CHINA PRESENTS HER CASE TO THE UNITED NATIONS Item 68 of the AGENDA of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY, "Threats to the political independence and ter- CHINA PRESENTS HER CASE TO THE UNITED NATIONS Following is the text of the speech delivered by Dr. T. F. Tsiang, Chairman of the Chinese Delegation, in general debate at the United Nations General Assembly, Fourth Session, on September 22, 1949: The general debate at the beginning of a session of the General Assembly is the proper occasion for surveying the work of the organization, particularly with reference to its main purpose, which is the maintenance of peace and security among the nations. In respect of Europe, this past year has seen notable progress. Greece has been saved. The Communist insurrection, aided by dark forces from outside, has reached the beginning of its end. Thanks to the sacrifices of the Greek people, the moral encouragement of the United Nations, and the moral and material support of the United States of America, Greece has been snatched from the jaws of the world Communist empire. The Greek people are now assured of their national independence and human freedom. This is a matter for rejoicing, not only among the Greeks, but among all freedom-loving peoples everywhere. My delegation wishes to take advantage of the present occasion to extend its congratulations to Greece. During the past year Western Europe has continued to make progress. It was not long ago that people everywhere questioned whether Italy would not fall into the hands of the Communists, whether France could be made steady again as a bulwark of human freedom, and whether Western Germany would not be a victim of the traps set by international communism. These questions have all been answered. Today the immediate danger in Western Europe has definitely passed. Instead of being a possible victim of communism Western Europe may become the vanguard of democracy. The peoples and governments concerned have done heroic work and the Government of the United States has, through the Marshall Plan, given them generous and effective aid. With the coming into force of the North Atlantic pact the grand design of the containing of communism has been completed, so far as Europe is concerned. Today, from Iran on the Persian Gulf through Turkey, Greece, Italy to France and the Scandinavian north, the dike against the Communist flood has been built and is now in good strong condition. But we know from experience that floods cannot be contained by building a dike on one side only. If diked up on one side only, the destructive waters will flow and spread to other directions. Such is the character of natural floods. Such is also the nature of communism. Communism is by itself a great menace, but it is inseparably joined with the old deeprooted Russian imperialism. Throughout the nineteenth century we saw Russian imperialism surging now westward and then eastward and at times in all directions at once. The Russian empire and Russian imperialism strode on two continents. In the middle of the nineteenth century Russian imperialism in Europe met with a check as a result of the Crimean War. But during the Crimean War, Russian forces, led by Muraviev, invaded and took from China the northern bank of the Amur River and the eastern bank of the Usuri River, including the great port of Vladivostok. People should not forget that “Vladivostok” means “dominator of the East.” In the seventies of the last century while some Russian forces and diplomats were busy in Southeastern Europe, their activities culminating in the Russo-Turkish War, the treaty of San Stefano and the Treaty of Berlin, other Russian forces and diplomats were busy in Central Asia annexing a wide frontier belt of the Chinese province of Sinkiang. At the beginning of the present century Czarist Russia undertook wild adventures in Manchuria and Korea, which brought about the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. Checked in the East, Russian imperialism swung back to Europe, and in a few years became a prime mover in the plots and counterplots in the Balkans which finally resulted in World War I. After the so-called October Revolution of 1917 the new rulers of Russia proclaimed to the world that the Soviet people were not only ashamed of Czarist imperialism but were ready to give up the fruits of that imperialism. We in China heard the voice of Lenin, Joffe and Karakhan to that effect. We welcomed the new message. We hoped it would be true. Hard and bitter experience has taught us that the change from Czarist imperialism to Soviet imperialism is entirely on the surface, and that at bottom, the two brands of imperialism are really the same stuff. During the past two years while the dike from the Persian Gulf to Scandinavia was built against the flood of communism, the Far East has been inundated. Today, the Soviet Union has obtained in Manchuria more than Czarist Russia ever tried to seize. In addition, the Soviet Union, through the Chinese Communist party, has an instrument and a lever with which to undermine the independence and integrity of China, and the peace of the Far East. After V-J Day the people of China ardently desired to maintain peace at home and peace with China's neighbors. The first great act of the Chinese Government at the very moment of victory over Japan was to sign a treaty of friendship and alliance with the Soviet Union, embodying the fateful decisions of the Yalta conference. That treaty imposed on China heavy sacrifices, particularly in the Northeastern Provinces, frequently spoken of as Manchuria. The Chinese people fondly hoped that the sacrifices would not be in vain. The common boundary between China and the Soviet Union extends from Central Asia to the waters of the Pacific. It is longer than the common boundary between Canada and the United States. The sincere desire of the Chinese people is that the common boundary between China and Russia should be as peaceful and as free as the common boundary between Canada and the United States. In order to secure domestic peace and to usher in an era of economic reconstruction and to make possible a rising standard of living for the people, my Government, after V-J Day, quickly began to demobilize the war-time forces of the country. It offered to solve all the problems between the Communists and the Government through peaceful means. It was ready even to consider a