The strongest evidence of this was to be found in the joint statement of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Yen at the conclusion of their Washington talks. The two leaders agreed on the seriousness of the turmoil on the Communist-occupied Chinese mainland. They said the power 'struggle appears to be far from over, and agreed to continue consultations as further developments occur.
In the past, the United States has carefully shield away from any overt mention of mainland discussions with the Republic of China. The publicly announced subject matter has been confined to the defense and economic development of Taiwan. These subjects also are mentioned in the Johnson Yen statement, but only after the reference to the mainland.
Behind the wording of the communique lies the eloquent fact that the United States is engaged in a rapidly escalating war in Vietnam. The Chinese Communists are threatening ever more clamorously to march into North Vietnam. Faced by the seething discontent and anti-Communism of the mainland people, Peiping may dare not move. But the United States cannot be sure. It is increasingly in the interest of the Americans to have the Republic of China poised and ready for mainland counterattack.
At the political level, Vice President Yen met and had an influence on the thinking of the most important leaders in Washington. Yet this was only a fraction of his contribution. He addressed America's leading newspapermen in his appearance before the National Press Club. He reached millions of American citizens in answering the questions of a panel of reporters on the nationwide television program Meet the Press. In New York and Chicago, he spoke to U.S. business, industrial, and financial leaders in the economic language that they understand. A larger American investment in Taiwan's development can be expected as one result. The Vice President met other men and women of consequence in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu. Everywhere he went he talked with representatives of the hard-working, highly respected quarter of a million Chinese Americans.
Reaction to the Vice President's visit was warm and friendly in most segments of the American press. The situation of the Republic of China on Taiwan received more attention than at any time since the Battle of the Taiwan Straits in 1958. Molders of opinion gave credit to the ROC for its remarkable comeback on Taiwan. A number suggested that a return to the mainland can be expected within the foreseeable future.
Taiwan's press was understandably enthusiastic about the results of the Vice President's trip. Editorials gave much of the credit to C. K. Yen himself. They took note of his command of the English language, his wide-ranging knowledge of international affairs and economics, and his great sincerity. They pointed out, too, that the wise counsel of President Chiang Kai-shek stood the Vice President in good stead along every step of the way.
Sharing plaudits with the Vice President were the other members of his party notably Mrs. Yen, Economics Minister K. T. Li, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sampson Shen. All had combined to advance the cause of the Republic of China. That cause involves the peace of the world as well as the reconstitution of the Chinese mainland as a free, democratic, peaceful land. Details of the Vice President's trip are set forth in a separate article and in the Documents section of this issue of the Free China Review.
Vice Foreign Minster Shen is up for decoration as the most-traveled citizen of the Republic of China in the first half of1967. He accompanied Vice President Yen on the U.S. trip only a few days after returning from an 8-week, 10-nation tour of Latin America.
Heading a five-man goodwill mission personally dispatched by President Chiang Kai-shek, he conveyed messages of friendship to chiefs of state and people in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, and Jamaica. Closer trade and cultural relations are expected to result, as well as exchanges of technical cooperation.
Vice Minister Shen said he found respect and admiration for President Chiang throughout the Latin America area. The Chinese chief executive is looked up not only for his great service to his own people, but also for his leadership of the world anti-Communist movement. Shen also found great Latin American interest in developments on the Chinese mainland. He will return to Latin America again this fall to visit other countries.
Leaders from seven Asian and Pacific nations met in Taipei and agreed to convene the inaugural meeting of the World Anti-Communist League in the Republic of China's provisional capital September 25-29. This marks the culmination of more than a decade of efforts to establish such an organization.
The Seven-nation decision was made by the Executive Committee of the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League, representing Australia, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Vietnam.
WACL is actually an outgrowth of APACL, which was established 13 years ago this month at Chinhae, Korea, at the suggestion of Presidents Chiang Kai-shek and Syngman Rhee. In recent years, APACL has expanded into Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The Asian organization will not be terminated. Its annual conference will be convened in Taipei September 30, the day after close of the WACL meeting.
Anti-Communist leaders from free countries and from many lands behind the iron and bamboo curtains will come to Taipei to help establish WACL. Most of the world's anti-Communist organizations also will be represented.
The APACL Executive Committee decided to establish in Seoul an international institute to train young leaders in the skills and techniques of opposing Communism throughout the world. The first class of 50 cadets will be enrolled at the Korean Freedom Center in 1969. Training will last two years. The Republic of Korea will pay half the cost. The remainder will be shared by other members of WACL.
Applicants for training must be college graduates, adherents of the free, democratic cause, and have leadership potential.
