on a half century of experience in struggling against Communism, the Kuomintang had this counsel for the free world:

- Recovery of the mainland by the Republic of China is essential if Communism is to be checked and the catastrophe of nuclear war averted.

- The Chinese and Russian Communists cannot be played off against each other to ease international tensions. The U.S.S.R. has developed nuclear capability and expanded its sphere of influence in the Mediterranean, the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America. "The Maoist regime has not only failed to modify its so-called 'three-anti' policy towards other nations of the world, but also has stepped up its anti-American struggle and utilized the United Nations as a forum for carrying out united front tactics and mounting violent attacks on those it considers to be its enemies."

The free world was told that the Chinese and Russian Communists will never be deflected from their goal of burying the democracies. Attempts to exploit temporary contradictions will fail, as will efforts to seek detente with either or both of the Communist regimes. Skyscrapers cannot be built on quicksand and oil and water do not mix.

- Mainland power struggle is becoming ever fiercer. The end is not far off for Chinese Com­munism, the Party said, and added: "At this critical juncture, if anyone should strike a bargain with the Maoists, who are regarded by the Chinese people as their public enemy, it would be a grievous wound to the Chinese nation, and those who perpetrate such an act would one day eat the bitter fruit of their folly and pay a bloody price for it."

After reviewing the current revolutionary situa­tion, the Party declared:

1. "We are determined to see to the realization of our revolutionary goal of anti-Communism and national recovery. This is our sacred duty and we shall persist to the end and neither waver nor yield, however narrow and dangerous may be the road we have to travel and however hard the situa­tion we may find ourselves in. It is perfectly clear that to talk peace with our mortal enemy is to commit suicide and to compromise is to court disaster."

2. "We regard all anti-Communist Chinese as our comrades-in-arms. We oppose Communism and the Communists for the good of the country and the people, but not for the benefit of our own Party or because of personal likes and dis­likes. Once the Maoist tyrannical regime is over­ thrown, we shall return to the mainland with the Constitution of the Republic of China to set up anew a constitutional government with sovereign rights vested in the people and public affairs decided by popular consent."

3. "The Chinese anti-Communist struggle will rely entirely on the efforts of the Chinese people themselves to insure victory. However difficult and dangerous the revolutionary situation may be, we will never resort to trickery or take any risky action in the expectation of good luck. Whatever internal developments there may be in the Communist camp, we are determined to stand for our national interests, as we have consistently done in the past. We will neither allow the Maoists to continue to control the Chinese main­ land nor permit any foreign power to encroach on our territorial integrity."

The Fifth Plenary Session of the Tenth Na­tional Committee concluded on a note of high confidence. Madame Chiang Kai-shek was hostess at the concluding dinner given in honor of the delegates by the Tsungtsai and First Lady. In just four days the Party had laid down a program which was down-to-earth and yet inspiring. There had been differences but no divisions. The agree­ments on steps yet to be taken were unanimous. The Party emerged from a historic meeting stronger than ever - resolved not only that the last stages of the National Revolution were ap­proaching, but determined that the moment of decision with the Communists would be expedited. Those of faint heart with regard to the prospects of the Republic of China were not present. They should have been. This was the Kuomintang's answer to the apprehension, in-fighting and ap­proaching upheaval of the Chinese Communists. Pessimism and fear pervade the Communist camp. Optimism and courage are the hallmarks of the Kuomintang, now as in the last 80 years.