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THE VOICE OF CHINA

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[ THE GENERALISSIMO^SPEAKS

From the woodcut by Liu Te Hua

THE VOICE OF CHINA

Speeches of Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek between December 7, 1941, and October 10, 1943

Including some recent messages to British leaders and the British people.

With a Foreword by H. E. Dr. V. K. WELLINGTON KOO,

Ambassador of the Republic of China at the Court of St. James's.

Published on behalf of the

LONDON OFFICE

CHINESE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

by HUTCHINSON & CO. (Publishers) LTD. LONDON : NEW YORK : MELBOURNE

MAY %

1944

BOOK

PRODUCTION

WAR ECONOMY

STANDARD

THIS BOOK IS PRODUCED IN COM- PLETE CONFORMITY WITH THE AUTHORIZED ECONOMY STANDARDS.

teu-b \£°\

MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT GAINSBOROUGH PRESS, ST. ALBANS, BY FISHER, KNIGHT AND CO., LTD.

FOREWORD

The following collection contains some of the most im- portant addresses and broadcasts by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the period between December 7, 1941, and October 10, 1943. With a few outstanding exceptions, the speeches were addressed to the Chinese people on public occasions of national importance.

It is perhaps significant to note that though intended for domestic audiences, most of the views are essentially inter- national in character ; in fact, in all these speeches China's domestic problems are envisaged as much from the broad principles of world co-operation as from her own pressing needs. "The destiny of China is one and the same as that of the United Nations," declared the Generalissimo in a message to the people of the United Nations on China's entry into the seventh year of her armed resistance to Japan. Always and foremost in his thoughts are China's responsibili- ties as well as her rights, no less than the necessity for plan- ning and building a new national life so that the Chinese people may the more effectively contribute to the security and prosperity of the post-war world. In a broadcast on the eve of the enforcement of the National Mobilization Act the Generalissimo said : "The least we should expect of ourselves is that we shall not prove unworthy of our Allies."

One finds even in this small collection an echo of the classical precept of humility and introspection, so funda- mental in Confucian ethics. In words simple and direct, the Generalissimo never hesitates to remind his people of . their shortcomings and inadequacies in the face of the vital needs of the world in general, and of China in particular. X)ne can almost see him at times looking straight into the eyes of his people and telling them how much they must redouble their efforts in the task of national reconstruction. Far from being complacent, he seeks to rouse them to a sense of urgency. While revealing a vision of the future, he warns

D FOREWORD

his people of the danger consequent upon their own failure. Again and again, he speaks of peace, not as an inevitable result of victory, but as something for which every Chinese would have to sweat and labour in a spirit of sacrifice. "The recovery of full health and vigour in a country afflicted with so many maladies as our country has been will not be so easy a matter as some may suppose," he said in a recent speech.

As one reads these pages, the feeling grows that in the Generalissimo one finds perhaps a synthesis of the old-and- new China. His frequent references to Confucian classics and to time-honoured ethical ideas, so deeply rooted in Chinese life, and so much in evidence also in the writings of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, place him firmly in the tradition of the scholar-soldier-reformer. None the less, one is aware at the same time of that quality of fearlessness and positive vigour which characterizes all great revolutionary leaders.

I am happy to find included in this collection also some important speeches by Madame Chiang. The breadth of vision which they reveal recalls to mind the saying of Socrates : "I am a citizen of the World." Her words will undoubtedly find a response in the hearts of women the world over.

In view of the growing interest in China and her problems the timely appearance of this small selection of speeches and messages by Generalissimo and Madame Chiang will, I believe, serve some useful purpose. Just as the people of China are eager to read in their own language the inspiring speeches of British leaders, I feel confident that the people of this country will welcome an opportunity to know some- thing of the ideas and hopes which animate the people of China to-day.

V. K. Wellington Koo.

Chinese Embassy, London. November, 1943.

CONTENTS The Generalissimo Speaks (Woodcut) by Liu Te Hua Frontispiece

Foreword by H.E. Dr. V. K. Wellington Koo

PAGE

5

PART I : THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE A New Year Message ..... 9

A War-time Way of Life . . . . .11

Salute to the "Flying Tigers" . . . .14

A Nation Mobilised . . . . . .20

Food and Victory . . . . . -25

Five Years' Resistance . . . . 31

Equality of Nations . . . . 35

Endurance and Conscientiousness . . 37

The Principle of Nationhood . . . . '42

An Historic Visit . . . . . -47

Towards World Unity . . . . 51

New Treaties : New Responsibilities . . 54

China's Enslaved Neighbour . . . 57

Prerequisites of Peace ..... 60

The Kuomintang and the Nation ... 66 A Servant of the People . . . . 71

8 CONTENTS

PART II : A VISIT TO INDIA

PAGE

India welcomes the Generalissimo 75

Peaceful Neighbours for 2,000 Years . . 79

PART III : MME. CHIANG IN AMERICA

A Better World for All Mankind ... 83

The Principle of Concerted Effort . . 88

Faith Among Nations ..... 96

PART IV: Messages between China and Britain . .104

PART I : THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE

A NEW YEAR MESSAGE

Broadcast to the nation on the evening of December 31, ig^i

Since the Japanese precipitated war in the Pacific on December 7 Chinese resistance has entered upon a new phase. The war in China has become a part of the World War and therefore our mission has taken on fresh importance and the duties we have to fulfil now weigh more heavily upon us.

The confidence of our people in the eventual defeat of Japan has been rendered only the more secure. The Japanese adventure in the Pacific may be likened to a draught of poison taken to quench thirst. Their thirst for conquest was so acute that it induced them to drink what they were perfectly well aware was poison. They have thus gained a momentary alleviation of that thirst, but the poison will ultimately kill them. The successes of which they are now boasting are that alleviation. Nevertheless their final destruction will inevitably overtake them.

In support of this assertion I wish to make three points. Firstly, the three main policies of the Japanese — their continental policy, their policy of encroachment in China and their policy of non-participation in the European war have all been defeated by our resistance. Their national policy having failed, there can be no question of their success in war. Secondly, Japan formerly had but one enemy, China, while now she faces four or more — Great Britain, the United States, Australia and the Soviet Union. China, on the other hand, has acquired as many allies among the powers fighting aggression and has entered into the fullest possible collaboration with them. Her strength has been increased more than fourfold. In contrast, more- over, to the impossibility of Japan's maintaining direct

10 THE VOICE OF CHINA

contact with her Axis partners, China enjoys perfectly satisfactory means of maintaining close contact with her allies. Thirdly, the strength of Japan's four enemies — Great Britain, the United States, China and the Soviet Union, for the latter being allied to Great Britain is to be considered the enemy of Japan — far exceeds that of Japan in every respect. The territory of any one of them is ten times greater than Japan's. She would be no match for any one of them individually, not to speak of an alliance of them all.

Though these are the facts, the Chinese Army and people should not permit themselves to form too low an estimate of the strength of Japan. There are no good grounds for sanguine expectations of an early victory over her. During the next few months vigorous activity on the part of the Japanese is to be anticipated and bad news may continue to come of the progress of operations in the Pacific. The shadow of Japanese aggression is now looming over the Indian Ocean and in time Burma and India may be threatened or even invaded. It will, of course, prove no easy undertaking to cut our lines of communication with the outside world as the enemy plans and desires to do, and with the further extension of the fronts on which he fights and the excessive demands upon his man-power involved, he will experience greater and greater embarrassment in maintaining his lines of communication and supply and become exposed to the danger of piecemeal destruction at the hands of the Allies. Nevertheless, we ought to prepare ourselves for the worst possible situation that can arise.

I believe that when a certain stage has been reached the Allies will find themselves in a position to inflict overwhelm- ing punishment upon the enemy on the sea and in the air as the preliminary to a decisive rout of his forces on land. This is the hope which we need have no doubt will be fulfilled in due course of time.

We must, however, on no account give ourselves up to over-optimistic illusions as to the difficulties and perils of the future. Our saying : 'Men help those who help them- selves,' remains a truth that knows no change. We must endeavour to stand firm upon our own feet and achieve the

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE II

greatest possible measure of self-sufficiency. Then, when unexpected difficulties are encountered we shall not be disconcerted or our success jeopardized. It is only upon a solid foundation built now that success in the future will rest. And such a foundation will not exist unless our society, administration, economy and education are fully adapted to the needs of war-time, and without it even victory would be no guarantee of future wdll-being. Now, therefore, is the time to renew our spirit and efforts and to go forward with perseverance and endurance to the realiza- tion of the Three Principles of the People.

I hope that all my fellow countrymen will strive to render national mobilization more complete and effective and eliminate all slack conduct, going energetically about all that has to be done and exercising economy. No man but should be doing something of value to the national war effort and none engaged in activities useless or disadvan- tageous to it. All our wills and strength should be concen- trated and all resources made to yield the maximum of utility to the cause. We must prove worthy of our place in the ranks of the forces fighting aggression and make of China a modern nation. Thus we shall be able to drive out the invaders, overthrow the might of the aggressors, establish the reign of justice and peace in the world, fulfil the hopes of those who have suffered and died for the cause and obey the teachings of Dr. Sun, the Father of the Republic.

I trust that my fellow countrymen will welcome the New Year with such a resolve and advance with unbounded enthusiasm and faith towards the victory that will assuredly be ours.

A WAR-TIME WAY OF LIFE

Message broadcast to the nation on the eighth anniversary of the founding of the Mew Life Movement [February 18, 1942) .

I have frequently pointed out that in promoting the New Life Movement my aim has been to have the people lead

12 THE VOICE OF CHINA

a life adapted to the demands of war-time. A way of life compatible with war-time conditions is necessary to the existence of a nation in present times. Complete national mobilization requires such a way of life. It requires of every citizen a change of attitude and a reform of habits. People of either sex and of all ages, at the front or in the rear, must act as members of one compact and unified fighting body.

Though our nation has been engaged for nearly five years in this war of resistance complete national mobilization has not yet been achieved. There is still almost as much laxity and negligence to be observed as in normal times. Our society is not yet a war-time society, our economy not a war-time economy, and our education not a war-time education. This is undeniably a great shortcoming in the record of resistance and in that of the New Life Movement. Our war effort will have to be much enlarged in scope and assume a far more vehement character. We must devote ourselves with greater energy to the cause if victory is to be won, our nation rehabilitated and the world liberated.

You must all be aware that modern war is not a mere matter of military operations. It involves the whole strength and all the resources of the nation. Not only soldiers, but also all citizens without exception, take part. The latter must conceive the national peril as affecting them personally, must consent to the endurance of all necessary hardships, and must abandon private freedom and satisfaction when discipline and the public interest demand it. Vigour of mind and body must be put at the service of the State. Wealth and resources must be conserved to meet the needs of warfare. An atmosphere of urgency and vigilance should pervade our society. Those in a position to indulge them- selves should forego indulgence and those not in such a position should regard indulgence as disreputable.

In a society where this is so, life will conform to the exigencies of war-time ; that is, the nation's interest will be held supreme and victory will be held the proper goal of all citizens' efforts. The State will exercise the rights of regulating the people's mode of life and restricting the consumption of national resources, and it is the duty of the

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 13

people to obey such regulations as are necessary. In this respect, we have not yet achieved the maximum results. I trust that there will be now a thorough realization of the needs of war-time and that citizens will watch over one another in such a way that those whose sense of patriotism is weak may be admonished and guided into better courses.

In December of last year the Ninth Plenary Session of the Central Executive and Supervisory Committee of the Party (Kuomintang) approved an 'Outline of Provisions for National Mobilization.' On the basis of this the Government is soon to issue ordinances with the main object of controlling and developing those human and material resources that have not yet been exploited, of restricting consumption and adjusting production and supply of commodities, and of denning every citizen's war duties. These ordinances must be obeyed by all without attempts at evasion.

I believe that to this end the method and organization of the New Life Movement may best serve as a basis for informing and guiding the public mind. In this way the Government's enactments can be more effectively put into force, and points which those enactments do not cover will not go unnoticed.

The execution of the scheme of national mobilization will in part be undertaken by the New Life Movement Headquarters, by the responsible heads of Government organizations, teachers in schools and local administrative personnel. The Headquarters has already decided to concentrate in its work this year upon the promotion of national service. This will mean the cultivation of a spirit of mutual helpfulness and encouragement in the task of adjusting national ways of life to the demands of war-time. It must not be forgotten that this can only be done by insistence on the moral values of propriety, justice, honesty and integrity. We must endeavour to foster a spirit of hardiness, earnestness and trustworthiness. The weak- minded and frivolous, those impatient of trial and trouble, those who lay blame and responsibility upon others, those who are reckless of the success of national policies and of

14 THE VOICE OF CHINA

military exigencies are unfitted to be citizens of a nation at war and are ripe for utilization as tools of the enemy.

Sense of responsibility, respect for discipline, and clarity of moral judgment form the basis of worthy conduct in war- time. The struggle must never be absent from our minds. We must be constantly prepared for sacrifices. We must go about all we do with seriousness and alertness. Victory then may be confidently expected and the success of recon- struction may be held assured.

SALUTE TO THE "FLYING TIGERS"

Speeches by Generalissimo and Mme. Chiang at a dinner given by

them in Kunming in honour of the American Volunteer Group of the

Chinese Air Force, with the reply of Colonel Claire L. Chennault,

Commanding Officer of the Group (February 28, 1942) .

Colonel Chennault, officers and men : To be with you American volunteers here to-day, to observe your excellent spirit and to hear of your achievements, fills me with delight and admiration. The American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force has acquired a world-wide reputation for greatest courage.

It is three months since the Japanese, our common enemy, picked their quarrel with Great Britain and the United States. The splendid victories the Volunteer Group has won in the air are a glory that belongs to China and our ally, America, alike.

I have already communicated the news of your repeated successes to your Government and President Roosevelt. The record of what you have done shows that every one of you has been a match for thirty or more of the enemy. Your friends and relations will undoubtedly have felt boundless pride and elation to hear of your exploits. The blows you have struck at the Japanese have put you in the forefront of the Allied forces fighting the aggressor. You have established a firm foundation for the campaign against

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 15

his lawlessness which China and America are united to wage. You have written in the history of this world war a remarkable page, the memory of which will live in our minds forever.

As the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces operat- ing in the China theatre of war, I am entertaining you to-day as my comrades-in-arms and on behalf of my four hundred and fifty million fellow-countrymen I salute you, confident that you will continue together with all the Allied forces in Burma to display your valour until final victory is won over our common enemy.

Since you are under my command I wish to impress upon you your identity with all the other men serving in the Chinese armed forces. Your lives are one with theirs and mine, your good name is one with theirs and mine. I act toward you as I act toward other members of the Chinese Air Force.. I shall extend to those of your comrades who have given their lives the same mark of distinction and the same care for their families and children. For this I hold myself responsible. I trust that you will perform your duties free from any anxiety on this score. Your task is great. When victory is ours I hope to celebrate together with you our successful issue of the war in Tokyo.

Colonel Chennaulfs Reply

Members of the A.V.G. : Never before in history do I know of any military unit such as ours having been accorded the honour such as comes to us to-night. No matter how many decorations we may have bestowed on us in the future I am sure we will never receive more honour than we have received to-night. For five years I have followed the Generalissimo to the best of my ability and I know him to be a leader of the highest principles and greatest determina- tion. He is a leader who prefers death to compromise. He is a leader not only of China but of the entire Allied effort. It is easy for us Americans to follow such a leader.

In addition to Madame Chiang's work in aviation she is also the leader of all the women in China. The orphans

l6 THE VOICE OF CHINA

and widows of China come to her either directly or through the agencies which she has set up and all receive aid. To me, she is the mother of China.

During this time millions of Chinese soldiers have gone to the fronts and have been killed and seriously wounded. Orphans have been left in the ruins of their homes and in the fields. All of these need aid and they have been given that aid as rapidly as possible. And now there will be thousands more to feed and educate, to receive medical attention.

One problem, of course, is to provide the money for this. It takes money to do all these things, probably less in China than elsewhere, but even in China money is needed to buy these things. Madame Chiang's generosity is boundless. Her shoulders are always willing to take on additional burdens, but if money is lacking to provide the necessities her work must suffer. I would be unable to recite all that Madame Chiang has accomplished ; however, one thing I have not yet mentioned. When the organization of this Group was first discussed in America I was asked for recom- mendations as to how it would be handled in China. The first thing that I insisted upon was that Madame Chiang would act as our chief staff officer. Madame Chiang would serve as liaison staff officer between the Generalissimo and the Group. And although she has hundreds of activities that require a great deal of her time, she consented to this because of her eagerness for China to have an effective military aviation. So, even though you are unconscious of the fact, Madame Chiang has been Honorary Group Commander and Staff Officer of this Group since its organization, and I would like to present her to-night as our Honorary Group Commander.

Madame Chiang's Speech

Colonel Chennault, members of the A.V.G. and other friends : As your Honorary Commander may I call you my boys ? You have flown across the Pacific in China's gravest hour on wings of hope and faith. For this reason

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 17

not only does the Chinese Air Force but the entire Chinese nation welcome you with outstretched arms. The General- issimo has already spoken to you of the fine and brave deeds you have done and he has called the A.V.G. the world's bravest air force.

I am very proud to-night that I have had a little share in making it possible for you to fight for China. When I think of the life-and-death struggle which China has passed through this last five years I have before my mind's eye the millions of our people who have been killed or wounded and others who had to flee from Japanese cannon, machine- guns and bombers. I also see the rivers of blood which have flowed over our territory, the very life-blood of China's fairest manhood. I think of the tens of thousands of our women whose honour has been violated by the Japanese and the hundreds of thousands of our little children who have been killed and maimed or else taken to Japan to be trained as traitors to their motherland.

And now you have come here to vindicate us. We have always been resolved to fight until final victory is ours, but we lack the air arm which you are now providing. You have come to fight side by side with us. For this I wish to express our heartfelt thanks.

Colonel Chennault has taken an active part in Chinese resistance during the last five years. You boys know him personally. You know what an admirable commander he is and how very selfless. The only complaint I have against him is that he is never satisfied with his own work. I venture to say, too, that he also thinks that you ought to have more work regardless of how much you already have.

Colonel Chennault has just introduced me as Honorary Commander of the A.V.G. I think I am prouder of this title than of any other title I've had, because I know that you are not only fighting with your bodies and your skill, you are fighting with your hearts and spirits. Just now Colonel Chennault brought to me two of your very fine comrades who have braved death to-day in the air. They forgot themselves entirely while fighting the enemy because they know that although they might have to make the final

l8 THE VOICE OF CHINA

sacrifice their comrades would carry on the great work which the A.V.G. has set for itself. This spirit, I feel, is the secret of the A.V.G.'s successes.

I was asked a little while ago by one of my officers : "Madame Chiang, some of the A.V.G. pilots are shooting down so many planes that we won't have room enough on the wings for all the stars which they merit. What shall we do about it ?" I told him : "We shall have to provide them with an additional pair of wings." And that is what we will have to do if you all keep up the score.

Although you are here in China I am sure that often your minds and your hearts fly back to your loved ones in America, and for this reason I am glad that America is now realizing that China is not fighting for China alone, but for America and for the whole world. You, in giving the best that is in you, are doing it for your own country as well as for China. Time and again your Commanding Officer has dinned into your ears the necessity for discipline. Hateful word, isn't it ? Discipline in the air, discipline on the field, and yet without discipline we can accomplish nothing, and I, as your Honorary Commanding Officer, am going to din more discipline into you.

I would go further than Colonel Chennault. I mean the discipline of your inner selves. It isn't enough to observe discipline only. We must have inner discipline so that we may have fully developed characters. However, I am not trying to make you little prospered saints, and I am quite human to like interesting people, but I do want you boys to remember one thing ; the whole, of the Chinese nation has taken you to its heart and I want you to conduct your- selves in a manner worthy of the great traditions that you have built up. I want you to leave an impression on my people, a true impress of what Americans really are. I trust and I know that you will act worthily wherever you are in China.