The need for such a freedom school was indicated in the remarks of J. Kitaoka a Japanese delegate to the APACL Committee meeting. He said Japan is now the most important target for indirect aggression of Soviet Russia and Red China, and asked Asian anti-Communist nations to help the Japanese combat this threat.
Kitaoka said that once the Reds grasp power, "they will abolish the Japan-U.S. security pact, render Japan helpless against attacks from Communist countries, suppress all liberal and democratic parties, and establish despotic rule like the Communists or the fascists."
Ku Cheng-kang, chairman of the China Chapter of the APACL, told the Executive Committee that the creation of WACL "is timely and reflective of the fact that history will not tolerate for long the enslavement of half the world".
Economic progress indicators were plentiful in May. These were some of them:
—Both the net domestic product and per capita income are expected to be double the current levels by 1974, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
—Finance Minister Chen Ching-yu announced that economic growth has boosted tax collections to a point where the government has not had to increase rates. Improvement of tax administration and fewer tax evasions also have boosted the government's net take.
—Interest rates charged by banks were cut by amounts ranging from 0.03 to 0.05 per cent on deposits and by 0.06 per cent on loans. The changes, although small, are expected to benefit business and industry.
—The Chinese Government is seeking US$61 million from the World Bank to finance four projects: construction of US$14 million worth of tuna boats, US$15 million worth of railroad construction, US$15 million in loan funds for the China Development Corporation, and US$17 million for communications expansion. Loan applications have been filed by the government with the U.S. Export-Import Bank seeking US$2.75 million for United Nylon, US$4.74 for China Air Lines, and US$38.65 for the Taiwan Power Company.
—Under a new law enacted by the Legislative Yuan, the Chinese Government will guarantee all loans made by the World Bank and other international lending agencies for Taiwan development projects. The statute was passed the day before Vice President Yen's departure for the United States.
—The Legislative Yuan's Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee urged increased efforts to obtain overseas Chinese investment, which totaled nearly US$11 million last year for 66 projects. The legislators noted that of 632 projects approved between 1951 and 1966, 323 did not materialize.
—Government officials considered simplification of procedures at the Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone in southern Taiwan. So far 63 plants have been approved and 20 have begun production. The zone shipped 593 tons of goods in April, compared with 462 tons in January. Employment is given 3,000 persons. Forty additional plants are expected to be established by the end of this year. The goal is 120 factories by 1970.
—Kaohsiung port handled a record 7 million tons of cargo last year. Continued dredging has reclaimed 400,000 square meters of land since last October.
—Scheduled in Taipei this month is a Sino-American economic conference. Economists and scholars from the United States will join their Chinese counterparts in discussing the establishment of an economic research center and an economic doctoral program at National Taiwan University.
—Transportation goals under the fifth four-year plan from 1969 to 1972 will include a round-the-island rail network and an east-west cross-island highway in southern Taiwan.
—Work will be started immediately on a new Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation yard at Keelung to build tankers of up to 90,000 tons and cargo vessels of from 5,000 to 25,000 tons. The yard, to be designed by Japanese architects, will cost US$7 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 1968. Construction of two 90,000-ton tankers for the Chinese Petroleum Corporation will begin in 1969.
—RCA Taiwan Ltd., a subsidiary of RCA International, is establishing a US$2.25 plant at Taoyuan, south of Taipei, to make memory planes, stacks, and systems for use in computers and electronic data systems.
—Taiwan is relying less heavily on trade with Japan, its biggest supplier and customer. Taiwan exports to Japan were down about 10 per cent in 1966 as the result of market diversification. Of the island's US$569.4 worth of exports last year, US$141.7 million worth went to Japan.
—A Sino-Japanese Trade Congress was established to work for the elimination of cutthroat competition between the two countries.
—Exports for the first quarter of 1967 set a record of US$138.3 million, a 22 per cent increase over the corresponding period of 1966. Imports also were up—from US$130 million to US$146.4 million.
—One of the fast-expanding exports is paper. The first-quarter record was nearly 17,000 tons worth US$2,829,000.
Where the economy advances, society also must be moving ahead. These were some of the social gains that accompanied the economic boom:
* Stress on vocational education. The Ministry of Education hopes to balance high school students attending vocational institutes with those preparing for college. The present ratio is 650,000 vocational students to 1,000,000 taking standard academic courses.
* The Greater Taipei dial telephone network was completed. There are 41,500 phones installed with another 13,000 on the way. Also to be installed are 1,728 new long-distance circuits. In a 1969-72 program, 118,000 telephones will be installed in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Direct dialing will be made available among 11 cities. Cost of the projects will be nearly US$52 million.
* A site is being selected in northern Taiwan for a US$10 million ground telecommunications station that will link the island to the Pacific satellite.
