Ladies are the mainstay of any democratic society. It is an accepted fact that, in Western societies as well as in the traditional Chinese society, no matter how outward appearance might be to the contrary, woman wields greater power and exercises greater influence than man in the determination of human affairs. I am not the only man who has expressed this view. I can quote many a famous man who says the same thing. That romantic poet authority on women Thomas Moore said:
"Disguise our bondage as we will
'Tis woman, woman rules us still".
Many of you are planning to visit the Far East next year and will include Taiwan in your travels. I warmly welcome you to this part of my country that remains free. Taiwan or Formosa, the beautiful Chinese island province in the Pacific, is now one of the most attractive places in the Far East for tourists. In 1967, there were more than a quarter of a million foreign visitors who went to Taiwan. The figure for last year rose to almost 300,000. In both these figures quite a number of Canadians are included. I feel sure that there will be an even larger number of foreign visitors in Taiwan for this year and next.
Taiwan attracts tourists for several reasons. Situated in semitropical zone, it is naturally beautiful in scenery. The name Formosa was originated several centuries ago by Portuguese sailors who, on landing in Taiwan, exclaimed: Ilha formosa! meaning "beautiful island". Foreign visitors will find in Taiwan a friendly and open society. They will be able to see freely all they want to see. Many of them no doubt visit Taiwan to enjoy the scenic beauty. Others are interested in the results of the rapid economic progress made recently. Still others are interested in Chinese art, theater, sculpture and architecture. Need I mention the excellent Chinese foods and culinary art? All visitors, I believe, are interested in traditional Chinese culture, of which the Chinese people in Taiwan are at present the true custodians.
To the Chinese, Taiwan has a special significance and a unique place in contemporary history. Since the Communist occupation of the mainland, the seat of the government of the Republic of China has been in Taipei. The island is now the only part of China that is free from Communism. It has become the beacon of light and the rallying point for all Chinese who love and yearn for freedom. On this island depends the future of the Chinese nation and the fate of the Chinese people.
In order to help you understand better the deeper meaning of Taiwan, I shall relate a part of modern Chinese history dating to a little more than a century ago. It is unfortunately a sad story for the Chinese people, who have suffered a great deal during the past 140 years. But it is fortunate that their hopes have always been kept bright even in the darkest days.
The sufferings of the Chinese people began with the 19th century imperialism practiced in China by foreign powers such as Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Great Britain. China was defeated time after time in many wars with these powers. With Japan alone, she fought a number of wars, big and small. It was after her defeat in one of these wars with Japan that Taiwan, first a prefecture and then a province of China for hundreds of years, was ceded to Japan in 1895. Earlier, Hongkong, another part of China, had been ceded to Great Britain. China was also forced to pay heavy indemnities as a result of these wars of imperialism. Foreign settlements were set up in China, totally immune from Chinese sovereign jurisdiction. Indeed, China was weakened and humiliated in the last few decades of the Manchu dynasty.
This deplorable and critical situation gave birth to the Revolution of 1911, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, which overthrew the Manchu dynasty and founded the Republic of China. The revolution was inspired and guided by Dr. Sun's Three Principles of the People, which liberally translated into English, are: (1) national independence, (2) democracy and (3) economic development and social justice. These are no radical principles; indeed, they embody the values of traditional Chinese culture and the merits of modern political and social thought. Here I may add that, by nature, the Chinese are a moderate people who do not favor anything radical, and who have no taste whatsoever for extremism. With the fall of the Manchu dynasty, the Chinese people saw great hopes in these principles which Dr. Sun and his followers were determined to implement in the newly founded Republic.
But the sufferings of the Chinese people did not end with the founding of the Republic. They deepened in the subsequent civil war fought among the warlords, each backed by one or more foreign powers. Thus the 19th century imperialistic struggle for spheres of influence in China continued in different form in the early years of the Republican era. Dr. Sun did not live to see his principles implemented. The civil war was ended only after Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek' had taken over the leadership of the revolution. The country was finally unified under his leadership in 1927 when the government of the Republic of China was established in Nanking.
The hopes of the Chinese people were again raised. Although the government inherited a battered country, victim of long years of imperialism and war-lordism, it immediately began the work of national reconstruction in accordance with Dr. Sun's Three Principles. Rural rehabilitation received first priority. In the following 10 years, 26,224 rural cooperatives were formed with the support of the government to help solve such pressing problems as the high rate of farmers' indebtedness and backward marketing facilities. Farmers' banks were established to make loans for debt liquidation, for land purchase, for buying machinery or fertilizers, for cooperative marketing and other purposes. The program for industrialization was also carried out. Particular attention was given to the development of hydroelectric projects, to the opening of new coal mines, to the drilling of oil wells, to the extension of mines and to the development of chemical, metallurgical and electrical projects. To improve the transportation system, 14,000 miles of railroads was added in 10 years to the original 5,000 miles. By 1937, China possessed 71,851 miles of highways. The people's livelihood was considerably improved.