Forgive me for speaking to you like that. Perhaps I should be very polite and say : "Boys, you are just grand. You are little angels with or without wings." But you are my boys. I can speak to you freely. I know that you will

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 19

understand when I say that I hope every one of you whether in the air or on the ground, will remember that you are China's guests and that everything you do will reflect credit upon the country which I love next to my own, America, where, as you know, I was educated, and which I always look upon as my second home.

Colonel Chennault just now said something which rather embarrassed me. He spoke to you about my needing money to carry on relief work. I know that money is necessary, Colonel, but I don't want to rope you boys in to-night for this purpose. If I had, this dinner would be very hard to digest, so I didn't do that, but I do want to thank you for what you voluntarily contributed to the war orphans during Christmas. Please don't feel that you have to contribute now, that's one thing I beg of you.

Just one final word. War is not only a matter of equip- ment, artillery, ground troops or air force ; it is largely a matter of spirit, or morale. When I came into this room I felt at once how very keyed up you are. Now that you have been fighting for a few months you are full of enthu- siasm and pep. That is a good thing but the greater thing is to gather momentum as each day goes by and not let yourself be discouraged no matter what happens, because as you soar into the skies you are writing in letters of flame on the horizon certain eternal truths for the world to see : first, the indomitable courage of the Chinese people ; second, the indestructible spirit of the Chinese Army ; and third, the deathless soul of the Chinese nation. And so, whatever you do, wherever you are, remember that such is the China which you have come to assist.

I would like all of you to get up and drink a toast to the two great sister nations of both sides of the Pacific. They now have a bond of friendship and sympathy which serves us well in the crucible of war and which will serve us equally well when victory has been won.

20 THE VOICE OF CHINA

A NATION MOBILISED

A broadcast on the eve of the enforcement of the National Mobilisation Act {May 4, 1942).

On March 29 the Government promulgated the National Mobilisation Act which is to be put into effect from to- morrow, May 5. In promulgating this Act on the Huang- Hua-Kang Revolutionary Martyrs' Day the intention was to call upon citizens to emulate their spirit of sacrifice in the service of the cause of national rebirth. Likewise the act is to go into effect on the anniversary of the day Dr. Sun became the President of the Emergency Republican Govern- ment. This will form a commemoration of Dr. Sun's spirit of endeavour since it will mark the beginning of greater striving on our part to complete the task of resistance and reconstruction.

I solemnly express my hope that you will all realize this point and accordingly regard this Mobilization Act as something sacred and support the Government to the full in implementing it.

In speaking of the key to the success of the Revolution and national salvation Dr. Sun used two phrases, 'offer abilities' and 'sacrifice individual freedom for the protection of our national freedom and of the freedom of humanity.' The modern world is one wherein every nation has to develop the strength of which its citizens are capable. The inde- pendent status of the individual, his thoughts and actions become a thing of the past. Only a fighting nation can make itself responsible for world peace and such a nation must organize its material resources and manpower with the highest possible degree of efficiency.

The present Act is legislation of a modern nation's existence. Its provisions consist of what are the elementary duties of a citizen toward his country in modern times. The extent to which it can successfully be put into effect will decide whether our nation can continue to exist in the modern world and whether we are qualified to stand along- side other nations in it.

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 21

Resistance has been going on for nearly five years. This means that we have been fighting for the independence and freedom of our country and at the same time for inter- national justice and freedom. Our once single-handed struggle has now become a part of a world-wide campaign against aggression.

The manifesto of the twenty-six nations that appear e on New Year's Day is the expression of our common faith and the aim of our war effort.

The war has spread to five oceans and five continents and the whole world has become the scene of a tremendous duel. The casualties and suffering involved have exceeded all bounds. We must completely destroy this menace of aggression and provide a sound foundation for a world peace before true victory can be said to have been won. Only thus can freedom be assured unborn generations of our race.

We must prepare for the prolongation of the war and for greater difficulties in the future. We must build up the machinery for the mobilization of our resources and bring into fuller play all the strength of mind and body, of matter and money at our disposal. Every person must realize that what he is called upon to give is to be put at the service of the nation, of the world and of the civilization and well- being of humanity. The least we should expect of ourselves is that we shall not prove unworthy of our allies. We ought to exert ourselves with greater self-denial and diligence than heretofore and develop the potential strength of our land in an efficient manner. To this end all must unani- mously help to carry this Act into practice.

The legislative content of the Act is much the same as that of similar measures in other countries. There is, how- ever, one peculiar feature. With us it is not only an instru- ment of national policy but an expression of the popular will of our nation.

At the beginning of the second year of resistance a pro- gramme of resistance and reconstruction was published as a framework for war-time measures and conduct. The principles and spirit of that programme formed the basis of

22 THE VOICE OF CHINA

the present Act which, it may be said, is a concrete and codi- fied application of its sense. Citizens will henceforth be clearer as to the efforts required of the individual and the restrictions necessary for concentration of our will and uniformity of our actions.

Another aspect of the matter is that whereas we are fighting to defend ourselves and our sense of justice, on the opposing side men are being exploited in the service of their master's plans of aggression. With us the will of the Chinese people has demanded the action the nation is taking in order to put itself on a war footing in the defence of its existence.

Public opinion, the discussions of experts, the proposals of representative bodies have always shown support for the control and management of the country's resources and criticism has been directed only at deficiencies and loopholes in such control and management. The public has dis- played a general readiness to endure hardships without complaint and to sacrifice without hesitation. We may, therefore, confidently declare that this Act is an expression of the patriotic determination of the nation to defend itself.

If the administrative departments concerned go about this work energetically a few selfish degenerates among us will have no power to obstruct its success or evade its pro- visions. The Government will have to exercise the strictest supervision and make detailed allowance for all the exigencies of the situation. Separate enactments will have progressively to be devised as the need for them arises and existing regula- tions will have to be adjusted to conform to the central principles of the Act.

Supplies for the front must be assured and the livelihood of the people in the rear stabilized if we are to keep up our war effort until final victory is attained.

Though this Act has not been promulgated until now, we have long been carrying out mobilization on a large scale in all departments of national life. The control of produc- tion, the restriction of consumption, the adjustment of commodity supply, the stabilization of prices, the manage-

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 23

ment of finance, the enlistment of labour, intellect and technical skill has been undertaken by the Government and has been done with the spontaneous assent of the people.

However, in the past, action in this direction has been partial and fragmentary and insufficiently thorough-going and widespread. With this Act there will come about a legalization and systematization of all these activities. No individual will be an exception to its provisions. At this critical moment in the history of our country there should be no citizen whose conscience and instincts permit him to attempt evasion of the law.

The duties that this Act clearly lays down as the war- time obligations of the people consist on the one hand in the positive requirements it makes of every man, and on the other hand in the restrictions and prohibitions it imposes upon him. Provided there is positive observance of the law and fulfilment of the tasks defined by it the Government will protect and reward the citizen. Behaviour in a contrary sense, however, will mark him down as a degenerate element, devoid of the qualifications for citizenship in a modern nation and the Government will penalize him and society will reject him accordingly.

On New Year's Day I declared to the nation : "If we continue in remiss and negligent conduct, if our society cannot be made a war-time society, our administration a war-time administration and our economy a war-time economy, if the general life of our people cannot be made to conform to the needs of war-time, not only will there be no hope of victory but there will even be no place for our country in the world of the future."

It was my hope at that time that every citizen among industrial and agricultural workers alike would make up his mind to be a citizen beneficial to his country or ,at least one in no way injurious to his country's interests. In fact victory will require much more of us than the avoidance of action disadvantageous to the conduct of the war. It demands that every man shall do his duty at whatever post is his. The promulgation of this Act will make clear to all their path of effort in the service of the country.

24 THE VOICE OF CHINA

The provisions of the Act are expressed in a perfectly clear-cut manner. I need not go into them in detail. I trust that you will all recognize the importance of the legal character of this Act and faithfully observe the following points :

First, there must be energetic determination to obey it exhaustively to the exclusion of all evasion and disguised intentions of evasion. All laws require the willing and sincere obedience of the citizens for them to take full effect. Our ability to practise such obedience will decide the issue of this war and the fate of our nation.

Second, the Act must be clearly interpreted, for in view of the different degrees of intelligence among our people there may be difficulty in understanding its provisions. Therefore the well-educated, those in positions of authority and leadership in society and local officials of all ranks should take full advantage of opportunities of conveying to the people the sense of the law at public meetings. They should impress upon the public the full scope of every citizen's responsibility, for only thus can there be an all- prevailing observance of the law.

Third, there must be assistance lent to the Government in the work of applying the Act. However comprehensive the wording of the law, and however great the efforts of the administration, there may still be a few individuals beyond the direct influence of the Government. It will be necessary for citizens to stimulate and keep watch over each other and discountenance all conduct detrimental and unfaithful to the Act. There must be straightforward and loyal response to the Government's demands and pressure brought to bear on all those who attempt to trifle with the law.

Fourth, in all walks of life there should be organized endeavour to admit of full play for the predominantly economic influence of the Act, which is aimed at the develop- ment of resources and efficiency of production. Trade and professional organizations are needed for this purpose. It is to be hoped that citizens engaged in production, transport and commerce will enthusiastically participate in such organizations and lend their collective energies towards the

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 25

implementation of the Act. This is essential not only for the success of resistance but also for our advance towards the status of a modern nation.

Resistance has now entered upon a crucial period. The Government must summon up the fullest possible resolution to give complete effect to the national policies and to this Act in order that the whole nation may be transformed into one solid fighting unit. You must bestir yourselves to restrict consumption and intensify production and put all resources of labour, skill and knowledge at the disposal of the nation and the war. The story of our generation will thus be a glorious one.

I appeal to my fellow countrymen to-day to form a high resolve to mobilize their strength for the purpose of establish- ing the foundations of a modern state, gaining for all Chinese citizens the status of citizens of such a state, and carrying to a successful issue the mission that is ours.

FOOD AND VICTORY

An address to the National Food Administration Conference in Chungking on June 2, 1942

It was a happy circumstance that this conference com- menced its deliberation at a time of abundant and timely rainfall, as a result of which a rich harvest may confidently be anticipated. This may be called assistance which Heaven has lent to our cause. At the same time our allies, and in particular the United States of America, have recently extended to us increasing supplies of arms and economic aid. This is assistance we have had of men. We must see to it that we do all we can to help ourselves.

In regard to the numerous offensives the enemy is now conducting, of which that in western Chekiang is on the largest scale, I would only remark that no matter where he may strike he will make no chief gain and whatever local successes he may achieve they will have no appreciable effect

26 THE VOICE OF CHINA

upon the war situation as a whole. His present action betrays the alarm he feels at the threat of our planned counter-offensive and of the air menace to Japan proper. I am in a position to assure you that the enemy after five years of failure to crush us will never, whatever the desperate means he may adopt, be able to smash our armies in the field. The further he penetrates into our territory the more surely will he be digging himself a grave there. We shall certainly contrive to retain the initiative in all forthcoming military actions. We shall regard the blind fury of his attacks as the impetus driving him on to self-destruction.

I predicted some months ago that before the autumn of this year the enemy would bring more of our territory under his occupation, while other points would be recovered by us. Such local gain and loss of ground, however, will not be a decisive factor in the final issue of the war. Hence- forth, our strategy and tactics will be designed with the view of co-ordinating operations in China with those on all other fronts and of winning a final victory that will be as much that of our allies as our own.

We must realize that we are now engaged in a war of a different character from that of the single-handed struggle previous to December of last year. We are no longer con- cerned with retaining any single town or district just to prevail for a passing hour or day.

We are out to secure a fundamental settlement of the Sino-Japanese conflict as a part of the world war. We shall strive to do our part and our duty as the member of the United Nations responsible for the defence of the Asiatic base for an Allied counter-offensive. You must impress this view of the situation upon your fellow-countrymen in the localities to which you are to return.

If every one of us exerts his utmost effort and if we thereby mobilize our national strength and revolutionary spirit to the fullest extent, there can be no question of our ability to recover the ground that we have lost and to deliver the oppressed peoples from the yoke of the aggressors.

The foundation for the final victory has been laid. It now remains for us to do justice to the advantages we have

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 27

derived from the assistance of Heaven and of our allies by showing great self-reliance.

You must appreciate in what a momentous period of our national history we are now living and how important a part food administration plays in the work of revolution. You must then leave nothing undone in planning a national food administration such as will ensure the country a well- fed people and army.

You are all in positions of high responsibility and the proper fulfilment of your duties will mean the success of the most important phase of our national economic policy. The importance of our food policy to-day is equal to that of our monetary policy of 1935, when the Government introduced a unified national currency.

An effective food policy is essential both to victory and to the future realization of Dr. Sun's principle of the people's livelihood. You ought to think of yourselves as men whose work may determine the whole course of the revolution, and, inspired by this thought, you must put into all that you do a new enthusiasm and a new vigour.

A year has passed since the Government established the Ministry of Food, and it is a shorter time since the local administrative machinery under it began to function. Generally speaking, progress has not fallen short of the expected results, and this is due to your loyal efforts. Devotion to the public interest can never fail to bring equally gratifying success.

Sound planning and equitable purchase of foodstuffs will, I am sure, bring even greater achievements during the present year. Citizens in general now possess a good understanding of their responsibilities in the work of resistance and recon- struction. They are ready and eager to respond to govern- ment leadership.

We are still at an early stage of the application of this new food policy, and it is most important that every administra- tive or technical defect discovered should be immediately rectified in order that the Government may show due appre- ciation of the law-abiding, public-spirited attitude of the people and the local leaders of society. Above all, every-

28 THE VOICE OF CHINA

thing possible must be done to achieve equality of obliga- tions— a principle that has consistently characterized Chinese financial and economic policies in the past.

There is a very small minority of rich landowners who grumble at the slightest increase of the amount of food required of them and who attempt evasion. There should be no timidity in dealing with such cases. The vast majority of landowners are, however, conscientious and intelligent and they will respond heartily to enlightened Government policy. We must adopt a progressive ratio of assessment, so that foodstuffs shall be demanded of indi- viduals in proportion to their capacity of production. The rich land-owners must be instructed and given a proper sense of their great responsibility toward the nation.

Government acquisition of food supplies in time of war is no less important than conscription. Equity is the funda- mental principle applicable to both these essential phases of war administration.

Landowners and influential men of all kinds, especially members of political councils, ought to set an example to the people. The young members of rich families should offer themselves for military service. If not one of two sons, at least one of three sons should be ready to do so.

In the case of the well educated, there are the officers' training schools which they can enter with a view to becom- ing reserve officers. Many sons of the educated, propertied and official classes are now volunteering for military service, but there is still too general a tendency for the privileged to evade conscription, while the poor are willing to serve even when the law permits them exemption.

There are cases of connivance on the part of the authori- ties in practices of evasion. The unfairness as much as the illegality involved is appalling. If to remissness in this respect the rich should add violations of the law in the matter of food at this time of great national distress, they will lose all rights to citizenship in the modern state.

Men of influence ought to censure such conduct and the Government should deal severely with it.

After five years of resistance the Government has done

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 29

nothing to curtail normal commercial transactions in food- stuffs within the limits of the law, and has kept an open mind in listening to suggestions from all quarters regarding methods of compulsory purchase. Among all other nations at war none has so liberal a government. According to the usual procedure, when a state is at war its government exercises complete control over all food supplies to meet the needs of the emergency. Our Government, however, has not seen it fit to take similar action because of its confidence in the citizens' patriotism and the rich resources of the country.

Should there be dissent from the very reasonable demands made by the Government, the people will be bound to condemn it without reserve. On the part of the poor, voluntary sacrifice has been the rule, while the well-to-do have frequently been guilty of meanness.

Of late the United States, knowing of our national diffi- culties, has unconditionally extended to us a loan of five hundred million American dollars, the equivalent of ten billion dollars in Chinese currency. It is strange, therefore, that any Chinese citizen should be found who refuses to contribute a portion of his surplus foodstuffs to the defence of the nation. Such conduct is a great injury to the coun- try's reputation. It is imperative that government supplies of foodstuffs should be equal to the needs of the army and people. No obstacle to this can be tolerated. The amount purchased must at least exceed the figure fixed for the collection of land tax in kind.

I have also some views to express regarding adminis- trative machinery and its working. The Chungking papers to-day have devoted much editorial space to the subject of this conference and food problems. I hope that you will all give close attention to the expression of public opinion in the press and elsewhere. Valuable suggestions should by all means be followed.

The points upon which I myself wish to remark are as follows :

1 . At present the Ministry of Finance, the Land Admin- istration Department of the Ministry of the Interior and cer- tain military organizations are all concerned in food

30 THE VOICE OF CHINA

administration. The exigencies of efficient administration must dictate what measures should.be taken to effect adjust- ment and co-ordination.

The detached and autocratic functioning of Government organs dealing with the same phase of administration, a common fault in the past, must be guarded against. There must be both division of labour and co-operation, but efficiency is impossible without co-operation.

It is essential that the purchasing, transport and storage of food supplies should be subject to the over-all supervision of the Ministry of Food. Various sections of the Govern- ment may be involved, but they must function harmoniously and lend their willing co-operation to the Ministry of Food.

2. The main features of the Government's food policy and administrative methods have already been made public throughout the country. Within the limits of the Govern- ment's defined legislation, there is room for the adjustment of local practice to meet particular conditions in individual localities.

The one point that can in no way be neglected is that the total quantity of foodstuffs purchased must exceed the total collections of land tax in kind. This will permit a lighten- ing of the burden for small farmers and a proportionately heavier demand upon the rich. The principle of equity requires this, and it must be so if we are to be sure of attaining the goal we have set ourselves for this year.

3. In regard to the adjustment of supply and demand, all sections of the Government concerned in food administration should be quite clear about the fact that the difficulties of the food situation do not turn upon ways and means of control and distribution. In some places there is a surplus, while in others there may be serious shortages.

Beyond the business of acquiring stocks of food there is the problem of distribution, for the solution of which the improvement of means of transport and storage is indispens- able. For such improvement it is in turn necessary to enlist the services of the people and to win their confidence by demonstrating concern for their interest and freeing them from all undue exemptions.

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 31

Concrete provisions in this respect must be devised and thereafter scrupulously applied by every grade of the local administrative machinery. Wherever there is essential work to be done, we cannot afford to make any miserly retrenchment of expenditure. At the same time, however, all officials engaged in food administration should cultivate habits of strict frugality and never forget that the food they are handling has been produced by the hard work of the people.

Apart from defects and abuses pointed out by to-day's papers, much value should be attached to all similar expres- sions of public opinion. You must keep a close watch over your subordinates and make it your aim to see that all concerned in food administration go about their work with constant thought for the good of the nation and the people. Means of tracking and preventing abuses should be devised.

The principle of equity and equalization of obligations should never be lost sight of. If your unrelenting efforts are added to the favourable weather conditions which are making for a rich harvest, there will undoubtedly be an even better record to show for this year's work than that for last year's.

There is every ground for confidence regarding the military situation. The chief need of the future lies in a satisfactory solution of food problems. I hope you will carry home with you, when this conference is at an end, the determination to display the spirit of self-help and self- reliance without which a nation cannot long continue to exist.

FIVE YEARS' RESISTANCE

An address to the Chinese people on July 7, 1942, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of China's resistance to Japanese aggression.

To-day we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the beginning of China's armed resistance. The struggle of the Chinese Army and people against aggression has been

32 THE VOICE OF CHINA

in progress for five full years. The past year has, moreover, been a year of extraordinary developments in the world situation which will determine the final outcome of the war. On this solemn occasion foremost in our hearts and minds must be the sorrowing homage we owe to all those who have nobly laid down their lives for the common cause. At the same time let us take this opportunity to express our gratification at the achievements of our allies. The present moment affords me also a fitting occasion to acknowledge China's appreciation of the gallantry of our Allied forces who are fighting shoulder to shoulder with us. To the governments and people of the United States, Great Britain, Soviet Russia, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Mexico and others of the United Nations I express our warm thanks for the unfailing concern they have felt for us at every stage of our national trial. Their readiness to extend collaboration to China has been a constant source of encouragement to us.