coalition government, although it knew very well the dangers of such coalition. But the insistence of the Chinese Communists on maintaining a large army made all schemes of reconciliation impossible. The Chinese Communist party is an integral part of the international Communist movement. It is as fanatical as Communists elsewhere. Its propaganda is always in tune with Moscow propaganda. Its action is always in step with Moscow action. During the war, for a brief period, the Chinese Communists suddenly assumed the cloak of patriotism and soft-pedalled their class war. That brief soft period misled many observers to believe that Chinese Communists were not Communist at all but agrarian reformers. Today, the real nature of Chinese communism is plainly visible to all who wish to see. The strident voice of Mao Tze-tung tells the world that Chinese Communists are a new and mighty contingent in the armies of world revolution which is to spread to Southeast Asia and finally to cover the whole world. In case of a third war, Communist China, according to Mao, will fight on the side of the Soviet Union. China today is fighting against this new evil as she fought twelve years ago, and for over eight years, against Japanese aggression. The present resistance of free China is as important as her resistance against Japan in World War II. Geography has placed China on the front lines of the world struggle. The ultimate outcome will decide not only the future of China but the future of many neighboring countries in South Asia as well as the future of the whole world. Building the dike on one bank of the river has forced the waters to overflow the lands on the other bank. The Marshall Plan and the North Atlantic Pact, while strengthening the forces of freedom in one part of the world, have really, though unintentionally, increased the dangers to the peoples living in the other part of the world. I ask the General Assembly to ponder over the present situation in the Far East and the grave dangers to world peace and security. I appeal to the General Assembly to be brave enough to embrace the vision of one indivisible world and not to retreat to the false illusory security of half a world. Since the conclusion of World War II nothing has happened in any part of the world which is more serious. than what has happened in my country during the last year. The Assembly may close its eyes to these events and lull itself to sleep. I, as the representative of China, in calling the Representatives' attention to the seriousness of the situation in the Far East, may incur the displeasure of some of my colleagues who, eager for peace, are only too ready to imagine that peace is already here. Such colleagues may regard my survey of the situation as unpleasant or inconvenient, just as the voice of China in the Assembly and Council of the League of Nations in Geneva in 1931 and 1932 was declared unwelcome by representatives of several countries. In the face of the Japanese aggression in 1931, many people wished to be let alone, and let alone the aggressor. The appeasement which the Assembly of the League of Nations dealt to the Japanese did not stop the aggression of the Japanese. In the end that aggression destroyed the League of Nations and engulfed many countries in Southern Asia and around the Pacific. Can the United Nations maintain its prestige and develop its usefulness by ignoring what has taken place in my country? My delegation is convinced that such a course of action on the part of the General Assembly would, in the long run, prove to be shortsighted. And we, from China, request the Representatives of the nations gathered here to pay due attention to the storm that has reached my country and will soon reach other countries. Following is the text of Dr. T. F. Tsiang's statement before the 230th plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, on September 29, 1949: My Delegation is as eager as any other delegation represented here to make a contribution to the cause of world peace and security and, for this purpose, to help maintain an atmosphere of calm reasonableness in this Assembly. We are of the conviction that the General Assembly was created for certain important purposes, common to all the nations. This Assembly and, indeed, the whole Organization, could not gain in usefulness or prestige by ignoring these questions. We believe that, on the contrary, it is the duty of all loyal members of the Organization to settle their differences among themselves if possible, and, if not, to present them to the Assembly and to abide by its recommendations. It is in this spirit of a loyal member of the United Nations that China has requested the addition of a new item to the agenda of this Session. I should like to state at the very beginning of my remarks that the question which my Delegation is placing before the General Assembly is not a question between my Government and the Chinese Communists. It is a question between my Government and the Government of the Soviet Union. Before I proceed further with my statement I should like to pause at this point to correct a misrepresentation which has been assiduously fostered in some quarters. Yesterday, at the meeting of the General Committee, Mr. Vyshinsky tried to insinuate that China's request for the inclusion of this item had been instigated by the United States. That is a falsehood. China has taken this action of her own free choice and decision. I pause to call the attention of the General Assembly to this fact because I fear that the Members of the Assembly, knowing well the historic friendship between China and the United States, might give credence to such an insinuaation. I wish I had time to talk about that friendship, but this is evidently not the occasion to do so. However, I should like to say a few words in that connection which I think are very pertinent to the matter before us. The friendship between China and the United States is well known and well recognized by the Chinese people. I need not go into all the details of that relationship; I shall simply call the attention of the General Assembly to the latest instance of that friendship. In the recent war against the Japanese aggressor, the United States gave China generous and effective help. That help was given without condition. Before giving that help to China, the United States did not ask China for a port, large or small, naval or commercial. |