* The Ministry of Education set the fall admission quota of colleges and universities at 30,000, an increase of 1,000 over 1966.
* Nearing completion in downtown Taipei is a three-level traffic exchange system at the key intersection of Chungshan and Chung cheng Roads. Traffic on Chungshan North Road will be speeded across a widened Keelung River bridge and on to the northern suburbs.
* Nearly US$1 million will be spent in 1967-68 to improve the Taipei-Suao-Hualien highway. A long tunnel will be built to bypass that part of the Suao-Hualien link which is so often blocked by landslides. Except for mountain roads, the route by way of Suao is the only direct land link between Taipei and Hualien. The Suao-Hualien road is a famous one that tunnels along the edge of mountains high above the Pacific.
* Formal announcement was made that when the Special City of Taipei comes into existence July 1, it will incorporate the suburban townships of Peitou, Shihlin, Neihu, Nankang, Mushan, and Chingmei. The new Greater Taipei will be under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan rather than the Provincial Government.
* An eight-year plan for the development of slope land will get under way next year. The cost will be almost US$17 million. Production will be sharply increased on 16,000 square kilometers of land and the income of the aborigine inhabitants approximately doubled.
* The Taiwan Railway Administration will build a 14-story building, auditorium, and conference hall on land opposite the Taipei Railroad Station. Two-level parking will be provided in the basement. Most of the TRA property is now occupied by a parking lot.
* Chinese girls are waiting longer to get married. The Provincial Department of Health reported that 9.2 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 had established families of their own in 1965. In 1920, the figure was 31.6 per cent.
*Children are growing taller and heavier. For boys, the 1966 gains were 0.27 centimeters in height and 0.52 kilograms in weight. For girls, the figures were 0.30 and 0.48. The year's gains amounted to 1.17 centimeters and 1.53 kilograms for boys and 1.29 and 1.42 for girls.
* Provincial authorities have allocated US$3 million for 2,000 housing units in 1967. Low-interest loans of US$3,000 for each apartment will be made to individuals and groups.
* One of every 40 persons in Taiwan owns a motorcycle or scooter-and local production of motorbikes will be 100,000 this year.
Progress was reported from the countryside, too. These were some of the important agricultural developments:
* Asia's first Vegetable Research Center will be established in Tainan county of southern Taiwan this year. The center will benefit China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Ryukyus, Vietnam, and the United States. The goal will be an Asian vegetable production increase of at least 2 1/2 times in five years.
*The Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction allocated more than US$10 million for 287 projects carried out during the last 10 months.
* Export of tobacco leaf is expected to triple and return annual earnings of US$10 million in the next five years. Foreign sales were started only a few years ago.
* Taiwan is expected to receive US$20 million in U.S. farm surplus commodities in fiscal 1967-68. This may be the last year of the program, because of declining American surpluses.
*Pineapple exports were 12 per cent short of the target in the 1966-67 canning year but earned a record US$19.3 million from the nearly 2.9 million cases.
* Rice production is expected to reach 2,440,000 metric tons in 1967-68, an increase of 60,000 metric tons.
Tourism was another booming aspect of life in Taiwan. These were developments involving travel and foreign visitors or residents:
* First-quarter visitors totaled 53,566, a gain of 33 per cent. Japanese led the list with 22,324. Foreigners numbered 48,533 and overseas Chinese 5,033. This year's total is expected to top 240,000, compared with last year's 183,000. R&R personnel from Vietnam are not included in statistics.
* International flights in and out of Taipei increased by 65.8 per cent last year. The number of flights was 28,046. Another increase of 45 per cent was recorded in the first quarter of 1967. The number of passengers was 374,822 in 1966, a gain of 31 per cent.
* China Air Lines has received a U.S. Import-Export Bank loan of US$4,270,000 for purchase of a second Boeing 727 jetliner. The plane will cost US$6.1 million. After delivery, CAL will fly on from Hongkong to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. CAL is currently flying to Hongkong, Osaka, and Tokyo.
* Hydrofoil service in two Italian craft will link Suao to Hualien and Hualien to Taitung on the east coast. The sailing time will be a little over an hour. Surface transportation for each of the journeys requires from four to five hours.
* Some 400 foreigners studying Chinese in Taiwan will be augmented by more than 100 for summer cram courses. Enrollment in Chinese language courses for foreigners is increasing about 20 per cent annually.
* Saluting Madame Chiang Kai-shek at a Grand Review were nearly 1,200 Chinese and foreign Girl Scouts. The First Lady urged the Chinese Girl Scouts to make their country proud of them.
* Nine hundred American members of dependent families of 225 American aid officials working in Vietnam will move to Taipei by the end of 1967. Housing is now under construction. Some families have already arrived.