You must realize, my fellow-countrymen, that these five hard years of resistance comprise a record unprecedented in the annals of modern warfare. The war China is engaged in is unique not only as being the longest for the past hundred years, but also as an example of a weak nation standing up against a strong. In this long and bitter conflict the unshakable solidarity of the Chinese people has demon- strated the greatness of their traditional spirit of independ- ence. We have become the vanguard of the forces opposing aggression. The whole world recognizes our position as champion of international justice and understands the value of our spiritual strength.

The present war is a war between good and evil, between right and might. The difficulties and perils we have encountered have only served to give proof of the undaunted revolutionary spirit possessed by our people. Through all these difficulties and dangers a sure path has been found and our efforts have not been in vain. The guidance we have derived from the noble principles of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary teachings has enabled us to give this demon- stration of the invincible and sustaining qualities of our

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 33

national character. The moral ascendancy we have acquired is such that no force or knavery can ever shatter it. It is the guarantee for our victory and an all-important factor in our reconstruction.

To-day China no longer stands alone as she has done for four and a half years. Our present position imposes greater responsibilities upon us. I desire to-day to impress upon you the weight of those responsibilities that fall to our lot in the present World War. You will, I trust, continue to do your duty with devotion and endurance.

China is charged with the duty of operating as the main fighting force on the Asiatic continent. That duty is laid upon us with the same urgency as the duty of America to deal in the Pacific with her first and most threatening enemy, Japan. The other Allies such as Great Britain and Soviet Russia have each naturally a particular duty to perform in accordance with their respective geographical positions. Each is keenly sensible of certain inalienable obligations. The naval situation in the Pacific, for instance, has developed in such a way as to expose American soil to a direct threat from Japan which was the first power to invade American territory, attack the American fleet and flout American prestige.

What we have seen of recent American action in the Pacific, the bombing of Tokyo and the engagements in the Coral Sea, off Midway Island and at Dutch Harbour, has been sufficient indication that America is beginning to discharge her supremely important duty in the Pacific. That is to say, America is bound to deal first with the enemy from which she has most to fear for the defence of her own soil and for her security as the arsenal of the Democracies, and in order to carry out her mission of world leadership not only during the present war, but also in post-war reconstruction.

You must be on your guard against giving credence to superficial speculation that Allied strategy and policy con- sider the Pacific War to be of secondary importance, that our allies intend to let Japan havener own way for the time being, or even that there is no comprehensive Allied

34 THE VOICE OF CHINA

strategy and that there is no concrete organization to direct Allied efforts. All such talk leads to unjustified apprehen- sion. In the near future the collapse of the enemy will be apparent — then the strategy, organization and strength of the United Nations will be properly appraised.

It is my hope that you, my compatriots, will depend upon yourselves to exert your utmost in the fulfilment of your sacred duty as citizens of China in the Asiatic theatre of war. There must be full realization of the fact that both space and time were on Japan's side during her campaign in the South Seas. Her initial successes, however, are no reliable criterion of her real strength. In a number of broadcasts this year I have emphasized this point. To-day my chief concern is to have you grasp the significance of the Midway Islands, Coral Sea and Dutch Harbour engage- ments in which the enemy met with sharp reverses, lost four out of her six newest aircraft carriers and two battle- ships. This blow marks the beginning of the decline in her fighting strength. Far greater defeats will rapidly overtake her, defeats that will mean the beginning of her final collapse. Here a single front will suffice to show the weakness of Japan. The total tonnage of her naval and merchant vessels is scarcely more than five million tons. It will be impossible for her to maintain with so few ships the vast fronts over which she has spread her forces.

Meanwhile, the land, sea and air strength of the United Nations is daily increasing and already exceeds that of the Axis bloc. By the end of this winter Japan's strength will be only one-tenth that of the Allies. I need not elucidate further the significance of this comparison. The final defeat of Japan will start on sea and will end on land. Her depredations in the South Seas will prove to be the prelude of her disaster. She is meanwhile plunging deeper and deeper into the morass of her continental adventure wherein for five years she has pursued a suicidal course dictated by our strategy. She is now beyond recovery. Our efforts will determine the speed with which she can be finally overthrown.

At this moment we are at the turning-point in our war

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of resistance. Patriotism demands of us sustained sacrifice. Irrespective of age or sex we must each contribute to the all-important task which when completed will bring victory and permanent security to a freed world.

EQUALITY OF NATIONS

A message to the Chinese people on the 31st anniversary of the founding of the Republic {October 10, 1942).

On this solemn anniversary day every citizen should call to mind the arduous achievements of the Revolution in the past and render himself better aware of his own responsi- bility for its future progress. I wish on this occasion first to describe the moral basis for our national policy and existence.

For five thousand years the spirit of our national culture and tradition has been such as may be summed up in the phrases 'loyalty and reciprocity' and 'goodwill and love.' Loyalty consists in performing one's duties to the very best of one's ability. Reciprocity is the will to think of the affairs of others in terms of one's own, to avoid doing to others what one would not have them do to one's self. Since we will not tolerate oppression and aggression from others we must refrain ourselves from oppressive or aggres- sive action in our dealings with others and discountenance such action throughout the world.

The aim we and our allies have set before us in the present war is freedom and security for humanity and its civilization. We are not concerned with the selfish interests of a single nation or country. In striking contrast with the ambition of the Axis to subject other races to the tyranny of one that claims superiority, our desire is to see proper importance attached to the interests of all races.

Resistance is an expression of our solicitude for the well- being of all mankind and our determination to make it possible for the world to enjoy genuine peace. It is also a

36 THE VOICE OF CHINA

demonstration of our faith in the Three Principles of the People. Of those principles the Principle of Nationhood is of especial importance at the present stage for while the existence of the nation remains in danger, the application of the other two principles will depend upon our success in applying the first.

The Principle of Nationhood requires of us the deliver- ance of our nation and also the endeavours to obtain equality of status for all other nations. Our national tradi- tion of 'goodwill and love' impels us to this concern for the interests of other countries. Dr. Sun, in asserting these tenets as a national creed, believed that the world can attain to lasting peace and order only through the develop- ment of this spirit of goodwill and love. The object of his revolutionary work was as much world salvation as national salvation. The goal of world unity he envisaged consists in equal enjoyment of the goals of independence and freedom by all peoples without distinction of colour or power. Being engaged in this just war for the assertion of right against might, we must prepare in collaboration with our allies to devise means of making sure that there shall be no repetition of this disaster in the future. Our duty for the present remains to exert our best effort in our own defence and national rehabilitation.

I turn next to national reconstruction and the main principle we must keep sight of in all we do to that end. The qualities it demands of us are industry, frugality and conscientiousness which as it happens are qualities peculiarly characteristic of our people. We must lay fresh emphasis upon their importance. On several occasions this year I have urged upon my fellow countrymen the necessity of conforming their ways of living to the exigencies of war-time and carrying into full effect the provisions of the National Mobilisation Law. To-day, however, there is still insuffi- cient evidence of the social atmosphere of urgency and energetic devotion to duty which we require. We must have a livelier sense of the gravity of the emergency and the realization that life in war-time must necessarily be one of hardship. We must be prepared to endure privations for

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 37

the sake of the great undertaking of national rehabilitation. We must all bestir ourselves to bring all our activities into line with the provisions of the National Mobilization Act.

All those with technical ability must make their con- tribution to its full implementation. The individual must practise thrift in his personal life and go about his work with enthusiastic and scrupulous attention to the public interest. The hardships of the fighting men at the front should be considered the standard by which behaviour elsewhere is to be judged. Their sacrifices should be the measure of what is required of all citizens. If this maxim is obeyed the country will be in no danger of falling short of the aims of recon- struction.

ENDURANCE AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

An address at the Inaugural Meeting of the First Plenary Session of the Third People's Political Council in Chungking (October 22, 1942) .

When our last plenary session was held in November of last year the Pacific was threatened with imminent outbreak of war. Since the subsequent beginning of the Japanese campaign of aggression in that ocean, China, in the com- pany of her allies, has become the most important member of the forces fighting on the continent of East Asia. She is no longer the single-handed protagonist of the cause of our own independence. Her fate is one with that of the whole world. Our responsibilities and the scope of our operations are now far more extensive than ever before.

The battles fought in China during the past year have made it clear that we have already passed from the defensive to the offensive. We have achieved indubitable results in all our military measures of preparation for a general counter-offensive despite the great difficulties of the situation we have had to face.

In the initial stage of the Pacific War the Japanese seemed borne along by a wave of good fortune. Since June of this year, however, they have met with a number of

38 THE VOICE OF CHINA

sharp reverses in the Coral Sea, off Midway Island and at Dutch Harbour. Their naval and air strength has been steadily declining, and recently in the Solomons and New Guinea, where the Allies have not yet fully developed their offensive, there have been unmistakable signs of the enemy's exhaustion. The Japanese militarists have called upon their people 'not to underestimate' Anglo-American strength. They have announced that the present moment is not opportune for the commencement of reconstruction in the South Seas. They have emphasized the need of preparing for a war of long duration. They have appealed for greater sacrifices. Although Soviet Russia is now engaged in fierce fighting with Nazi Germany she has in no way relaxed the vigilance she maintains on her Eastern frontier. As the result of the failure of the German offensive in Russia and the stabilization of the British position in northern Africa the Japanese have had to abandon their plans for northern expansion and a junction of forces with Germany. The future presents to them a spectacle of fathomless uncertainty.

The past year has been especially memorable for the change that has come about in our relations with other powers. Despite the damage done to our means of com- munication with the outside world by the loss of Hong Kong and Burma, the circumstance has done much to bring about fuller collaboration between China and Great Britain, the United States, Soviet Russia and her other allies. But we are opening up fresh routes of communication, and we have achieved genuine military co-ordination. A great deal of the financial and material assistance at our disposal has resulted. Our allies have come to appreciate the effective- ness and importance of our resistance and to understand better the moral significance and aims of the war we have been waging for so long.

A still deeper cause for gratification is to be found in the announcements made by the British and American Govern- ments on the Double Tenth of their intention immediately to abrogate their extraterritorial rights in China, and enter into negotiations with a view to making all relevant adjust- ments in their relations with the Chinese Government.

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 39

There will, therefore, be no occasion to wait until after the war for the abolition of extraterritoriality. The gratitude we feel and the encouragement we have derived are insepar- able from an added sense of our great responsibility. We are fully aware that since our allies have accorded us equality of status, it stands to reason we shall rightly be expected to bear a share of the war burden no less heavy than theirs.

There are four points of vital importance in the present situation, (i) The power of the Axis having passed the zenith of its development is now on the decline. Its final defeat is certain. (2) The war will be of long duration and a conclusion is not to be looked for within any short period of time. (3) The rapidity and volume of Allied war production are such that victory is assured to the cause of the nations fighting aggression. (4) The present conflict will issue in a thoroughly conclusive decision and the post-war world will undoubtedly be one wherein all nations can live in freedom and equality of status one with another. The moral prestige of the nations which have contributed most to the victory will be correspondingly high.

The chief features of our efforts henceforth must be 'endurance and conscientiousness.' We shall be able to sustain those efforts only by conscientious striving towards a total victory. The war in China is already unique for its length, and after more than five years the privations with which we are afflicted are nothing to be surprised at. We must rouse our energies and summon up the maximum of our national strength to meet the difficulties to be overcome. Trepidation or unwillingness to make sacrifices will rob us of the fruition of our past exertions.

Modern warfare is by no means merely a matter of military operations. Economic affairs stand together with them in the first rank of the factors of importance. The implementation of the National General Mobilization Legislation and the advancement of economic policy will therefore have an immense influence on the course of the war. If we fail to mobilize our man-power, to effect complete

40 THE VOICE OF CHINA

economic control, to stabilize prices, to adjust production and distribution, repeated successes at the front will not free the nation from its peril.

Let us take note of the way in which America, whose national strength is greater than ours, after less than a year of war, has already instituted full economic control and mobilized her man-power to an astonishing extent. She has recently announced that the lower age limit for military service has been changed from twenty to eighteen. In China, however, there is still a lack of spontaneous enlistment in national military and labour service. There is still extensive waste of man-power and inadequate restriction of consumption. We have not succeeded in fully establishing effective control of commodities and prices. To a consider- able degree social life is as lax now as in peace-time since many merchants have taken selfish advantage of war-time conditions to profiteer and enrich themselves. Enthusiastic patriotism is widely absent among the people and self-seeking habits and neglect of the public interest remain as obstacles to the success of the Government's economic policy.

If this state of affairs continues the prosecution of the war will be seriously impeded. The Government is deter- mined, however, to effect complete application of National General Mobilisation, to exercise comprehensive economic control in order to stabilize the national economy and to override all obstructions in its course to those ends. The help of persons of influence in society is required if satis- factory progress is to be made in this respect and the good offices of your Councillors and those of local county and provincial councils can prove invaluable in bringing about the desired effect.

I trust that Councillors will bear in mind the following four points in providing leadership for the people and assist- ing the Government :

First, an attempt must be made to correct the prevailing tone of social life and promote the practice of all necessary principles of conduct in time of war. This means stimulating frugality and a sense of urgency, reprehending indolence and preventing extravagance.

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 41

Second, prices must be stabilized, for this is fundamentally necessary to the strengthening of war economy. For the success of all restrictive measures imposed, the investigation of marketing and distribution conditions, the detection of illicit practices, the facilitating of transport, the control of commodities and the application of the rationing system, your leadership is needed.

Third, in concentrating the nation's resources it is essential to make the people understand that war-time financial policy is founded upon revenue from taxation, subscription to public loans, the collection of land tax in kind and the promotion of savings. Consequently the enthusiastic support of the people must be had for the effec- tive imposition of direct taxation, the soliciting of subscrip- tions to war bonds, the compulsory purchase of materials of war, the limitation of high incomes and the control of profits and rates of interest. Only on this condition can the issue of currency be kept within proper bounds and a firm foundation for the national livelihood be secured.

Fourth, the conscription of man-power for military and labour service will, it is to be hoped, be supplemented by the promotion of voluntary enlistment and the prevention of evasion and abuses. The system of stage transport must be further expanded to employ more fully in this way the labour power of the people. The utilization of spare time in labour service on the part of young students and professional men is also to be urged, women encouraged to devote their energies to productive activities and all other means sought to bring our total man-power to bear in resistance and reconstruction.

This assembly follows closely upon the promised abolition of extraterritoriality by Great Britain and the United States, and our country is being watched by the world with fresh interest. This should stir our Government and people to a more positive awareness of our responsibilities and invigorate our resolve worthily to advance the cause of the United Nations.

42 THE VOICE OF CHINA

THE PRINCIPLE OF NATIONHOOD

An address at the Closing Ceremony of the Third People's Political Council, October 31, 1942

For ten days this session has been sitting and all you Councillors have been unsparing of your energies by night and by day in deliberating upon military affairs, foreign policy, internal administration, finance, economy and education. You have dealt with present problems and plans for future improvements, and have arrived at a great number of concrete and detailed resolutions. You have especially concentrated your attention upon means of strengthening the war effort, mobilizing man-power and resources and controlling prices. In order to facilitate and expedite the application of the National General Mobilisa- tion Act and war-time economic measures in general, we have resolved to set up within this Council a committee for the advancement of economic mobilization. Henceforth we must unanimously proceed to do all we can to inspire our fellow-countrymen with the determination to fulfil the duties of citizenship in time of war in such a way that the national policy may be completely carried out and final victory won.

The present session has been conducted in an extremely practical and factual spirit. It has been pervaded with an exhilarating atmosphere of determination to meet growing difficulties with redoubled resolution. I wish now to make some remarks in which I shall express the hopes I entertain regarding your future work.

One of the deepest causes for gratification we and our fellow-countrymen find in recent events is, of course, the abolition of the unequal treaties. In this respect there is nothing specific to report at present, but I wish to stress the importance of the fact that Great Britain and the United States should have spontaneously made this proposal with such sincerity of intention that an entirely satisfactory out- come of the negotiations is already assured us in principle. I

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believe the essential thing at the moment is how after we have gained equality of status with other nations are we to exert ourselves and not fall short of our allies' expectations of us or fail worthily to play the part of a modern and independent nation. Consider how momentous an episode in the history of the nation is this deliverance from the shackles that have bound it for a hundred years. All of you here to-day from the oldest to the youngest member have without exception grown up out of a period of repeated national humiliations.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Father of the Republic, made it his great aim in his revolutionary leadership to secure freedom and equality of status for China among the nations of the world. The Principle of Nationhood had first to be applied before obstacles to the solution of problems involved in the application of the Principles of Rights and Livelihood could be removed. The vindication of our national honour has been the unvarying demand of the whole Chinese people, alike of those who were and were not actually concerned with the work of the Revolution. Now the way is open to that goal and the occasion calls for a proper sense of its unique importance on the part of every citizen.

Let us look back over the history of the nation's sufferings since the establishment of the Republic and to the time of the Northern Expedition that put an end to the civil wars waged by the militarists. In 1927 the world began to understand China, and if it had not been for troubles at home and menace from without the unequal treaties would have been abolished long ago. Half of the obstacles were due to mischief done by the Japanese imperialists and half to pretexts founded upon our own lack of unity. The present success is the result of more than five years of war. Now we must go on to display with firmer solidarity and greater effort our full comprehension of the stages by which the Revolution has been advancing, and to concentrate our will and activity upon victory in resistance and the complete application of the Three Principles of the People. This is the first point I hope you will endeavour to bring to your fellow-countrymen's notice.

Having now attained equality of status with our allies

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and other nations of the world, we must shoulder the respon- sibilities this age has laid upon us. The nation is responsible not only for its own interests, but also for those of the world. No difficulties or sacrifices must deter us from the fulfilment of our duties as one unit of the forces of the United Nations, and after the war we must be prepared as a progressive and free nation devoted to the cause of justice to do all that is required of us in collaborating with those nations to recreate world order and effect the deliverance of mankind. China is the largest and most ancient of Asiatic countries, but it is not for us boastfully to talk of her right to a position of 'leadership' among those countries. In the spirit of the saying 'All men are brothers,' we shall rather regard it as our responsibility to treat the peoples of Asia, like all suffering and oppressed humanity elsewhere, as equals to help and support. Recognizing equality as the highest guiding principle of international affairs, we shall do well neither to underestimate nor overestimate our own importance and dignity. It is precisely Japanese militarism with its ambition of dominating Asia under the pretence of organizing a 'Go-prosperity Sphere for Greater East Asia' that constitutes the universal enemy we are determined to crush.

We have been fighting this war of resistance with purity of motive and consistency of principle — not for any selfish purpose, but for the salvation of the world through first saving ourselves. Towards Asia as towards the whole world we wish only to do our duty to the exclusion of any lust for power or other desires incompatible with the moral dictates of love and benevolence that are characteristic of the Chinese national spirit. The aim of the Revolution is, so far as the interests of China herself are concerned, the restoration of her original frontiers and, in regard to the rest of the world, a gradual advance of all nations from the stage of equality to that of an ideal unity. Such is the full extent of our desire. Every citizen should take stock of his country's position.

The Washington conference made China one of the four main powers and that was an expression of the high regard in which our allies hold us, yet the degree to which our national reconstruction and strength are inadequate in

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comparison with other powers must fill us with a sense of unworthiness. With the continual and fierce development of hostilities we must go about discharging our responsi- bility towards the world by building up our own strength and intensifying our preparations for a general counter- offensive. In the present period we must stand firm, permit ourselves no vainglorious thoughts or rashness and never slacken in our vigilance. This is the second point I would have you Councillors impress upon your fellow- countrymen.