Let me tell of my personal experiences. I came from a poor family. Those 10 years, that is, from 1927 to 1937, were the best years in my parents' home. Prices were stable. My father's meager income stretched a long way, although we still could not afford anything luxurious. We could often have meat dishes. The Chinese New Year seasons were the happiest occasions for me and my brother and sisters, what with new clothes, new shoes and special foods. In 1930, we began to use electricity for lighting in our home. I still remember those single-bulb lamps hanging down from the center of the ceiling. They were wonders for a boy of 13. I was in junior high school, studying hard in the knowledge that, after my graduation, I could help my father in providing a better living for the whole family. I am sure that millions and millions of other Chinese people had the same experience in those years. Looking back, those were really the good old days in China.
Alas, those years did not last long. China's progress became an obstacle to the imperialist designs of the Japanese militarists. As early as 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. In the following year, Japanese armed forces attacked Shanghai. These military actions continued until 1937, when a full-scale war broke out between China and Japan. As you are well aware, we had to fight a strong and already industrialized enemy, first single-handedly for four years, and then together with our allies in World War II for four more years. During these eight years of bitter and devastating war, China had 3,177,973 casualties and lost US$31,330,136,000 worth of properties. In this latter figure, I do not include budgetary expenditures and public loans and debts. For a developing country like pre-war China, such losses were a fatal blow. The reconstruction work done by the government in the 10 years before the war was wiped out. At the end of the war, China emerged victorious but bled white and exhausted.
The victory won over Japan provided only a flash of hope for the Chinese people. The tremendous losses suffered by China during the war soon brought a deep economic crisis to the surface in the form of a runaway inflation of 'currency. Prices were soaring. Commodities in dally necessities became scarce and there was hoarding by merchants. Life became increasingly difficult. In those circumstances, is it surprising that the masses felt deeply aggrieved? I myself and my family were in China at that time and lived a painfully hard life.
The grievance of the people in conditions like this could easily be turned against the government. The Communists were thus given a golden opportunity to exploit such grievances and step up their subversive activities. Some Westerners helped the Communist cause by insisting that the Chinese Communists were no more than agrarian reformers. They ignored the fact that the Chinese Communists had quickly plunged the country into another war, even before the government had any opportunity to begin the postwar program of rehabilitation and reconstruction. The issue was not agrarian reform. It was the sheer desire to seize power on the part of a small group of Chinese Communists who believed and still believe that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". The Chinese Communists had their own army, which grew during the war years from 70,000 men to 910,000 and supported and equipped by the Soviet Union, was used to seize government powers. Today the Soviet Union must be looking back upon this part of history with great sadness. But those were different times. Thus, during the few years immediately following the end of World War II, the government of the Republic of China faced an ever-deepening economic crisis, the people's grievances, a rebellious Communist army helped materially by the Soviet Union and morally by the agrarian reformer theory. This combination of factors caused the loss of the Chinese mainland to Communism 19 1/2 years ago.
From what I have just said, it can be seen that the government of the Republic of China was not given much of a chance to carry out its program of national reconstruction according to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. It had only 10 years, from 1927 to 1937, to do so and, of the 10 years, only four, from 1927 to 1931, were peaceful. Even so, the government was able to achieve remarkable results, only to have these swept away by the war imposed on China by Japan.
Although the mainland was lost to Communism, all hope of the Chinese people was not lost. At this juncture, Taiwan was thrust into its unique role. After 50 years of Japanese occupation, Taiwan was restored as a Chinese province in 1945 at the end of the war with Japan. The government of the Republic of China withdrew to Taiwan in 1949 determined to redeem its pledge to carry out Dr. Sun's Three Principles of the People and to offer to the Chinese people an effective alternative to Communism.
At that time, the situation in Taiwan was critical. Wartime damage to productive facilities had not yet been repaired. Production of goods and services was below requirements. The situation was further aggravated by a sudden inflow of some 2 million people who fled Communism on the mainland. Inflation was rampant. Like many other countries, we were badly in need of foreign aid. The helping hand finally came from the United States after an initial period of hesitation "to wait for the dust to settle". But the outlook was so bleak that to some people, including many Westerners, it seemed that Taiwan would have to depend on United States aid forever.