In all matters relating to efficiency in military operations and administration both your unreserved advice and assist- ance are needed by the Government. The nation has not yet in many respects met fundamental requirements for the implementation of its war policy. There is no uniform standard of knowledge pervading the people, and this is one very undeniable difficulty and shortcoming. We must make a searching review of our national circum- stances, devise practical measures, co-ordinate our efforts and proceed fully conscious of the indivisibility of our inter- ests, to reinvigorate our national strength by urging the whole people to exertion in the common cause. The nation's affairs should be regarded as indistinguishable from the individual's. The failings of the nation or of individual citizens should make us all equally ashamed. We must convert indifference into enthusiasm, negative attitudes into positive, get rid of irresponsibility and replace the tendency to blame others by willingness to co-operate with others.

The future status of our nation can have no resemblance to what it was in the past. Our intelligentsia and men of influence in society cannot therefore any longer maintain that posture of complacent aloofness they so often affected in the past, for now the nation needs their services. Their fellow citizens need their instruction and guidance and youth seeks their leadership. What I trust you will do is positively to make yourselves responsible to the nation and people by providing enthusiastic leadership in the work of cultivating new political and social tendencies and eradicating the bad old habits of insincerity, display, indolence and dilatoriness.

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Every citizen must realize that the status we have now acquired is the fruit of fifty years' revolutionary endeavour and five years of war. It might be lost as easily as it was gained with difficulty.

If we cannot bring to the fore the virtues of energy and thrift for which our people are renowned and cultivate habits of endurance and conscientiousness, but continue to present the spectacle of disunity described in the phrase 'a tray of loose sand,' each man for himself, false to others and self- deceiving, we shall never be able to give our society or our nation a place in the modern world. It will reject us, and if we cannot overcome the aggressor who is the final obstacle of our national rehabilitation we shall have wasted our former toil and generations of our people yet unborn will be enslaved.

The reform of our social modes of thought and life is the essential means to national salvation. We must rouse our fellow-countrymen to awareness and circumspection that they may avoid all activity and thought that conflict with the process of modernization, all feudalistic provincialism and sectionalism that undermine the authority of the Government. The nation must be led solely to value the unique opportunity it now possesses of restoring its pristine glory and demonstrating the spirit of selfless devotion to the universal good which is the salient feature of its cultural tradition. There must be a rebirth of that spirit such as will enable us to fight and to build with success. This is the third point I have to recommend to you as a keynote of your activities as leaders of your people.

The recent war situation is more favourable than that of any other time when the Council has met. We can perceive the coming of the dawn both of victory in war and success in national reconstruction. The problems of the future will, however, be numerous and the crisis through which the Revolution will yet have to pass confront us in anticipa- tion. The recovery of full health and vigour in a country afflicted with so many maladies as ours has been, will not be so easy a matter as some may suppose.

The fate of the nation is now in the balance. We must

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look to ourselves for the strength to win survival for our country. Its destiny will depend upon men of our genera- tion. We must not allow any particular set of circumstances to affect the fixed conception of our mission. Only by a great devotion to the cause can we act up to the achievements of these years of war and carry on the unfinished work of the Revolutionary martyrs.

One of the most important duties of you Councillors who are about to return to the localities from which you have come will be to expedite with all your power our national mobilization and the work of the committee for the advancement of economic mobilization. These are days in which the nation's hopes are high and in which at the same time the weight of our duties is constantly growing. I trust that you will all strive your utmost in that national service that is yours.

AN HISTORIC VISIT

A speech of welcome to the British Parliamentary Mission to China at a banquet given in their honour, with the replies of members of the Mission [November n, 1942) .

I deem it a great pleasure to have the privilege of extend- ing to you a cordial and hearty welcome on behalf of the people of China. We have been looking forward to your visit with eagerness and we are all the more delighted to have you with us because this is, I understand, the first time that the British Parliament — the oldest representative assembly in the world — has sent an official mission abroad.

You have come from afar after an arduous trip to bring us a message of goodwill from your great nation, to acquaint yourselves and take back with you the hopes of the future of our people regarding your people, and to strengthen the bonds of comradeship between us. Your mission is on everybody's lips and your presence cannot fail to be a source of encouragement and inspiration to the Chinese Army and people.

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We Chinese have a saying : 'To see even only once is better than to learn from a hundred reports' — which is equivalent to your 'Seeing is believing.' From your own observation you will not have failed to notice the deep appreciation of the Chinese Government and people for the moral and material assistance you have rendered them in their struggle.

We are sincerely touched by the widespread sympathetic interest of the British people in our ordeal and by the innumerable tokens of sympathy as manifested in the incessant efforts to enlist support for our cause. The present United Aid to China Fund, the recent renunciation of extraterritoriality and related rights, arid the visit of your mission itself are to us additional proof of Great Britain's friendship for China.

I hope that you will gain a true picture of the severity of our trials and tribulations during these five long years, the grimness of our determination to prosecute the war to total victory and the firmness of our faith in the ultimate triumph of the common cause to which our people have dedicated themselves.

For several years we fought alone against aggression in this part of the world, but never for a moment did we lose faith in the ultimate outcome of our resistance against aggression, for as one of our ancient sages, Mencius, said : "He who has a just cause receives aid from many quarters." How true these words ring to-day.

Now that our two countries and the other United Nations are intimately bound together in a common cause and a common destiny, it behoves us all to co-operate to the fullest extent and I know we are equally resolved to do it — not only in the prosecution of the war, but also in the building up of a saner and happier world.

Reply by Lord Ailwyn :

May I express on behalf of the British Parliamentary Delegation our most grateful thanks to Your Excellency for your very kind welcome to us here this evening and for

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the words with which you have been good enough to address us.

The British people were not slow to realize the importance and the significance of Your Excellency's request that a Parliamentary Mission should visit this country. They were, too, greatly pleased at the interest and satisfaction expressed in messages from China welcoming this visit. It is as Your Excellency has said, a unique event — the first of its kind, I believe, in British Parliamentary history — and we are very proud to find ourselves here as members of this mission.

We are delighted with the warm and enthusiastic welcome which we received on our arrival at Chungking yesterday and we shall not fail to tell them at home of the kindness extended to us both in the matter of our reception and in the thought and consideration given to our comfort and welfare for the term of our visit.

Before leaving London we were received by His Majesty the King who charged us with the delivery to His Excellency the President of the National Government of a personal letter of greeting from His Majesty. We were further entrusted with two personal letters to Your Excellency, one from our Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, and the other from the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain and the Speaker of the House of Commons. We have been happy to carry out these duties and we have had the honour of delivering these letters to-day.

Your Excellency, we have come to China with the keenest anticipation. We hope to see all that it is possible to show us of the great and valiant work of the Chinese people and of the Chinese Army under the inspiring leadership of Your Excellency through nearly five and a half years of epic struggle. Nor do we forget the noble work and high courage of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, some of the results of whose labour up and down the country we shall also hope to see. We should like, if you will permit us, to tell you something of the British war effort and of our inflexible will and deter- mination not to sheath the sword until out of this welter of bloodshed and suffering there emerges a world purged

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once and for all of the forces of evil which now beset the peace-loving peoples of the world.

May I express once more to Your Excellency our deep sense of gratitude for this great privilege which is ours of visiting your great country and for your kind hospitality to us this evening.

Reply by Mr. J. J. Lawson, M.P. :

We count it a privilege to visit your country at a time when China and her people have won the admiration of the world by their heroic and long-sustained stand against a cruel and powerful enemy. It is not only a privilege but a very great honour to come at the invitation of your Govern- ment to represent the Parliament of Great Britain.

Two of our members are Conservatives, one is a Liberal, one is a Socialist. But whatever our political views, however we may differ, we have one strong bond of unity to-day, and that is rooted in the view of the British people and its Parlia- ment, utterly to destroy the Fascist enemy in Germany and Japan.

To that end the whole life of the people of Britain is dedicated. In times of peace we never had more than fourteen million industrial workers. Since the war we have turned twenty-three million men and women to the produc- tion of armaments out of a population of forty-six millions. In addition we have sent millions into the armed forces and great numbers to civil defence.

It can be truly said that to-day in Britain, apart from the very old and very young, everybody is engaged in the common struggle with the enemy. You in this land were the first to meet the onslaught of cruel men upon the decent peace-loving people of the world. You met the attack with a courage and fortitude which has gained for the Chinese people the gratitude of the Allied Nations. We are proud to be standing side by side with you.

When the old lost sense of security is restored by victory I trust that the friendship welded by the fires of war may enable us to work together for the establishment of that

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permanent peace in which new triumphs of culture will be achieved and new depths of human friendship sounded among the nations of the earth. •

TOWARDS WORLD UNITY

A message to the Eleventh Annual New York Herald Tribune Forum on Current Problems [November 77, 1942).

The political testament of the Father of our Republic, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, began with the reminder to his followers : 'The Revolution is not yet achieved.' Even after the National Revolution succeeded in overthrowing the war lords and unified China in 1927, we have continued to characterize our Government as a Revolutionary Govern- ment.

Critics asked, now that you have established a Govern- ment of all China, why do you persist in calling yourselves a Revolutionary Government ? What do you mean by Revolution ?

The answer is that what we mean by Revolution is the attainment of all three of Dr. Sun's basic principles of national revolution : national independence, progressive realization of democracy, and a rising level of living condi- tions for the masses. When victory comes at the end of this war, we shall have fully achieved national independence, but will yet have far to go to attain our other two objec- tives. Hence our claim that ours is still a Revolutionary Government means no more nor less than that it is a government dedicated to attaining these other two objectives.

Insisting on national independence for all peoples, Dr. Sun's vision transcends the problem of China, and seeks equality for all peoples, East and West alike. China not only fights for her own independence, but also for the liberation of every oppressed nation. For us the Atlantic Charter and President Roosevelt's proclamation of the Four

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Freedoms for all peoples are corner-stones of our fighting faith.

For many centuries Chinese society has been free of class distinctions such as are found even in advanced democracies. At the core of our political thought is our traditional maxim: 'The people form the foundation of the country.' We Chinese are instinctively democratic, and Dr. Sun's objective of universal suffrage evokes from all Chinese a ready and unhesitating response. But the processes and forms by which the will of the people is made manifest, and the complex machinery of modern democratic government cannot, I know to my cost, be created overnight, especially under the constant menace and attack of Japanese militarism.

During the last years of his life Dr. Sun devoted much of his forward thinking to the economic reconstruction of China, and nothing, I believe, so marked his greatness as his insistence that the coming tremendous economic recon- struction of China should benefit not the privileged few but the entire nation.

The absence of a strong central government capable of directing economic development, the bondage of unequal treaties trying to keep China as a semi-colony for others, and above all the jealous machinations of Japan, all these greatly retarded the economic reconstruction to which the National Revolution of China is dedicated.

But the end of the present war will find China freed of her bondage, with a vigorous government and a people ardent with desire to rebuilt their country. I feel the force of this desire as a tidal wave which will not only absorb the energies of our people for a century, but will also bring lasting benefits to the entire world.

But the bright promise of the future, which has done much to sustain us during our grim struggle with Japan, will cruelly vanish if after paying the price this second time we do not achieve the reality of world co-operation.

I hear that my American friends have confidence in the experience of men who have 'come up the hard way.' My long struggles -as a soldier of the Chinese Revolution have forced me to realize the necessity of facing hard facts.

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There will be neither peace, nor hope, nor future for any of us unless we honestly aim at political, social and economic justice for all peoples of the world, great and small. But I feel confident that we of the United Nations can achieve that aim only by starting at once to organize an international order embracing all peoples to enforce peace and justice among them. To make that start we must begin to-day and not to-morrow to apply these principles among ourselves even at some sacrifice to the absolute powers of our individual countries. We should bear in mind one of the most inspiring utterances of the last World War, that of Edith Cavell :

"Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone."

We Chinese are not so blind as to believe that the new international order will usher in the millennium. But we do not look upon it as visionary. The idea of universal brotherhood is innate in the catholic nature of Chinese thought ; it was the dominant concept of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, whom events have proved time and again to be not a vision- ary but one of the world's greatest realists.

Among our friends there has recently been some talk of China emerging as the leader of Asia, as if China wished the mantle of an unworthy Japan to fall on her shoulders. Having herself been a victim of exploitation, China has infinite sympathy for the submerged nations of Asia, and towards them China feels she has only responsibilities — not rights. We repudiate the idea of leadership of Asia because the 'Fuehrer principle' has been synonymous with domination and exploitation, precisely as the 'East Asia co-prosperity sphere' has stood for a race of mythical super- men lording it over grovelling subject races.

China has no desire to replace Western imperialism in Asia with an Oriental imperialism or isolationism of its own or of anyone else. We hold that we must advance from the narrow idea of exclusive alliances and regional blocs which in the end make for bigger and more disastrous wars, to effective organization of world unity. Unless real

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world co-operation replaces both isolationism and imperial- ism of whatever form in the new inter-dependent world of free nations, there will be no lasting security for you or for us.

NEW TREATIES : NEW RESPONSIBILITIES

A statement to the armies and the people of China, on the occasion

of the signing of the Sino-American and Sino-British treaties

{January ii, 1943).

On October tenth last year the United States and Great Britain voluntarily announced their relinquishment of the special rights they had long enjoyed in China under unequal treaties. Yesterday in Washington and in Chungking our Government signed new treaties of equality and reciprocity with these two nations.

Fellow countrymen, just a century before the American and British announcements, the Manchu Dynasty con- cluded the first of China's unequal treaties with foreign powers. By fifty years of revolutionary struggle and five and a half years of war and sacrifice, we have transformed an inglorious anniversary into an occasion of national rejoicing. To-day marks a new epoch in China's history and to-day Britain and America have lighted a new light to guide man's progress on the road to equality and freecjom for all peoples.

By their actions our Allies have declared their basic war aim — to sustain the rule of human decency and human right — and have proved their high ideals and lofty purposes. From the United States we have received an especially gratifying, complete and unreserved agreement to the hopes and aspirations expressed by our Government. From the action of our Allies every one of the United Nations must draw new courage for the fight. The aggressor nations may observe and doubt.

But we should all understand that freedom and inde- pendence are prizes to be won only by our own efforts. I have often said to you, my fellow countrymen, 'We must

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be self-reliant before we can be independent ; we must be strong before we can be free.' Before the Republic of China can be independent and free the nation must be strong. Before our soldiers and our people can be worthy citizens of a China independent and free, they must be self-reliant and ready for hard tasks. By abolition of the unequal treaties our national responsibility has only been increased. We should meet the new responsibility with a still keener resolve to do our duty.

This is no time for arrogant conceit or self-satisfaction with the little that has been accomplished already. If we fail to make China independent, free and strong, if the nation we build is impotent to do its share for the general welfare of mankind, then what we have gained will soon be lost. When the war ends our task will not be done. We must continue as we have begun or we shall sink back into dependency and our children and our children's children will live out their lives in bondage.

China's destiny, in truth, is the heavy burden which has been placed upon the shoulders of our generation. To safeguard the broad lands bequeathed to us by our fore- fathers, and to ensure to our posterity liberty and well-being, we must resolve this day to acquit ourselves loyally with self-reliance, without shirking, and in harmony with one another.

We can see already the first signs of coming victory in this world war against world aggression. The time of the enemy's defeat is near at hand. There are some who assume that China's destiny will be easily decided at the conference table after victory has come. There are others who believe that the outcome is certain and that China may easily participate in the fruits of future victory without present struggle. These men are wrong. The time to decide the destiny of our nation is now. The choice is plain before us. Are we to be masters in our own house or are we hereafter, as in the past, to obey the voice of others ? At such a time there is no room for procrastination or lethargy or doubt. From this moment we must work still harder and bear without complaint still greater privations than we have

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done in the past five and a half years of war. There is no other way to succeed in the great task which fate has laid upon us.

Fellow countrymen, until to-day we could rightly assert that unequal treaties with foreign powers had hindered and prevented our efforts to build a nation. The unequal treaties implanted among us disunity, economic backward- ness and social chaos. They taught our people a sense of inferiority which we could not overcome. They encouraged a mood of weak surrender by which too few were shamed. Even to-day we are without the self-confidence or moral courage which should be ours. But now that the unequal treaties have been abolished, their influence is also gone. Henceforth, if we are weak, if we lack self-confidence, the fault will be ours only. Habits learned in the bad times of our nation's dependency may still survive. With one mind and one will we must weed them out and we must rally together around the standard of the Three Principles of the People to defeat our enemy and reconstruct the country that we love.

Success in our long struggle is at last in sight. Together we must go forward believing the teachings of the Father of the Republic, applying the Three Principles and supporting our National Government. As one man we must do our duty, living the hard wartime life and doing all that is necessary to be done. As one man we must fight and as one man we must work to lay the foundation of the better China' of the days of peace.

Fellow countrymen, this is the period of our golden opportunity. It is our good fortune to see on this day the final casting-off of the bonds of the past and to begin on this day a new and more hopeful stage on the long road to independence and freedom. As I urge you on this day to intensify your struggle, I urge you also to remember the best traditions of your nation in dealing with other nations friendly to China. Their citizens will now enjoy the pro- tection of our laws. Towards them we must be friendly and courteous. Formerly, what passed as friendliness and courtesy on our part was nothing but capitulation and

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humiliation. Now that the unequal treaties have been abrogated we are on an equal footing with Great Britain and the United States. An independent China has become a real friend of these two nations. In our relations with other people, we Chinese have always been guided by the principles of propriety and righteousness. Therefore, in our future relations with friendly nations we should be more courteous and friendly than ever before. Look to the lessons of the past. Keep before you always the beacons of Li, Yi, Lien and Tze — propriety, righteousness, integrity and humility. March forward with a common purpose until we can join our Allies in building a better world as we have joined with one another to build a better nation.

Fellow countrymen, I greet this memorable day with deep confidence and ardent hope. I pledge my utmost effort for the future as you must pledge yours. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all for your courage and endurance in these hard years. We have gone through much together, you and I.

I offer heartfelt tribute to the memory of the martyrs of our great cause and I salute the victory that is to come.

Long live the freedom and independence of the Republic of China.

Long live the success of our national revolution.

Long live the Three Principles of the People.

CHINA'S ENSLAVED NEIGHBOUR

A message to the armed forces and people of Thailand, broadcast from Chungking {February 26, 1943) .

Soldiers and citizens of Thailand: Since December 1 1, 194.1, when Thailand signed an agreement of alliance with Japan, I have held my peace toward you. I should have spoken sooner in view of the fact that Thailand, a close neighbour of ours, has entered into alliance with a country which is at war with China. I have, however, not spoken

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because I fully understood the difficult situation in which your country found itself at that time. I realized your difficulties then because I knew that your circumstances were not unlike those China faced before we took up arms against the Japanese aggression in 1937.

But now the whole situation is different from what it was. The world-wide struggle is now gradually entering upon a decisive stage. Despite the increasing efforts of the Japanese militarists to oppress you and force you to fight for them, the Axis countries are being compelled in Europe as well as in Asia to pass from the offensive to the defensive and are suffering repeated defeats everywhere. The day for you to save your own country is drawing near while the practical condition under which you lived last year has now completely changed. I want, therefore, to speak to you in all frankness in order to help you appreciate China's feeling toward you and the fundamental principle that guides China's destiny and our war policy.

1 . China' 's feeling toward Thailand. As a matter of historical fact, Sino-Thai relations have continued for more than one thousand years. We have no fewer than three million compatriots living within your borders. We have always considered Thailand a sister country of China. Every Chinese feels keenly the close ties and interdependence between China and Thailand. Every Chinese wishes Thailand peace and prosperity. The Chinese people have never allowed your actions in recent years to affect their traditional friendship toward Thailand, for the Chinese Government and people are wide awake to the nature of the Japanese-Thai alliance which, brought about by Japanese force, was no expression of the free will of the Thai soldiers and citizens themselves. I earnestly hope that the Thai Army and people will note such Chinese friendship in its true perspective. I can assure you that China's friendship thus respected by the Thai Army and people will never change.

2. The fundamental principle that guides China's destiny. China's faith as a nation is based upon Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. All nations of the world

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should, according to the Three Principles, be free and equal. Such a faith for which China stands, therefore, calls for freedom and equality for all nations. It was with this faith that China signed with twenty-five other countries in Washington on January i, 1942, a joint declaration dedicat- ing ourselves to the liberation of all the nations in captivity under Japan, Germany and other Axis countries in order that they might have political independence restored to them. I can, therefore, give my solemn word that China, as well as her allies, has no territorial ambitions in Thailand and harbours no intentions of undermining her sovereignty and independence. This will continue to be true in the future as it has been in the past. The Thais, however, should recognize the fact that their territory is now practi- cally under Japanese occupation, their people enslaved and their sovereignty and independence violated by the Japanese, while the territory and freedom of Thailand can only be restored to her through the victory of China and her allies. 3. China's war policy. With the armed forces and people of Thailand under the forcible subjugation of the Japanese, we consider Thailand in our war policy merely as enemy- occupied territory, not as an enemy territory. It is, therefore, the Japanese war machine, not the army and people of Thailand, that we consider our objective. China and her allies will deal crushing blows to the enemy once our offensive is launched. The Japanese in Thailand and the adjacent territories are to be expected at the same time to do their utmost in an attempt to postpone their fate. Under such war conditions, every day that the Japanese are able to hold out in Thailand will inevitably result in increasing sacrifices for the innocent Thai people. The Thai Army and people should, in such circumstances, oppose the Japanese forces through positive action while co-operating with the Chinese armies and fighting shoulder to shoulder with them to put the enemy out of China and Thailand as well. This is what all patriotic soldiers and citizens of Thailand should do for their own country, for East Asia and for the world in general. We are justified in expecting them to do so.

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This war is, in short, a struggle between the anti- aggression forces and the aggressors, between right and might, between light and darkness. While we deeply appreciate your difficult circumstances in the past we earnestly expect you now to do your duty promptly for the salvation of your own country and the world at large. We hope you understand and value the brotherly feeling of the Chinese people for you. We hope you will regain with loyal and courageous acts of patriotism the international good faith your country once enjoyed, and achieve the right to speak for your country in the post-war family of nations.

PREREQUISITES OF PEACE

A message to the people of the United Nations on China'' s entry into I the seventh year of her armed resistance to Japan {July 7, 1943).

To-day China is observing her sixth war anniversary. Through the past six years you, the peoples of the United Nations, have shown to China profound and sustained sym- pathy for her war of resistance. It is this sympathy which has given infinite encouragement to our Army and people ; it is this sympathy too, which, together with the heavy blows inflicted upon the enemy by our Army and people, has helped directly or indirectly to create the present bonds of solidarity among the United Nations and a fitting founda- tion for their post-war co-operation. As early as 1931, following Japan's invasion of Manchuria, I held that Japan's aggression would not be confined to China, but would ultimately plunge the entire world into war. How- ever, I held, even more firmly, that Japanese aggression could not but arouse all the progressive forces in the world, and that its result would be the formation of a grand coalition of all peace-loving nations. These predictions of eleven years ago have been borne out by the course of events since then.

On this sixth war anniversary it is certainly an outstand-

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 6l

ing source of gratification and gratitude to me that you, the peoples of the United Nations, have not failed us. Together with our Army and people, I wish to pay our respects to the gallant soldiers and peoples of the United Nations. Exactly one and a half years have elapsed since we became allies. At the beginning of that period the United Nations indeed suffered a number of reverses, but China has always had undiminished faith in the ultimate victory of the United Nations. During the past year this faith has grown stronger than ever.

Clearly the military position of the United Nations now enjoys unquestioned superiority over that of their enemy. Their productive power has surpassed that of the enemy by a very broad margin. They are now in possession of the key to initiative action, and are capable of launching large- scale offensives simultaneously in Europe and in Asia. A year ago to-day I said : "In the next few months the tide of the war may turn more unfavourably for the Allies, but that will be only for a brief period." True to my anticipa- tion, the fortunes of the war turned in our favour with the advent of the winter, when victories were scored by the Soviet Army in Eastern Europe, by the Anglo-American forces in North Africa, by American and Australian forces in the South Pacific, by the American forces in the North Pacific, and by our Army who, with the splendid support of the United States Air Force, inflicted crushing blows on the Japanese in Northern Hunan and Western Hupeh. These happy auguries have further strengthened the con- fidence of our Army and people in the ultimate victory of the Allies.

What disquiets the minds of the Chinese people is not whether the United Nations will win the war, but when they are going to win it, and at what price. The unique position Japan is occupying to-day deserves the utmost attention from all of us. In one sense, she is at her weakest, as her ready resources are approaching a point of exhaustion. Not only is she lagging behind the Allies in planes and ships, but her programme for industrial readjustment as adopted in the recent extraordinary Diet session has not yet begun.

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In another sense, however, Japan is making desperate efforts to consolidate her conquests with a view to replenish- ing her war potential. She is doing everything she can in the South Seas, in Burma and in the occupied territory of China to exploit man-power and resources. She is rebuilding defence works on land and sea. She is constructing new harbours and fortifications. By expanding railways and highways she expects to improve overland traffic on the continent, and to offset her shipping shortages her ship- building programme for 1943, if allowed to be carried out, would increase her building capacity by one third. In- dustries and resources in the South Seas previously destroyed by scorched earth tactics are being revived.

Once this far-reaching programme of reconstruction is completed, Japan would be far stronger than at the time she first conquered these lands. Consequently, the present is the most opportune moment for the Allies to launch large-scale offensives against Japan, which are bound to reap great results within a relatively short span of time. Just as Germany vainly hopes for dissension among the United Nations, Japan is praying that the United Nations will delay their big offensive against her. Should we let her have further respite to proceed with her programme, thus enabling her to complete impregnable defences, and to wage a long-drawn-out war with us, the time and price the Allies will have to pay to defeat her will be many times longer and heavier than what are required to-day. Recently President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill have agreed that from now on the United Nations will 'wage the war on the Japanese and European fronts with equal power.' This is the most appropriate strategy for the United Nations. In the execution of this strategy, our Allies, who now can shoulder their full share of the joint task against the Japanese, can count upon the determination of the Chinese Army to contribute all that lies within its power, and to make the necessary sacrifice for the common cause. During the past year, although the Japanese com- pletely blockaded our land and sea routes, and although our men had to fight with limited equipment, our Army not

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 63

only frustrated all Japanese attempts at further penetration, but in some instances inflicted severe blows on the enemy.

No amount of malicious propaganda on the part of the enemy can falsify the magnificent morale of our fighting men. I can say for certain that once the Allies launch their big offensives against Japan, the spirit of our fighting men will be aroused to still greater heights of valour and courage. The people of China fervently hope that you and particularly the leaders of public opinion in your countries will unani- mously uphold this strategy so that it will be carried out without delay, and without reservation. With the adoption and enforcement of this strategy, the war will enter its final stage. We must therefore pay our attention to the winning of the ensuing peace.

Whether we are going to win that peace depends largely upon whether the United Nations, especially the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain and China, who are bearing the major burdens of the war, could before the end of the war reach a complete agreement of policy and build a concrete foundation for post-war co-operation. The joint declaration of the United Nations indeed has laid down the broad principles regarding this vital question. In this connection China has a number of hopes. Firstly, this war should not be concluded by a 'negotiated peace.' This means when our enemies in Europe and in Asia are defeated they must accept unconditionally the terms of the United Nations. They must be completely disarmed. The evil seeds of aggression in their traditions and creeds as well as in their political and economic institutions must also be uprooted. It is common knowledge that since the latter part of the last century, Germany in Europe and Japan in Asia repeatedly started aggressive wars. If we are to trace Japan's conduct in China further back through the last six hundred years, we should find countless instances of aggression.

There is no reason for us to expect a defeated Germany or a defeated Japan, at the conclusion of this war, to get rid of its instinct for aggression or to be capable of setting up a government which we can trust. Any 'negotiated peace' will sow the seeds for another world war. The fact

64 THE VOICE OF CHINA

that the leaders of the United Nations have clearly avowed their determination to fight until the unconditional surrender of Japan, Germany and Italy is a source of the deepest gratification to the Chinese people.

Secondly, the future peace should be a peace seeking the emancipation of all mankind. After we win the war, the independent nations that have been occupied by the enemy must certainly regain their independence. As to the peoples whether actually under the rule of the enemy or otherwise having attained only an incomplete measure of freedom, I hope we of the United Nations will all help them to emanci- pation. The relative speed of emancipation may have to vary in accordance with the different cultural levels of the different peoples, but it is imperatively desirable that the same principles apply in the emancipation of all peoples. This is another vital point on which I hope the United Nations will reach a thorough understanding prior to the conclusion of the war.

Thirdly, the United Nations should set up at the earliest moment a joint machinery for the winning of the peace as well as for the efficient prosecution of the war. It is con- tended in certain quarters that the creation of such a body might cause friction among the Allied Powers and thus hamper the prosecution of the war, but difference of opinion, if any, can at no time be better dissolved than when we are fighting the war shoulder to shoulder. I believe that to set up such a machinery will not only help to unify the strategy and policies of the United Nations, but will lay a firm foundation for post-war co-operation. A perfect under- standing between nations just as a perfect friendship between men takes roots when the parties concerned are helping one another through difficulties.

Fourthly, to safeguard international justice and collective security and to insure the successful functioning of demo- cratic governments after the war, there must be a post-war world organization with the solid backing of an international force. The greatest practical weakness of the democratic nations lies in the fact that for the former to move from a peace-time to a war-time basis, a considerable period of

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 65

time will necessarily be taken up by legislation and debates among political parties. As a result, the aggressor nations will enjoy infinite advantage by launching surprise attacks in the meantime. In view of such inherent handicaps in the democratic system of government, a strong post-war world organization is the prerequisite for the successful functioning of democracy, and to create a strong post-war organization, an international force is absolutely necessary. The Chinese people each and all eagerly await the day when they shall have a full democracy built upon the Three Principles of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, but since Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 over a decade of grim experience has led everyone to realize that with a strong militaristic and aggressive power as our neighbour, our path to full democracy is most arduous and difficult.

I say out of my own painful experience that a strong world organization after the war is a patent necessity. It is through the creation of such an organization alone that the world's nations may proceed amidst peace and security with their reconstruction, that the democratic system of government may triumph, and that aggressor nations may not rise again. You, the peoples of the United Nations, know that this war is one between good and evil, between right and wrong, between justice and brutal force. The Chinese people can conceive of no other outcome than the complete triumph for the righteous and freedom-loving democracies. The destiny of China is one and the same as that of the United Nations. So is China's policy. Our Army and people will employ their full strength to fight against our immediate mortal enemy. We will contribute our share in such a manner as to get the maximum efficiency for the war. China has been longest in the war. Six years have brought us immense distress and privations, and there are still hardships ahead of us, but it is my- firm belief that you, the peoples of the United Nations, will continue to give sympathy and support to China. Our people will fight on until the unconditional surrender of our common enemies.

Long Live the United Nations !

Long Live China !

66 THE VOICE OF CHINA

THE KUOMINTANG AND THE NATION

An address to the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang on September 6. 1943.

In a few days we shall commemorate the twelfth anni- versary of the Mukden incident, as we commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Lukouchiao incident about two months ago. During the last years our fellow-countrymen and fellow Party members have undergone the greatest trials and tribulations. Our fellow-countrymen in the occupied areas, especially the Northeastern Provinces, have lived through the darkest days under the enemy's oppression. Such sufferings and humiliations should never be forgotten. Since the Mukden incident the Central Authorities have borne all their humiliations with fortitude and resolution. We who are gathered here should be aware of the weighty responsibilities of the present plenary session of the Central Executive Committee towards the Party and Nation. We should strive to safeguard the military achieve- ments attained during the past six years and complete the mission left us by our great Party leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Keeping in view our past privations and humiliations and our present heavy responsibilities, we should lay down at this Plenary Session an economic programme to cope with the current war situation.

The objective of our war of resistance carried on during the past six years in disregard of sacrifices and privations is to win final victory and build a New China based on the Three Principles of the People after the war. Now that final victory is drawing near, we at this Plenary Session should discuss thoroughly how to build a new prosperous and strong China. I may assure you that as the result of our gallant fight during the past six years, our national crisis has been bridged over and the foundation for our statehood has been firmly established. Obviously we have to make even greater sacrifices and exert more effort in order to consummate our supreme task of resistance and reconstruction. Nevertheless

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 67

we are now on the eve of victory and we should therefore at this Plenary Session centre our discussion on the problem of national reconstruction and work out a satisfactory pro- gramme which may be enforced immediately after the termination of the war. If we fail to do so, we shall find ourselves absolutely unprepared when the war comes to an end and we shall not be able to carry out our post-war work. Failure in national reconstruction will reduce to naught our victory in this war. This is why this Plenary Session should focus its attention on the problem of national reconstruction. It should deliberate carefully Military, Party, Political, and Economic developments and reconstruction based on the Three Principles and make decisions for post-war work. Let me now discuss the war in China and the inter- national situation. Though at present the international outlook is bright, we must, not be over optimistic. Judging by the latest military situation, especially by developments in the Pacific, I daresay our final victory will come within a year at the earliest or shortly after the year at latest. In view of the determination and strategy of the Allies, there is no question that Japan will first be crushed in the Pacific. As to precisely when Japan can be crushed, I think it is mainly a question of when she will collapse, and this entirely hinges on herself. Much depends on Japan's strategy here- after. If her military strategy cannot cope with the war situation, it means her strategy is faulty, and if her strategy is faulty, she is bound to fail. This may happen not necessarily after one year, but even within the half-year. However, if her military strategy is not faulty the war may be prolonged to another year. Nevertheless, no matter whether the war is terminated within a year or after one year, it will not be difficult for us to pull through this period. If, however, during this period we do not redouble our efforts to make progress in the various fields — particularly the military, political and economic fields — and make adequate preparations for post-war reconstruction, we shall still fail even if we win the war. As the old saying goes : 'Such a victory is virtually a defeat.' If that be the case, we shall be guilty men in this war of resistance.

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It is therefore imperative that we should redouble our efforts in this period, increasing our power of resistance and simultaneously making preparations for national recon- struction. This is the most important duty of the present Plenary Session. As to the task of national reconstruction, the foundation whereof is the institution of Constitutional Government, it may be recalled that the institution of Constitutional Government and the consummation of national reconstruction form the highest goal of the National Revolution led by our Party and have been the consistent policy of our Party during the past fifty years. This Plenary Session should therefore discuss and resolve the problems of the convocation of the National People's Assembly, and the formulation and promulgation of a Constitution in accord- ance with China's requirements. Secondly, after the en- forcement of Constitutional Government our Party should hand over the Government to the people.

When that time comes, what about the position of our Party and its responsibilities to the country ? This problem should also be thoroughly discussed at this Plenary Session. We must lay down a policy which all our fellow Party members may follow and which the public may thoroughly understand. My personal opinion is that after the institu- tion of Constitutional Government, our Party should be on an equal footing with other Parties and should enjoy equal privileges and rights, fulfil equal obligations and receive equal treatment from the State under the principles of freedom of assembly, organization, speech and publication in accordance with the law. Our Party programme of national revolution and reconstruction, both historically and morally has the responsibility of consolidating the foundation of the State and ensuring the enforcement of our principles. This special mission is the legacy from history of the Revolution. No member of our Party should evade it. Thus though our Party will have been relegated to a position similar to that of any other ordinary political party after the institution of Constitutional Government, our fellow Party members should continue their efforts for realizing the Three Principles and building a nation.

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 69

In other words, though our Party will be on an equal footing with any other party it will have greater responsi- bilities, as it has an historical revolutionary mission. How can our Party accomplish this mission and build a firm per- manent foundation for the nation is a responsibility which we should not evade but should take into careful consideration.

Thirdly, the economic problem should also be discussed at the Plenary Session. Most of our fellow Party members are showing deep concern and anxiety over China's econ- omic conditions. However, I may assure you that though our economic difficulties are increasing, our economic crisis is already over. This is no repetition of idle talk but an assurance from me as one bearing the political and economic responsibilities of government. Our economic conditions will develop in line with our victory in this global war. The closer we are to victory, the more favourably our economic situation will develop. As a matter of fact our economic outlook to-day warrants optimism. I may men- tion two things particularly : first, a bountiful harvest throughout the country has been reaped during the current year. There is no fear of any shortage of army or civilian food. The output of cotton is also plentiful. Particularly in Szechwan, the production of cotton during the current year has increased several times over as compared with that of previous years. The latest figures of the national revenues ensure an adequate supply of army clothing and food up to the summer of 1945 provided we can all be thrifty in consumption.

Secondly, with a view to helping China overcome her wartime economic difficulties, the United States last year decided to earmark 200,000,000 U.S. dollars out of her 500,000,000 dollar loan to China, to be used to combat inflation, uphold Chinese currency, increase production and stabilize prices. Consequently, continued worrying over inflation is unwarranted. However, though our economic crisis is over, our economic difficulties are still daily increas- ing. My opinion in a nutshell is this : Our economic situation is by no means free from difficulty, but there is

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absolutely no danger to speak of. Nevertheless we should not be over optimistic economically or militarily just because of the favourable development in the inter- national situation. Our future all depends on our national rejuvenation through self-exertion. This, I hope, should always be the firm conviction of each and every one of us. These two facts I have cited will be sufficient guarantee that there will be no more serious economic crisis in the coming two years of continued resistance. I have often said China is not lacking in material resources. The question is whether we can make full and good use of them. Given proper stabilization of our resources coupled with increased production and frugal consumption in accordance with wartime regulations, there will be no question of an economic crisis. However we should not confine our attention to immediate problems only.

Right now we have to begin preparing for post-war reconstruction and carrying out Dr. Sun's industrial pro- gramme, which requires us to set before us two major goals : the industrialization of China and the improvement of the people's livelihood. In order to reach these two goals, we have not only to exert ourselves to the utmost on the one hand, but in the meantime to co-operate closely with friendly nations. In other words we shall need foreign investment and foreign technical assistance to consummate our gigantic programme of reconstruction. It is therefore desirable that some decision should be reached at the present meeting with regard to foreign trade, international co-operation, and other related subjects. It is my sincere hope that all of us should regard the present gathering as a preparatory meeting to discuss national reconstruction and every one of us should offer his best and utmost. Although we are convinced of our winning the war, yet final victory still calls for further exertion and even greater sacrifices. Should we allow ourselves to relax at the present juncture, our reconstruction programme is bound to meet with new and unexpected setbacks. We must realize we have now reached the zenith of difficulty in the course of our resistance, yet post-war reconstruction will be a task

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE "] I

even more gigantic and more complicated. Thus while we are gathered here under the same roof on the present occasion, we should thrash out all questions at issue and map out a concrete plan whereby to guide the nation on the road to success and glory. Only in this way can we expect to shake off the shame and humiliations which have been showered on China since the first Sino-Japanese war toward the end of last century. Only in this way can we expect to lay the groundwork for carrying out the Three Principles of the People.

A SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE

A broadcast message to the Chinese people on the occasion of his inauguration as President {October 10, IQ43).

On this day every year we recall China's glorious past with great rejoicing and animation. It is on such an auspicious occasion to-day that I assume the post of President of the National Government.

At a time when China's war defence is entering into a decisive stage, when national reconstruction is begun in all earnestness, when military and economic machinery is to be strengthened, and when home administration and foreign relations are to be developed, I feel ever more the weightiness of my responsibilities, and I shudder at the thought of the great task which falls upon my shoulders.