But the Chinese government and people in Taiwan were undaunted. We began by solving the pressing agricultural problems. A program for land reform, which is an important part of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, was launched. The most important measures in the program were reduction of farm rent, sale of public lands and sale of excess holdings of private farmlands. The purpose of these measures, also known as the "land-to-the-tiller" program, is to achieve social justice and to provide production incentives to farmers. The results have been amazingly successful and have benefited farmers, landlords and society as a whole. In 10 years, land tenancy has been almost eliminated; every arable inch of Taiwan is tilled; more than 88 per cent of all farmers own their land and the unit productivity is among the highest in the world. Since 1949, agricultural production has more than doubled. The increase in the production of rice, which is the staple food of the Chinese, is especially spectacular. In 1945, Taiwan produced only 638,828 metric tons of rice. In 1952, production was 1,570,000 metric tons. In 1968, the figure was 2,510,000 metric tons.
The increase in agricultural production has led to industrial development. The industrial sector is the most dynamic of Taiwan's economy and has grown at an average of about 12 per cent a year since 1953. Last year's industrial growth was nearly 20 per cent. Private industry outweighs by far government-owned enterprises. Liberal tax benefits and repatriation guarantees have attracted private foreign capital. For the first time in 1966, industrial production came to 52 per cent of all production, while agricultural production dropped to 48 per cent. This trend shows that Taiwan is well on its way to industrialization and modernization.
The government of the Republic of China maintains friendly relations with 67 nations in all parts of the world, including Canada. Having benefited by the help from the United States, we in turn are helping other countries to help themselves. Since 1954, 3,000 foreign nationals from 50 countries have received training in Taiwan in such fields as agriculture, industry, education and public health. Additionally, as a form of what the Canadians call external aid, we have sent 50 technical missions comprising more than 1,000 specialists to work in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In providing technical assistance, we do not claim to have developed the world's best in agriculture and industry. What we offer is the experience of a developing country in achieving some measure of economic prosperity without loss of freedom or private initiative.
The free Chinese people in Taiwan have implemented Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. We have succeeded in doing what we had wanted to do but were prevented from doing by circumstances on the mainland. In carrying out this work of supreme importance to all China, we feel sure we will have the full cooperation of our brethren on the mainland of China. I need not tell you the miserable life which the Chinese people on the mainland have been forced to live under Communism. It is daily told by continuous uprisings allover the mainland and by the flights of refugees from the mainland averaging a thousand a month. It is also told to a shocked world by such grisly events as the discovery in Hongkong and Macao of trussed and mutilated corpses floating down from the Pearl River. There is indeed no life to speak of on the mainland under Communism. The Chinese people there are eking out a bare existence in chaos, misery and desperation, even in mutual extermination. The Chinese people on the mainland have never accepted Communism. On the contrary, there is every evidence that they are looking forward to the day when they will be liberated and able to share the vigorous, rich and meaningful life which their brethren in Taiwan are leading.
It is a fallacy to equate the Chinese people on the mainland with the Communist regime that has been imposed on them. It is a fallacy to say that in order not to ignore the 700 million Chinese people on the mainland, diplomatic recognition 'should be given to the Communist regime. The fact is that the Communist regime on the mainland of China is one thing and that the 700 million people are quite another. To recognize the Communist regime is completely to ignore the 700 million people and their hopes and aspirations. It is tantamount to giving support and encouragement to the oppressive Communist regime to which the 700 million people are opposed. The Canadians showed their kind sympathy to the Hungarian people at the time of their uprising against the Communist regime in 1956. The Hungarian people would have succeeded in overthrowing the Communist regime had they had a free and stable government in a part of their country ready to help them in that uprising as the Chinese people do in a part of China. Why, then, should some Canadians withhold sympathy for the Chinese people, who obviously have a much better chance than the Hungarians Ito get rid of their Communist oppressors?
It is all the more unthinkable for Canadians to give support to the Communist regime in China and turn their back on the government of the Republic of China. The government of the Republic of China is no stranger to the Canadians. It is that government which established diplomatic relations between Canada and China in 1942; which fought in the Second World War as an ally of Canada; which co-sponsored, together with the United States, British and Soviet governments, the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945; and which has since been persistently working for peace in cooperation with the Canadian government in and outside of the United Nations. That government is continuing to function in Chinese territory and function effectively. International law holds that when a legitimate government continues to exist in its territory and to fight against rebels, it is a grossly unfriendly act on the part of a friendly foreign government to switch recognition to the rebel regime. Of the 137 countries of the world, 92 do not recognize the Communist regime in China. Why, then, should Canada rush to part company with this overwhelming and respectable majority and to write off a traditional friend and a loyal ally, the Republic of China, which has nothing but goodwill and friendship toward Canada?
When you get to Taiwan, you will see for yourselves what the government and people of the Republic of China are doing. Then you will be able to draw conclusions with which to help and to influence the men in Canada, even the bachelors, who are under your rule, but who are responsible for making decisions on Canadian-Chinese relations.