As early as thirty-two years ago, Dr. Sun Yat-sen laid down the policy for building up the Republic of China. In regard to foreign relations, it provides that China 'should fulfil the obligations and enjoy the rights of a civilized nation' and 'should foster closer relations with friendly nations on the principle of peace with a view to elevating China's position in the family of nations and realizing the ideal of universal brotherhood.' In regard to home adminis- tration, it aims at 'welding together the territories of the Hans, Manchus, Mongols, Muslims, and Tibetans into~one country, and linking them into one nation' and "also at

72 THE VOICE OF CHINA

'firmly establishing a republican form of government, improving the people's livelihood and fulfilling the high aspirations of the nation through the consummation of the revolution.'

The titanic struggle we are now engaged in is in pursu- ance of this consistent policy. Internally we strive for the realization of local autqnomy throughout the country, consolidation of national unity, establishment of government by law and consummation of democratic rule. Externally we seek to cultivate closer relations with friendly nations, to win the war against aggression, to collaborate with our allies in establishing permanent world peace after the war, to develop our rich natural resources and carry out economic reconstruction and to enhance the well-being of man- kind through self-exertion as well as international collaboration.

Since we concluded new treaties with Great Britain and the United States last January on the basis of equality^ our ideal of national independence and equality may well be said to have been realized. After the realization of the principle of nationalism, we have to carry out the principles of democracy and people's livelihood. In this connection all our fellow-countrymen should thoroughly understand the significance implied in the following bequeathed teach- ings of Dr. Sun Yat-sen :

'The people are the foundation of the State.'

'The fortunes of the people hinge upon the State.'

We should bear in mind the close relations between the people and the State. I wish now to explain how we should exert ourselves for the realization of the principle of demo- cracy and the establishment of democratic government.

As far back as 3,000 years ago, when writing was invented in China, there were already manifestations of democratic ideas. The Kao Tao Mu in the Shu Ching (Book of History) says : 'The wisdom of heaven is reflected by the wisdom of the people, and the reward or punishment by heaven is based upon the judgment of the people.'

Confucius says : 'Love what the people love and hate what the people hate.' Mencius says : 'The people are

THE GENERALISSIMO ON WAR AND PEACE 73

to be valued.' All these ancient maxims are the source of the democratic thought and the crystallization of the Chinese traditional spirit.

It is in this ancient and profound civilization that Dr. Sun Yat-sen's principle of democracy originated. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's programme of revolution has as its objective the awakening and rallying of the people to join the common struggle. The significance of his principle of democracy lies in the investment of political rights in the people. In other words, its ultimate goal is to make all the people take part in the administration of State affairs. In view of the grand achievements made by only a handful of patriots in the Chinese revolution in 191 1 towards the total realization of the principle of democracy, 450,000,000 Chinese will ;ointly shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the country.

However, there is an important prerequisite to the realization of the principle of democracy. The democratic spirit lies in the observance of law and discipline. Failure in this will undermine the foundation of the democratic system and endanger the republic, therefore, it is imperative that our citizens should grasp fully the true meaning of freedom and government by law, and cultivate the good habit of respecting freedom and observing law and dis- cipline ; for only thus can a solid foundation of democracy be laid. We should not evade, but fulfil, all obligations prescribed by law and, of course, at the same time enjoy equally rights and privileges as provided by law.

If China wants to continue to exist as a nation in this world, we should one and all form the law-abiding habit. We should consider it an honour to respect and observe law and a disgrace to violate and undermine it. Not only should we not work for personal gain under the pretext of freedom, but also not evade our responsibilities, thereby neglecting our duties as citizens. Just as Government officials should loyally perform their duties, so all the people should jointly share the responsibilities and do their part. Only thus can China attain true equality.

As a public servant, I will from to-day work unswerv- ingly for the welfare of the nation in the same spirit of

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patriotism as before. If I should ever transgress the limit of my power, it is the duty of every citizen to censure and correct me. I will observe all laws and respect public opinion in order to set an example of democratic rule in China. Now that our ultimate victory is in sight and a great future for China is dawning, I will strive for the nation's advancement courageously and conscientiously together with my fellow-countrymen.

PART II: A VISIT TO INDIA

INDIA WELCOMES THE GENERALISSIMO

An address of welcome delivered by His Excellency the Viceroy at

a reception held in honour of Generalissimo and Madame Chiang

Kai-shek in the Durbar Hall of the Viceroy's House, New Delhi

{February g, 1942) .

Your Excellency and Madame Chiang Kai-shek :

In the name of His Majesty the King-Emperor, I bid you welcome to India.

My colleagues of the Executive Council of the Govern- ment of India are gathered in this room to do honour to a great man, and to a great lady, and to mark a moment which, I am persuaded, will come to be known as a turning- point of history. This is a meeting which sets a seal upon the comradeship-in-arms of two great nations — nations which between them number eight hundred million souls — one- third of the population of the world : it is a meeting which bodes our enemies no good, and this they soon will learn to their cost.

I know that I speak for every one of my colleagues when I say how deeply sensible we are of the honour that Your Excellency and Madame Chiang Kai-shek have done us in voyaging so far, across great mountains and rivers, through all the perils of the air in time of war, to strengthen the ancient links of friendship that stretch across the centuries between China and India.

Geography has set a barrier between our two countries, but civilization, adventure, the pursuit of spiritual and intellectual freedom — all those elements that go to nourish the spirit of man — have overcome them. We can trace down the years, throughout the history of our nations, mutual influences, religious, cultural and political, that have

75

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made themselves felt from the earliest times to this present day ; a day when China, following the path prescribed by the revered Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder and father of the Republic, and under the leadership of her National Govern- ment magnificently inspired by Your Excellency, is opposing so firm a front, so splendid a resistance, to the onset of the barbarians of Japan.

For a long time before we ourselves were privileged to stand as allies by your side in the line of battle we have had good cause to admire the bravery and staunchness that have characterized China's gallant and unremitting resistance to the aggressors. China's heroism is the inspiration of us all. As one of your own statesmen has recently said, she is the veteran of Asia's fight for freedom. In the maintenance of that struggle we know well that you, our guests to-day, have carried the chief burden. Be assured that, to the utmost of our power, we will co-operate with China, even as she is mightily aiding us. I ask Your Excellency to believe that these are not mere words : my colleagues and I affirm that India's heart is one with China and that we will strive powerfully to discharge our share of the burden in further- ance of our common. cause, and so by our added effort, to bring nearer the day when China and the whole British Empire, with our great allies, will march together to the ultimate and inevitable victory.

For us it is a matter for pride and pleasure that, at a moment when the direction of China's war effort into even stronger channels must be claiming your daily attention, you have felt able to undertake this visit to our country. A year ago we were honoured by the presence of the Head of China's Examination Yuan, Dr. Tai Chi-tao, and from him we learned that, vast though the land of China is, her sons and daughters are all one in their devoted allegiance to their country's cause, in the struggle in which she is at present engaged. We believe that in this shining example of China's unity there is enshrined a jewel of great price, a precious hope and inspiration for all men in a discordant world.

Your Excellency, I must not prolong unduly my words

A VISIT TO INDIA 77

of welcome. You will have opportunity hereafter, I trust, for further meeting and profitable discussions with my colleagues.

We are privileged now to do honour to the leaders of 'China's manhood and womanhood, happily in our midst to-day. India is proud and glad to receive you. From our hearts we hope that we shall be able to make you comfortable here after your arduous journey ; that you, and the other distinguished guests whom we are privileged to welcome with you, will derive pleasure and interest, and some rest, during your visit to our land. We believe that incalculable good will come of this meeting, not only for India and China, but for the whole world. On behalf of India we extend the warmest Welcome that our hands and hearts can give to Your Excellency, to Madame, and to all who have accompanied you.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Reply

Your Excellency .

On behalf of the people of China, I wish to thank you for this cordial welcome which you have extended to Madame Chiang and myself. I am happy to have this opportunity of visiting India, one of our allies, and China's brotherly neighbour. The object of my visit is to have personal exchange of views with Your Excellency, the members of your Government and prominent men in Indian public life in order to secure more effective united efforts against aggression. I fully appreciate the importance of our meeting.

As Your Excellency has pointed out, the spiritual bonds between our two countries are no new development ; no mere growth of yesterday. In days almost legendary, Chinese seekers after truth found their way to India after years of perilous travel through arid deserts and over sky- reaching mountains to drink at the inexhaustible fountain of Indian philosophy. They took back to their motherland, in the face of indescribable dangers and difficulties, the priceless volumes which embodied the wisdom of India.

78 • THE VOICE OF CHINA

I am appreciative of Your Excellency's reference to the cultural background between the two peoples. Without doubt, it was partly owing to its existence that the Indian nation was moved to express deep sympathy with us from the moment that we began our war of resistance. The enemy — now the common enemy — tried every expedient to divert that sympathy to himself. India was not misled for a moment. When Japan made perfidious offers of friendship, the illustrious poet Tagore in noble language voiced the burning indignation which India felt in being asked to grasp in amity a blood-stained hand.

I am further grateful to Your Excellency for the tribute you paid to the Founder of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The principles which he has bequeathed to us have been responsible for the new spirit that has inspired the Chinese people to do their share in making a better world for mankind.

It. is now China's turn to show her appreciation of what India has done for her in a realistic way. The extension of the war to the South Pacific has brought the invasion of this country within the realm of possibility. Any attempted attack on India by Japan woulc^have to be through Burma. The threat through Burma was one of the subjects discussed by me and General Sir Archibald Wavell, when he paid his flying visit to Chungking a month ago. An arrangement has already been made for the despatch of Chinese troops to Burma to assist in its defence. The first steps have thus been jointly taken to safeguard India from a landwise invasion from the east by using Chinese experience and man-power. On the north and east, China is India's shield from land invasion. China is proud and glad that this should be so.

Excellency, you have very kindly mentioned that China has been the first to take up arms in this world struggle for freedom. While this is true, I wish to point out that during the last four and a half years of our resistance to aggression, we have been spiritually sustained and materially assisted by His Majesty's Government, and by the people of the British Empire. I bring to Your Excellency, His Majesty's

A VISIT TO INDIA 79

Representative in India, the heartfelt thanks of the Chinese army and people.

Now that we are comrades-in-arms, standing shoulder to shoulder again aggression, Your Excellency's enlightened leadership constitutes a great contribution to the common cause. At the same time I am fully conscious of the added responsibility that has fallen upon my shoulders. We pledge to our valued ally, who occupies an important and unique position, our friendship and co-operation in attaining our common goal which is to defeat aggression and ensure victory for the democratic front.

PEACEFUL NEIGHBOURS FOR TWO THOUSAND

YEARS

A farewell message to the Indian People on the eve of Generalissimo

Chiang's return to China after a two-week visit to India

(February 21, 1942).

During my two-weeks' stay in India I had the opportunity of discussing very frankly with the highest civil and military authorities as well as with my Indian friends, questions concerning joint plans against aggression and the objective of our common efforts. I was happy to find that there was full sympathy and general understanding between us. My mission is now drawing to a close. On the eve of my departure I wish to bid farewell to all my friends in India and to thank you for the many kindnesses showered upon Madame Chiang and myself. The briefness of my stay has not permitted me to tell the Indian people all that I wished to say. I avail myself of this opportunity to address to them this farewell message. It is an expression of my high and warm regard and of long-cherished hopes for India. It comes from the depth of my heart.

Since my arrival in this country I found to my great satisfaction that there exists among the people of India unanimous determination to oppose aggression.

China and India comprise one-half of the world's

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population. Their common frontier extends three thousand kilometres. In the two thousand years' history of their intercourse, which has been of a purely cultural and com- mercial character, there has never been any armed conflict. Indeed, nowhere else can one find so long a period of uninterrupted peace between two neighbouring countries. This is irrefutable proof that our two peoples are peace- loving by nature. To-day they have not only identical interests but also the same destiny. For this reason they are in duty bound to side with anti-aggression countries and to fight shoulder to shoulder in order to secure real peace for the whole world.

Moreover, our two peoples have an outstanding virtue in common, namely the noble spirit of self-sacrifice for the sake of justice and righteousness^. It is this traditional spirit which should move them towards self-negation for the salvation of mankind. It is also this spirit which prompted China to be the first to take up arms against aggression and in the present war to ally herself unhesitatingly with other anti-aggression countries, not merely for the purpose of securing her own freedom, but also for the purpose of securing justice and freedom for all.

I venture to suggest to my brethren people of India at this most critical moment in the history of civilization that our two peoples should exert themselves to the utmost in the cause of freedom for all mankind, for only in a free world could the Chinese and Indian peoples obtain their freedom. Furthermore, should freedom be denied to either China or India, there could be no real international peace.

The present international situation divides the world into two camps, the aggression camp and the anti-aggression camp. All those who opposed aggression by striving for the freedom of their country and of other countries should join the anti-aggression camp. There is no middle course and there is no time to wait for developments. Now is the crucial moment for the whole future of mankind. The issue before us does not concern the dispute of any one man or country, nor does it concern any specific questions now pending between one people and another. Any people

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therefore which joins the anti-aggression front may be said to be co-operating, not with any particular country, but with the entire foont. This leads us to believe that the Pacific war is the turning point in the history of nationalism. The method, however, by which the peoples of the world could achieve their freedom might be different from what it used to be. The anti-aggression nations now expect that in this new era the people of India will voluntarily bear their full share of responsibility in the present struggle for the survival of a free world, in which India must play her part. The vast majority of world opinion is in full sympathy with India's aspirations for freedom. This sympathy is so valuable and so difficult to obtain that it cannot be appraised in terms of money or material and should therefore by all means be retained.

The present struggle is one between freedom and slavery, between light and darkness, between good and evil, between resistance and aggression. Should the anti-aggression front lose the war, world civilization would suffer a setback for at least one hundred years and there would be no end of human suffering.

So far as Asia is concerned, the cruelties committed by the Japanese militarists are beyond description. The suffer- ing and oppression, which have been the fate of Formosans and Koreans since their subjugation by Japan, should serve as a warning. As regards barbarities committed by the Japanese army since our war of resistance, the fall of Nanking in December, 1937, is a case in point. Over 200,000 civilians were massacred within one week. For the last five years the civilian population of Free China has been subjected almost daily to bombings from the air and bombardments by heavy artillery. In every place invaded by Japanese troops, men, women and children were either assaulted or killed. The young men and the educated people received their special attention, with the result that men of intelligence and ideas have been tortured. Nor is this all. Institutions of culture, objects of historical interest and value and even articles necessary for livelihood, such as cooking utensils, ploughs, tools, and domestic animals,

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have been either forcibly taken away or destroyed. In places under Japanese military occupation, rape, rapine, incendiarism, murder are frequent occurrences. Moreover, they have with official connivance everywhere opened opium dens, gambling houses and houses of ill-fame in order to sap the vitality of the people and destroy their spirit. Such is the disgraceful conduct of the Japanese, the like of which is not found in countries invaded by other aggressor nations. What I have just said is but an inadequate description of the true state of affairs as reported by Chinese and foreign eyewitnesses.

In these horrible times of savagery and brute force, the people of China and their brethren people of India should for the sake of civilization and human freedom give their united support to the principles embodied in the Atlantic Charter and the joint declaration of twenty-six nations, and ally themselves with the anti-aggression front. I hope they will wholeheartedly join the Allies, namely, China, Great Britain, America and the Soviet Union, and participate in the struggle for the survival of a free world until complete victory is achieved and the duties incident upon them in these troubled times have been fully discharged.

Lastly, I sincerely hope and I confidently believe that our ally, Great Britain, without waiting for any demands on the part of the people of India, will as speedily as possible give them real political power so that they may be in a position further to develop their spiritual and material strength and thus realize that their participation in the war is not merely aid to the anti-aggression nations for securing victory, but also the turning point in their struggle for India's freedom. From the objective point of view, I am of the opinion that this would be the wisest policy which will redound to the credit of the British Empire.

PA.1T III: MME. CHIANG IN AMERICA

A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL MANKIND

An address to the United States House of Representatives (February 18, 1943)-

At any time it would be a privilege for me to address Congress, more especially this present august body which will have so much to do in shaping the destiny of the world. In speaking to Congress I am literally speaking to the Ameiican people. The 77th Congress, as their representa- tives, fulfilled the obligations and responsibilities of its trust by declaring war on the aggressors. That part of the duty of the peoples' representatives was discharged in 1941.

The task now confronting you is to help win the war and create and uphold a lasting peace which will justify the sacrifices and sufferings of the victims of aggression.

Before enlarging on this subject I would like to tell you a little about my long, vividly interesting trip to your country from my own land which has bled and borne unflinchingly the burden of war for more than five and a half years. I will not dwell, however, upon the part China has played in our effort to free mankind from brutality and violence. I will try to convey to you, however imperfectly, the impressions gained during my trip.

First of all I want to assure you that the American people have every right to be proud of their fighting men in so many parts of the world. I am particularly thinking of those of your boys in the far-flung, out-of-the-way stations and ureas where their lives are attended by dreary drabness — this because their duty is not one of spectacular performance and they are not buoyed up by the excitement of battle. They are called upon day after colourless day to perform routine duties such as safeguarding defences and preparing

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for possible enemy action. It has been said, and I find it true from personal experience, that it is easier to risk one's life on the battlefield than it is to perform the customary, humble humdrum duties which are, however, just as neces- sary to winning the war. Some of your troops are rationed in isolated spots quite out of reach of ordinary communica- tions. Some of your boys have had to fly hundreds of hours over the sea from improvised airfields in quests often dis- appointingly fruitless of enemy submarines. They and others have to stand the monotony of waiting — -just vaiting. But, as I told them, the truest patriotism lies in possessing the moral and physical stamina to perform faithfully and conscientiously their daily tasks so that in the sum total the weakest link is the strongest.

Your soldiers have shown conclusively that they are able stoically to endure home-sickness, the glaring dryness and scorching heat of the tropics and to keep themselves fit and in excellent fighting trim. They are among the unsung heroes of this war and everything possible to lighten their tedium and buoy up their morale should be done. That sacred duty is yours.

The American army is better fed than any army in the world. This does not mean, however, that they can live indefinitely on canned food without having the effects tell on them. These admittedly are the minor hardships of war, especially when we pause to consider that in many parts of the world starvation prevails. But, peculiarly enough, oftentimes it isn't the major problems of existence which irk a man's soul ; it is rather the pinpricks, especially those incidental to a life of deadly sameness with tempers frayed out and nervous systems torn to shreds.

The second impression of my trip is that America is not only the cauldron of democracy but the incubator of demo- cratic principles. At some places I visited I met crews at your air bases. There I found first generation Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, Poles, Czechoslovakians and other nationals.

Some of them had accents so thick that, if such a thing were possible, one could cut them with a knife. But there

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they were — all Americans, all devoted to the same ideals, all working for the same cause and united by the same high purpose. No suspicion or rivalry existed between them. This increased my belief and faith that devotion to common principles eliminates differences of race and that identity of ideals is the strongest possible solvent of racial dissimi- larities.

I have reached your country therefore with no misgivings, but with my belief that the American people are building and carrying out the true pattern of the nation, conceived by your forebears, strengthened and confirmed. You as representatives of the American people have before you a glorious opportunity of carrying on the pioneer work of your ancestors beyond the frontiers of physical and geo- graphical limitations. Their brawn and thews braved undauntedly almost unbelievable hardships to open up a new continent. The modern world lauds them for their vigour and intensity of purpose and their accomplishment. You have to-day before you an immeasurably greater oppor- tunity to implement these same ideals and help to bring about the liberation of man's spirit in every part of the world. In order to accomplish this purpose we of the United Nations must now so prosecute the war that victory be ours, decisively and with all good speed.

Sun Tzu, the well-known Chinese strategist, said : Tn order to win, know thyself and thy enemy.' We have also a saying : 'It takes little effort to watch the other fellow carry the load.' In spite of these teachings from the wise old past which are shared by every nation, there has been a tendency to belittle the strength of our opponents.

When Japan thrust total war on China, thirty-seven military experts of every nation did not give China even the ghost of a chance. But when Japan failed to bring China cringing to her knees, as she vaunted to the world, they took solace from this phenomenon by declaring that they had over-estimated Japan's military might. Never- theless, when the greedy flames of war inexorably spread to the Pacific, following the perfidious attack on Pearl Harbour, Malaya and lands in and around the China Sea, and one

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after another these places fell, the pendulum swung to the other extreme. Doubts and fears lifted their ugly heads and the world began to think the Japanese were Nietzschean supermen, superior in intellect and physical prowess, a belief which the Gobineaus and Houston Chamberlains and their apt pupils, Nazi Racists, propounded about the Nordics. Again now prevailing opinion seems to consider the defeat of the Japanese as of relative unimportance and that Hitler is our first concern. This is not borne out by actual facts nor is it to the interests of the United Nations as a whole to allow Japan to continue not only as a vital, potential threat but as a waiting sword of Damocles ready to descend at a moment's notice.

Let us not forget that Japan in her occupied areas to-day has greater resources at her command than Germany.

Let us not forget that the longer Japan is left in undis- puted possession of these resources the stronger she must become. Each passing day takes more toll of lives of both Americans and Chinese. Let us not forget that the Japan- ese are intransigent people.

Let us not forget that during the first four and a half years of total aggression China has borne Japan's sadistic fury unaided and alone.

The victories won by the U.S. Navy at Midway and the Coral Sea are doubtless steps in the right direction — they are merely steps in the right direction — for the magnificent fight waged on Guadalcanar during the past six months attests the fact that the defeat of the forces of evil though long and arduous will finally come to pass. For haven't we on the side of righteousness and justice staunch allies in Great Britain, Russia and the other brave, indomitable peoples ? Meanwhile the peril of the Japanese juggernaut remains. Japanese military might must be decimated as a fighting force before its threat to civilization is removed. When the seventy-seventh Congress declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy, Congress for the moment had done its work. It now remains for you present representatives of the American people to point the way to win the war and help to construct a world wherein all peoples may hence-

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forth live in harmony and peace. May I not hope that it is the resolve of Congress to devote itself to the creation of the post-war world ? To dedicate itself to preparation for a brighter future that the stricken world so eagerly awaits ?

We of this generation who are privileged to help make a better world for ourselves and posterity should remember that while we must not be visionary we must have vision so that peace should not be punitive in spirit and should not be provincial or nationalistic or even continental in concept but universal in scope and humanitarian in action. For modern science has so annihilated distance that what affects one people must of necessity affect all other peoples.

The term 'hands and feet' is often used in China to signify the relationship between brothers. Since inter- national inter-dependence is now so universally recognized, can we not also say all nations should become members of one corporate body ?

The hundred and sixty years' traditional friendship between our two great peoples of China and America, which has never been marred by misunderstandings, is unsurpassed in the annals of the world. I can also assure you that China is eager and ready to co-operate with you and the other peoples to lay a true and lasting foundation of a sane progressive world society which would make it impossible for any arrogant or predatory neighbour to plunge future generations into another orgy of blood. In the past, China has not computed the cost of her man- power in her fight against aggression, although she well realized man-power's real wealth to a nation, and it takes generations to grow it. She has been soberly conscious of her responsibilities and has not concerned herself with the privileges and gains she might have obtained through a compromise with principles. Nor will she demean herself and all she holds dear to the practice of the market-place.

We in China, like you, want a better world not for ourselves alone but for all mankind, and we must have it. It is not enough, however, to proclaim our ideals or even to be convinced that we have them. In order to preserve, uphold and maintain them there are times when we should

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throw all we cherish into our effort to fulfil these ideals even at the risk of failure.

The teachings drawn from our late leader, Doctor Sun Yat Sen, have given our people the fortitude to carry on. 1 From five and a half years' experience, we in China are convinced that it is the better part of wisdom not to accept failure ignominiously but to risk it gloriously. We will have faith that at the writing of peace, America and our other gallant allies will not be obtunded by a mirage of contingent reasons of expediency. Man's mettle is tested both in adversity and success. Doubly is this true of the soul of a nation.

THE PRINCIPLE OF CONCERTED EFFORT

A speech by Madame Chiang Kai-shek at a public meeting at Madison Square Garden, New York [March 2, 1943)-

To all my friends in America, including those of you who have come here to listen to me this evening, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation of your concern for me, and your thoughtfulness for my well-being which you have so generously demonstrated in various ways during my illness and convalescence. I wonder whether I can convey to you how deeply touched I am that so many people from every section of America have taken the time and trouble to send me messages of affection and goodwill. I wish I could acknowledge every one of the many thousands of letters and telegrams which I have received. But since this is impossible, will you not let me take this opportunity to thank you one and all ?

I wish, too, that it were possible for me to accept your invitations to visit your States, cities, colleges, churches and other organizations. To my regret, however, my doctors will not allow me to do all that you so wish me to do, and which I would so like to do. But I know that you will understand the wisdom of their decision when you consider

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that eleven weeks is but a short time in which to recover from the strain of six long years of war, and that I must conserve as much as possible some strength to enable me to continue my work in China.

Since I came out of hospital many of you have asked me to give my impressions of America. My reply has been that, whatever impressions I have gained are not deep and com- prehensive enough to enable me to give a really worthwhile answer. I think, nevertheless, that you may be interested in sharing with me some thoughts which surged through my mind during my convalescence. Mind you, they are thoughts only, not erudite opinions and conclusions formed after deep and prolonged study. I can only hope that, such as they are, they will touch a responsive chord in your hearts, and will prove helpful in your own thinking.

We live in the present, we dream of the future but we learn eternal truths from the past. It would be just as irrational for a man to claim that he was self-made as for a nation to believe that it could be self-sufficient. Nations and individuals are but links between the past and the future. It would be interesting and valuable, therefore, for us to consider the deep meaning which lies behind the Chinese proverb 'Watch the cart ahead,' in our endeavour to avoid the pitfalls in which former civilizations, dynasties and systems have fallen.

These pitfalls are many, but one of the deepest and most omnivorous is pride. That pitfall has swallowed many whose arrogance led them to think that they could safely and permanently defy mankind's deep-rooted sense of justice and right-dealing. Figuratively speaking, it was only yesterday that Herr Hitler said 'No human power can ever oust the Germans from Stalingrad.' Where are those Germans to-day? Again; in July, 1937, Prince Konoye said, 'We shall bring China cringing to her knees within three months.' How many three months have elapsed since he said that ? And China still fights on.

Those utterances by two of the most deeply dyed aggressors were inspired by unrighteous pride run absolutely mad. But there is another kind of pride, a rightful pride

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which my countrymen possess. I am reminded of two little Chungking incidents which bear testimony to the pride to which I have alluded. After the first of the terrible bombings to which Chungking was thereafter increasingly subjected, Free Congee (rice gruel) Centres were estab- lished for those of our people whose homes had been demolished and reduced to charred ruins, and who con- sequently were unable to prepare their food. Many declined to accept this help on the ground that they had suffered no more than others and preferred to fend for themselves. It was only when they were told that they were entitled to the food since they were contributing their share in the national effort to combat aggression that they were prevailed upon to accept any at all.

Again, when the Generalissimo and I placed our cars at the disposal of the organizations charged with the evacuation of civilians in view of the bombings, as soon as the evacuees learned to whom these cars belonged, they refused to ride in them on the ground that our duties to the nation were too important to be impeded. It is this kind of pride that governs our people's attitude towards America to-day. We are genuinely and warmly appreciative of the assistance that the American people have given to our effort in the common cause.

It is not only since my visit to your beautiful country that we have become aware of the affection and friendship which your people have for ours. Throughout these heart- breaking years when we have been daily faced with the hardships which the people of an invaded land have to suffer, we have been heartened to carry on by the know- ledge of your sympathy. I have received innumerable letters and messages from your people in large cities and in small country towns — from business men, farmers, factory workers, professors, ministers, college and high school students, hard-working mothers and even little children. Contributions large and small have poured in ; some people sent money orders of one or two dollars and even less, and often-times accompanied by the wish that they could do more. These gifts spelt real sacrifice on the part of the

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givers and in the eyes of our people they were multiplied s thousand-fold and illuminated by the beauty of the spirit of the donors.

We thank you whole-heartedly for what you have done and are doing for our suffering people, all the more because in this present world struggle we are giving unstintingly the flower of our manhood and everything else we have in contributing our part in this titanic fight for a free and just world. I say all this because I feel that you are entitled to know how the Chinese people of to-day think and the national characteristics upon which that thinking is based.

Without necessarily possessing a very profound know- ledge of the world, we can take warning from the fate of the Roman and Persian Empires and the ephemeral system established by Napoleon. Rome in the earlier days had liberal enough political ideas. Perhaps you will recall that in the second century a.d., a Roman recorder wrote that the laws of Rome only became effective because the people delegated to the Senate the power to make them. The imperium or power admittedly rested in the people. The august title of Imperator under the Republic signified no more than the present-day title of 'General,' and was bestowed by the soldiers upon their victorious leaders. The honours conferred upon Augustus as prince of the Senate by the Romans in reality far transcended any honour claimed for monarch? some two thousand years later in accordance with the ,theory of the divine right of kings. Thus we see that the power of the leader stemmed from the people and to claim divine right and privileges was usurpation of the natural rights of men.

All the peoples in the Roman Empire could become citizens. Some of the Emperors even were Syrians or sprang from other foreign origins. There was no racial discrimina- tion as we have it to-day. The Armenians and other tribes of the so-called barbarian world of that day were accepted and welcomed as allies of Rome, and not as subject peoples. This broad and practised concept of the Romans was, I think, the chief cause for the Roman Empire lasting over a thousand years.

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On the other hand, tyranny and dictatorships have been proven to be short-lived. We ask ourselves why is it that the ancient Persian Empire only remained at its com- parative zenith for a few centuries, while the high tide of the Napoleonic era only lasted for a few decades ? We read that Sapor, the Persian Emperor, after defeating the Romans, used the neck of Valerian, the Roman Emperor, as a footstool for mounting his horse. Was it this cruelty and arrogance of the conqueror towards the conquered which contributed to the fall of the dictatorship whose leaders strutted about in a frenzy of exhibition during their short day as invincible conquerors and masters ?

Let us contrast this with the Chinese way of life as shown in the following historical incident. During the period of the Three Kingdoms in China, Kuan Kung, a valiant warrior, met Huang Tsung, also a brave warrior, in single combat. With a sweep of his long sword, Kuan Kung cut off the forelegs of his opponent's steed. Horse and rider both toppled to the ground. The vanquished warrior awaited his doom with resignation. The victor, Kuan Kung, how- ever, extended his weaponless hand and cried, 'Arise ! My sword falls edgeless against a dismounted and unarmed foe.' To return to the Roman Empire, its final fall was due, among other things, to the sybaritic and effete practices indulged in by the Roman people. In the declining days of the Empire they hired others to do their fighting, while they themselves wallowed in sensualism which culminated in the total eclipse of the Roman Empire in the west. On the heels of the fall of this Empire followed the dark ages in Europe with all the attendant evil results.

To safeguard ourselves against retrogression into another dark age is, I feel, the greatest task now confronting the United Nations. Whether the principles of freedom, justice and equality for which we are righting will be able to stand the strain and stress of the times is a question depending largely on ourselves as individuals and as nations. Convicts are subject to coercion, but it must be remembered that they have proved themselves to be anti-social and had first committed crimes against society. Their exclusion from

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their fellow-men is but a logical consequence of the necessity for expiation, whereas slaves or subject peoples arrived in that estate often through no fault of their own. The Axis Powers have shown that they have no respect for anything but brute force and, such being the case, they logically hold that conquered peoples should become shackled slaves. They lack the imagination to visualize the fact that a man may be enslaved physically but cannot be controlled in his thoughts and in his innate desire to be free.

Nor do they recognize that, if peoples are deprived of responsibility, there can be no real discipline, for indubitably the highest kind of government is maintained through self-discipline. Nor are they imaginative enough to realize that unrest, however ruthlessly suppressed, will continue to create situations which successive routings and reforms cannot ameliorate, leaving in the wake only bitterness and determined hatred of the oppressor.

The implacable underground hostility of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Low Countries and France, and the indomitable resolve to keep on fighting as shown by your people, and by my people, and by the peoples of Britain and Russia, attest incontrovertibly this fact. The world to-day is full of catch phrases. Men often pay lip service to ideals without actually desiring and working for their fruition. Fascist Italy has sometimes claimed to be an organized, centralized and authoritative democracy. Nazi Germany on occasions has also called itself a demo- cracy. Do we of the United Nations wish to follow in their footsteps ?

The universal tendency of the world as represented by the United Nations is as patent and inexorable as the enormous sheets of ice which flow down the Hudson in the winter. The swift and mighty tide is toward universal justice and freedom. In furtherance of this tendency, we in China have bled for the last six long years to demon- strate our repudiation of the inert and humiliating philo- sophy that a slow, strangling death is the more merciful, though some people in other parts of the world maintain that the absence of hope would prevent the acrimony of

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a losing fight and leave man's nature untrammelled to compose itself to the mercy of God. We shall hold firm to that faith that nothing short of race annihilation will ever prevent any people from struggling against wanton domina- tion, whether economic or political. Are we right ? Again, there are peoples who are obsessed by the fear that the stage of economic stagnation has been reached, there are others who preach totalitarian-tinged doctrines of economic autarchy. If we accept these theories then we must all be self-sufficient, for when any of us lack raw materials and labour, instead of obtaining them through legitimate means of trade and commerce we would have to resort to the brutalities of invading our neighbours' territories and enslaving the inhabitants.

In reality, neither theory is possible. For the vast and rich unindustrialized hinterlands of China alone would bear witness to the obvious falsity of the former theory. The processes of history, composed of sequence — co-existence and inter-dependence — -just as people in society are in- evitably entwined through common interests, common efforts, and common survival, prove to us the folly of the latter theory.

What are we going to make of the future ? What will the revalescing world, recovering from this hideous blood- letting, be like ? The wisest minds in every corner of the world are pondering over these questions, and the wisest of all reserve their opinions. But, without letting temerity outrun discretion, I venture to say that certain things must be recognized. Never again must the dignity of man be outraged as it has been since the dawn of history. All nations, great and small, must have equal opportunity of development.

Those who are stronger and more advanced should consider their strength as a trust to be used to help the weaker nations to fit themselves for full self-government and not to exploit them. Exploitation is spiritually as degrading to the exploiter as to the exploited. Then too, there must be no bitterness in the reconstructed world. No matter what we have undergone and suffered, we must

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try to forgive those who injured us and remember only the lesson gained thereby. The teachings of Christ radiate ideas for the elevation of souls and intellectual capacities far above the common passions of hate and degradation. He taught us to help our less fortunate fellow-beings, to work and strive for their betterment without ever deceiving ourselves and others by pretending that tragedy and ugliness do not exist. He taught us to hate the evil in men, but not men themselves.

Finally, in order that this war may indeed be the war to end all wars in all ages, and that nations, great and small alike, may be allowed to live and let live in peace, security and freedom in the generations to come, co-operation in the true and highest sense of the word must be practised. I have no doubt that the truly great leaders of the United Nations, those men with vision and forethought, are working towards the crystallization of this ideal. Yet they, too, would be impotent if you and I did not give our all towards making it a reality. Over two thousand years ago, during the Feudal Period when many little kingdoms co-existed in China, there were two conflicting theories, the principle of imperialism, or Lien-Heng, and the principle of concerted effort, or Hoh-Tsung. The originator of the principle of imperialism, or Lien-Heng, connived at the swallowing up of the six weaker states by the State of Ch'in. The originator of the concerted effort, or Hoh- Tsung, on the other hand, advocated the union of the six weak states for mutual protec- tion against their dominant neighbour, Ch'in. The central idea was, in the event of aggression by the state of Ch'in against any of the six states, the others were under moral obligation to come to the assistance of the invaded state.

Unfortunately the six states were lukewarm towards this idea of united effort and did not take any pains for its support, with the result that gradually, one by one, the weaker states were destroyed by the strong state of Ch'in. Do we want history to repeat itself? At the present day, I should like to point out that we often use the term 'com- munity of nations.' If we would only pause to think for a moment, we would realize that the word 'community'

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implies association and not voluntary choice, but of force of circumstance. We should, instead, think of ourselves as a society of nations, for society means association by choice. Let us, the United Nations, which have come together by choice, resolve to create a world resting on the pillars of justice, co-existence, co-operation and mutual respect. Selfishness and complacency in the past have made us pay dearly in terms of human misery and suffering. While it may be difficult for us not to feel bitterness for the injuries we have suffered at the hands of the aggressors, let us remember that recrimination and hatred will lead us nowhere ! We should use our energy to better purpose so that every nation will be enabled to use its native genius and energy for the reconstruction of a permanently pro- gressive world with all nations participating on an equitable and just basis. The goal of our common struggle at the conclusion of this war should be to shape the future so that 'this whole world must be thought of as one great state common to gods and men.5

FAITH AMONG NATIONS

An address to a public meeting at the Chicago Stadium {March 23, 1943).

On my way to this great and populous city, one of the thoughts which occurred to my mind and kept tune to the rhythm of the rolling wheels of my train, was the modern miracle of what is now known as the United States of America.

I recollected, too, chronicles in American history that I learned in my school days. When your Pilgrim Fathers landed from the Mayflower, America was one vast continent of wilderness. As long ago as when Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, was first settled, Pastorius wrote that the settlers' cry was : "Nothing but endless forests." To-day all these areas are among the most highly developed and industrialized centres of this country.

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Most of your forebears, in coming to America, sought freedom from the irritating restrictions of an irresponsible government of a despot. They agreed that they would govern themselves in accordance with a compact which they signed to 'submit to such government and governors as they should by common consent agree to make and choose.'

Such was the unostentatious and unpretentious start of this country. These men, I venture to say, scarce dared to dream that they were laying the foundations of a great democracy which inevitably came into being because of the sound commonsense fundamentals they had incorporated in their compact.

Nor, in all probability, had they any conception then of the influence that America would one day wield on the destiny of mankind in all parts of the world. They confined themselves to the simple and outright pledge to abide by the common will, combined with the faith that might is right.

Thus the unmitigated strength of the Mayflower Coven- ant lies in the fact that it was not a theory, but a practical instrument, evolved for a practical purpose. In the words of the Reverend Hooker, in his famous sermon on the fundamentals of government : "The foundation of authority is law, firstly in the free consent of the people." Later, John Wise, also a minister, but son of an indentured slave, writing in Massachusetts, stated that 'government is based on human free companies.'

But the compacts did not go beyond the immediate physical realm of the settlements. History substantiates our view that the first settlers in America did not think of themselves as a nation. They called themselves New Englanders, Virginians, or Pennsylvanians. They were merely groups of people with steadfast wills, indomitable energy and unconquerable spirit, scattered under thirteen different governments.

As time rolled on, such limited instruments as the Mayflower Compact, the fundamental order of Connecti- cut, and innumerable 'church covenants' and frontier agreements, which various groups had contributed as

98 THE VOICE OF CHINA

practicable and workable, found their crystallization in the Declaration of Independence. So long as the torch of liberty shines with effulgence, mankind will cherish Jeffer- son's immortal words, vibrant with vigour, that 'we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Yet difficulty upon difficulty accumulated and challenged the young fledgling republic even after Cornwallis met his defeat at Yorktown.

The many different groups, widely scattered and with varied local interests in these States , could easily have fallen into such serious dissension amongst themselves that anarchy would have resulted, had it not been that a common denominator fused them together into one great whole — a common denominator which I would call the wholesome American national fibre. For, aside from the souls mute from timorousness, the diversification of minds was truly sincere and honest. If memory serves me well, Hamilton held to the theory that the exercise of the power of the nation should be the duty and occupation of the compara- tive few, whereas Jefferson believed that all men are created equal and should be given equal initial opportunities.

To those obsessed by hard and fast rules of logic, these seemed two diametrically opposed convictions which, at the time, appeared irreconcilable. Yet, as I see it, the present American society is actually the very evolvement of happy culmination of Hamilton's and Jefferson's ideals forged into one. The seemingly repellent opposites have produced an epochal synthesis, for the fundamentals of supreme reason in man, for the most part, enjoin the must and forbid the contrary.

Some of your presidents, like Jackson and Lincoln, came from the backwoods — products of the people. Some of the greatest emperors of China also came from peasant stock. Both our peoples have been fortunate enough not to decry poverty. Though our two countries have widely varied backgrounds, histories, cultures, and traditions, both recognize the inherent ability of the individual as an indivi- dual with powers to sway, to contribute to, and to help mould, the destiny of a nation. China's Civil Service system

MME. CHIANG IN AMERICA 99

and the opportunities thereby offered to those who strive for achievement are not wanting. The land where 'the barefoot boy with cheeks of tan' may become the highest executive also declaims that here indeed a man may become what he wills himself to be.

With firmness and perseverance, I stress again, that to insure future peace and prosperity for all peoples, war, that came of human folly, should not be permitted to recur. Only with concerted vigilance and action by the United Nations, and, later, by others who will have gained the wisdom of adhering to the principle of 'live and let live,' would this world be rendered perdurable for peace.

We are all aware that organized effort is nothing new. In Ancient Greece, there was the Confederacy of Delos. Coming nearer to our age, there was the Congress of Vienna. Then, in our own time, emerged the League of Nations. The reasons for the failures of these efforts are not far to seek. The Greek confederacy sought to combine the Hellenic States against Persia, but they soon forgot the purpose of their aim and fell to bickering among themselves. The Congress of Vienna meant no more than the hegemony of the Austria that Metternich conceived. The main cause for the failure of the League of Nations had its root in the narrowness of vision of those by whom it was created, and, being recent, will be adjusted by posterity.

Inherently, the weakness in each of the defunct united efforts was that it played an old game — the game of jealousy, self-seeking and petty distrust, often euphemistically mis- interpreted as the balance of power. Assuredly, the League of Nations proved to be an improvement on the others, but the chink in its armour became apparent, because it con- cerned itself mainly with the inconsonant policies of a few nations. The fissures and flaws in the League Covenant revealed themselves only under stress, for the inadequacies did not appear in times of peace and calm, but under the gathering momentum of the tempest the structure could not withstand the tension of the impact.

That no alignment of nations in the past has been found successful does not invalidate the possibility and the necessity

lOO THE VOICE OF CHINA

for concerted effort. Nor, for that matter, do they preclude the wisdom of our continued co-operation when victory is won in the active maintenance of peace against future collusion of rapacious powers.

In this connection we must take heed from China's painful experiences. Manchuria, in 1931, portrays a lesson which should be indelibly imprinted on our minds, that documents in themselves with imposing looking and impor- tant seals affixed are mere foolscaps — -just as a robot in itself, without the breath of life, remains inanimate. The good faith and responsibilities of the signatories of a pact must extend beyond mere compliance with the letter of the text.

Neither can peace be pursued by warping the truth and finding comfort in the fact that the infeasibility of joint duty in chastisement, means no chastisement at all. Had wise counsel prevailed in the Manchurian incident, and had aggression been cauterized at its source, to-day the whole world would not be travailed by the holocaust of war.

But the self-righteous, perhaps, would seek to justify their lethargy by the reply that hindsight is easy ; foresight difficult. What higher tribute than this could be paid to the wisdom of those who foresaw the inevitable implications from the shadows cast before the tragic events ? What more conclusive proof is needed than that theirs were warning voices which echoed small and still across the vast wilderness of indifference and nescience ? Should we, in the future, allow ourselves to sink again into the morass of realization only by hindsight, and place foresight beyond the pale of man's rationale ? This we must ultimately and may immedi- ately ask ourselves.

Some minds reveal their claim to intellectual capacities by erecting barriers to the closer co-operation of peoples ; the culture of a nation is peculiarly its own and, unless what is borrowed becomes part of the skein of pattern of our daily life, it will bear the harsh lines of foreign matter. Six years of war and suffering in China speak more eloquently than words, that we deem the preservation of our own culture subservient to the maintenance of world civilization.

Precisely because we refuse to be content with our culture

MME. CHIANG IN AMERICA 101

as a separate entity, we in China are fighting to help build the mosaic of world civilization, the perpetuation of man- kind's common and pledged principles which cannot be subverted or surrendered — no matter how painful they may seem for a time. We stand firm in the belief that those principles are inborn, and that, so long as men live and progress, they will withstand the wear and grind of the ages.

How may we find a true basis of co-existence and co- operation to cement better understanding between nations and between peoples ? Goodwill and desire for co-operation will do as a starting-point, but left to themselves they will make little headway.

Your sense of the aesthetic in appreciating the artistry of Chinese craftsmanship, your praise of the fragility of egg-shell porcelain, and our admiration of your intricate machinery and our approbation of your suspension bridges should not be construed to mean that complete understand- ing of the nature of our two peoples or their greatness is the logical deduction.

Perhaps I may pause here to give you an illustration of what I mean. To understand music in the true sense of appreciation, one must know the rudiments of theory and harmony, the sequence of concord, the atonality of discord, the characteristics differentiating major and minor melodies, and something about the life and motives of the composer when he set down the composition. All these tend to convey a true understanding of music. For much as knowledge is all-desirable, yet intelligent appreciation, too, has its un- erring merits. Were it otherwise, a symphony would merely be a mass of sounds devoid of cadence and beauty.

I may go a little further and tell you something of my own experience. As you probably know, I came to America when I was a child and returned to my native land after I had finished college ten years later. Upon my return home the elan of youth made me eager to contribute my service in the interest of my country. To my surprise, my parents insisted that as I had been away for so long, I should spend my time studying Chinese history and literature. They

102 THE VOICE OF CHINA

pointed out that until I learned more of the history and culture of my people, I could not understand the intricacies of China's problems, and that, in whatever field I wished to direct my efforts and whatever contributions I hoped to make would be consistently nullified by lack of compre- hension of the basic structure and needs of Chinese society. In subsequent years, and especially during these war years when 1 have worked so closely with every section of our people, I have realized to the full the wisdom and foresight of this counsel.

I have attempted to illustrate to you the importance of fostering better understanding between our two peoples through knowledge of each other's history and culture. Integrity and imagination, however, must also play their part. Invariably the great spirits in human relationships have honesty and imagination — honesty in appraising them- selves, first, as they see themselves, second, as they think others see them, and third, the imagination to place them- selves in others' positions while appraising themselves. The first two, being subjective, cannot be all-sufficing, the third, an objective approach, is needed to complete the picture.

I mentioned that your forebears clung to the faith that their experience of abiding by the common will would work, and that their ideals of a government for the people, of the people, and by the people, would finally prevail. Let us remember, however, that before America grew to be the present great democracy dissensions, secessions, and civil war cleaved the nation and almost rent asunder the national fabric beyond repair.

But to-day there are peoples and nations who are yet bent on trampling underfoot the inalienable rights and dignity of men. They have not the eyes to see that over the blue horizon, beyond the smoky ruins following in the wake of bursting bombs, there is a vision of a new world — a world founded on practised justice and equality for all mankind. The following anecdote may help us to under- stand the power of faith.

When Confucius was on his way to return to the kingdom

MME. CHIANG IN AMERICA IO3

of Lu from the kingdom of Wei, he and his party rested on the bank of a river. Below was a waterfall of several hundred feet. On the opposite bank a man started to swim across the river. Confucius sent a disciple to stop him : "Cannot you see that here is a waterfall of several hundred feet with miles of whirlpool beneath it, where not even a fish or turtles can live ?" The man replied : "Do not mind me," and quickly swam across. In astonishment Confucius asked him : "What skill or magic do you possess so that you can jump into this whirlpool and come out safe ?" The man replied : "When I plunge into the river, I have faith in myself. When I swim in the current, I keep my faith in the water. My faith protects me in the current and I do not think about myself." Turning to his disciples, Confucius said : "If a man can swim across such a river through faith, what cannot be accomplished by having faith in man ?"

To translate, however, faith into reality, you and I must recapture faith in our fellow-men in the spirit of your pioneer fathers who forged in the van of the movement westward and forward in cutting across the wilderness and endless forests. We should march onward with staunch hearts and steadfast will in the cultivation of what William James calls tough-mindedness — tough-mindedness while we are search- ing for rectitude and truth in the triumph of a just and permanent peace.

Let us then together resolve to keep on fighting in the faith that our vision is worth preserving, and can be pre- served. For is it not true that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ?

PART IV: MESSAGES BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN

i

From Mr. Churchill to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

British Empire and United States have been attacked by Japan. Always we have been friends : now we face a common enemy.

Winston Churchill.

December 8, 1941.

2

Reply from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to the Prime Minister

I thank you warmly for your message.

Even after four and a half years of experience of the utter ruthlessness of Japan, the treachery of her attack upon Great Britain and the United States has shocked all China. Treachery makes enemies but loyalty makes friends. China welcomes the promptness and resolution of Great Britain. The Chinese people are eager to repay her long friendship and are happy in the thought that they stand shoulder to shoulder with the peoples of Great Britain and America.

Chiang Kai-shek. December 10, 1941.

3 From Mr. Churchill to the People of China

Five years ago to-day Japan launched her treacherous attack on your country. For five years you have, in spite of suffering and disappointment, maintained a united front against aggression. The world has watched with admira- tion the mighty efforts made by China not only on the field of battle but also in the sphere of internal reconstruction.

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MESSAGES BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN IO5

Both China and the British Commonwealth have known what it is to stand alone against the aggressor. To-day we are fighting side by side against our common enemies. And with us to-day we have the tremendous resources of the United States of America. Each of us has his part to play. The war in Europe and the Middle East is as much part of the defence of China as the war in the Far East is part of the defence of Britain. We are determined to extend to the Chinese people every material, moral and spiritual help in our power.

Of ultimate victory we are sure. When it is won our present association will have laid the foundations of a lasting friendship based on mutual confidence and respect, which will secure peace and justice to all the peoples of the world.

Winston Churchill. July 7, 1942.

4

Reply From Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to

Mr. Churchill

The message of encouragement which you were kind enough to address to our people on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of China's resistance has deeply touched and inspired myself as well as the soldiers and civilians of my country.

In the course of our resistance during the past five years your country has been from the very beginning a warm and sympathetic friend, and since December last your people have become our comrades-in-arms, fighting shoulder to shoulder.

The battle fronts against aggression throughout the world to-day are parts of the same war. Whether it takes place in the East or in the West, the interests at stake are identical.

We have, of course, still to overcome many difficulties, but by dint of our determined and persevering struggle we are certain to achieve victory. This, I believe, is the firm conviction which I have the honour to share with you.

106 THE VOICE OF CHINA

Please convey to your soldiers and civilians the respects and kind regards of the entire Chinese nation.

Chiang Kai-shek. July g, 1942.

5 From Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Mr. Churchill

Three years ago to-day Germany began her war of aggression in Europe and two days later your country declared war on her in defence of civilization. For three years we have followed with great admiration how heroically and gallantly the British People under your leadership have stood the most crucial test of modern warfare. We in China find added inspiration in the fact that since the Japanese treacherous attack on your possessions in the Far East we have become comrades in arms fighting shoulder to shoulder against our common foes. To-day the fighting strength of the United Nations is daily increasing in all theatres of operation and the tide of war is turning in our favour. I can assure you that China, like Great Britain, will not stop fighting nor shrink from any further sacrifices until the last of the aggressors gives up his arms. We do not minimize the difficulties ahead, but we are fully con- vinced that with the superior material and human resources and the increasing solidarity of the United Nations it will not be long before the principle of justice and freedom com- pletely triumphs.

Chiang Kai-shek.

September 1, 1942.

6

Reply from the Prime Minister to Generalissimo

Chiang Ki-shek

I am deeply grateful for Your Excellency's message on the occasion of the third anniversary of the outbreak of war between this country and Germany. I welcome your tribute all the more coming as it does from the leader of a courageous and steadfast people, who have already with-

MESSAGES BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN IO7

stood the onslaught of the Japanese aggressor for more than five long years. Their resistance owes much, as the British people well know, to Your Excellency's resolution and unswerving loyalty to the cause of Freedom, to which we have both consecrated all our energies. With such a cause to inspire us, victory is certain, and when that day dawns, as dawn it will, the British people will be proud to acclaim the Chinese as fellow architects of victory.

Winston Churchill. September 4, 1942.

From Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Mr. Churchill The splendid victory of the British Eighth Army in Libya not only evokes the admiration and pride of the United Nations but heartens all the liberty-loving peoples of the world. In the name of the Government, Army and People of China, I send you my warmest congratulations. It is my confident belief that this magnificent triumph of British arms is only a beginning and will be followed by other successes leading to the final overthrow of our common enemies in the East and in the West and achieve total victory for the United Nations.

Chiang Kai-shek. September iy, 1942.

8

From Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Mr. Churchill

The success of the British and American forces in North Africa under the able command of General Eisenhower and General Alexander has been received with jubilation throughout China. On behalf of the Chinese Army and people I wish to offer you our sincerest congratulations on this great victory. May this be a lesson to the Axis powers that might shall not prevail over right.

Chiang Kai-shek. May 11, 1943.

108 THE VOICE OF CHINA

9

Reply from the Prime Minister to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

I send you my warm thanks for your message of congratu- lation on the great Allied victory which has crushed last resistance of German and Italian Forces in Africa. The day will come when we shall rejoice at similar feats of arms of United Nations which will surely drive Japanese invader from soil of China.

Winston Churchill. May 13, 1943.

10

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Mr. Churchill on Britain's Fourth War Anniversary

As Britain enters upon her fifth year of war may I express to you on behalf of the Government and people of China our deep admiration for the heroic endurance and dauntless courage shown by your great people in their struggle against the forces of domination and aggression.

Britain, like China, fought for a long time all alone against a formidable enemy. To-day, aided by the growing might of the United Nations, she is confidently marching on to victory, which we believe is not far distant.

We rejoice in the successes won by British arms on the different battle fronts and are certain that your efforts will be attended with even greater successes in the future, and when our common enemy has been forced to surrender unconditionally, the staunch friendship between our two countries, resulting from our close association as comrades in arms, will surely help us to serve more effectively the cause of human liberty and international justice.

Chiang Kai-shek. September 3, 1943.

MESSAGES BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN IO9

II

Reply from the Prime Minister to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

On behalf of the Government and people of this country I send you my sincere thanks for Your Excellency's kind and inspiring message on the occasion of this, the fourth anni- versary of the day on which we took up arms against the aggressor.

Since that day, and the anxious times which followed, our arms have been blessed by Providence with ever increas- ing success, and we are celebrating this anniversary by new ventures. Though the battle will still be long and hard, we can now look forward, more confidently than ever before, to victory and the making of a new world, towards the establishment of which your great and dauntless country has made an unforgettable contribution.

Winston Churchill. September 5, 1943.

12

From Madame Chiang Kai-shek to British Women War Workers

With profound admiration the women of China have watched the splendid response made by British women to the national alert. By doing heavy muscular work in munition factories you have released hundreds of thousands of men for service in the air, in the fleet, and in the field. You women of Britain have shared equally in the hardest and most onerous work of your men and you have won the unquestionable right to share equally in their success when the day of victory dawns. Britain with its comparatively small population would be in a perilous position had not her womenfolk so promptly and unhesitatingly stepped into the breach. Here in China the share of our women in the war effort has been on different lines from yours, but we found numerous ways in which we could help in the care of

110 THE VOICE OF CHINA

the wounded, of millions of refugees, of the families of the recruits and the wounded, and above all in the maintenance of national morale. Like you, we are doing our best, but we want to tell you how much we admire what you have done and are doing. When victory is won it will be a proud thought for you and the women of the Allied nations that they have borne their full share of the heat and burden of preserving freedom in the world.

Mayling Soong-Chiang. July 17, 1942.

• 13

From Madame Chiang Kai-shek to Lady Cripps, President of the United Aid to China Fund

It gives me especial pleasure to send you this message because, aside from the material aspect of the aid you pro- pose extending to China, this organization is in itself a practical demonstration of the sympathy and friendship existing between the peoples of our two countries. Your organization is representative of every section of the people of Britain and in democracies, after all, it is the will of the people that finally counts. In giving this aid to China you are actuated by a desire to give recognition to the fact that we are fighting shoulder to shoulder in a common cause for common aims and for common principles. China will gladly accept it as aid motivated by friendship desirous of extending a helping hand in time of stress. I hope that you will find that a gracious giver meets with an equally gracious receiver, for your gift indeed blesseth him that gives and him that takes. It also gives me particular pleasure that Lady Cripps is heading the organization assisted by many women who are so effectually helping Britain's war effort. Women are playing a much greater part in world affairs than ever before, and undoubtedly in the post-war settlement British women in conjunction with women the world over will continue to make a significant contribution in forming public opinion and guiding it so

MESSAGES BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN III

that it will refuse to accept anything but justice, equality and freedom for all mankind in the new world that is in the making.

Mayling Soong- Chiang. July 26, ig42.

14 Reply from Lady Cripps

Your message which was read by your Ambassador at a great meeting at the Mansion House on Wednesday last, organized by the Lord Mayor of London, was deeply appreciated.

Mr. Anthony Eden stressed the magnificent resistance of the Chinese people, their great contribution to world culture, and the need for giving them assistance in every way that was possible at this critical time. He also announced a gift of £1,000 by their Majesties the King and Queen to the United Aid to China Fund, and a contribution by Queen Mary.

I was much touched by your personal reference to me as representing the women of Great Britain who are taking their place in their country's struggle for freedom. We are full of admiration for the part you and other women are playing in the life and leadership of your country.

The British people have always had a deep sense of fellowship with the people of China. This has been intensified by their heroic resistance over the last five years. Already the response to our appeal is remarkable and many letters speak in glowing terms of our admiration and respect for your people. The Fund is providing an opportunity to express the friendship of one democratic people for another. May it be another link in the chain of friendship which will enable the culture and idealism of our two countries to play their part in the building of a world worthy of their people.

Isabel Cripps.

August 7, 1942.

112 THE VOICE OF CHINA

l0

From Madame Chiang Kai-shek on International Women's Day

It affords me pleasure to send this message to those who have contributed to the cause of the United Nations by their war effort. We women in this league of liberty that is known as the United Nations are associated with each other by choice and because we share common ideals. The women of the United Nations are more strongly bound than ever before because in each of our own countries oppor- tunities are open to us to exert our utmost not only in winning the war but for the unity of all civilization. My hope is that we should feel this bond of unity so deeply that though we are separated by distance we may work together in partnership in the creation of a world in which women will have equal responsibility with men.

Mayling Soong- Chiang. March 3, 1943.

16 From Madame Chiang Kai-shek to the British People

On this the fourth anniversary of Britain's declaration of war against the aggressor nations, I should like to express my admiration of the valiant fighting spirit of the people of Great Britain. The people of China for more than six years have withstood similar soul-searing experiences which you have undergone of being pounced upon by a merciless and predatory neighbour.

We anticipate therefore all the more eagerly that in the near future our bonds of fellowship will be further and immeasurably strengthened by our fighting literally shoulder to shoulder as comrades in arms towards certain victory in the annihilation of those evil forces inimical to the well- being of mankind.

Mayling Soong-Chiang.

September 3, 1943.

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