All of us are greatly concerned about recent developments in our relations with the United States. On a basis of what President Reagan has said and done since his inauguration, I think he is a statesman of ideals, principles and moral courage. He is an anti-Communist. He believes that Communism and its influence is the greatest scourge of human-kind. His dedication to the assurance of justice has won the respect of people of vision throughout the world.
We must be aware that the U.S. government faces many urgent problems, all waiting to be solved. We should therefore stick to our established policy and principle and move ahead little by little with maximum patience and total perseverance. I am certain that the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries will improve as time goes by.
The climate of the current world situation is complex and capricious. We must heighten our vigilance and follow developments closely. Our best choice of policy continues to be "perseverance and self-reliance." In this roller-coaster world, we must remain firm and determined to cope with adversity and buffetings. We must sustain our unceasing struggle with maximum courage and overcome all manner of difficulties, thus proceeding with our national development in order to become stronger and stronger. In the last 31 years, we have moved from a precarious position toward the broad highway of stability, development, prosperity and progress. Our basic reliance is on the revolutionary spirit of "perseverance and self-reliance."
The stronger we are the more we shall be respected in the world and the higher the value that will be placed on our friendship and cooperation by other nations. We can also increase our contributions to world stability, peace and economic development, thereby opening up a more favorable situation for ourselves.
At this time, we must give particular attention to these two points:
First, although the Chinese Communist regime is faced with a grave crisis characterized by endless internal strife and the miserable livelihood of the people, it has never desisted from its efforts to strike a blow at us. It has even sought to augment these efforts by setting up a special organization under the Communist party central committee to increase infiltration and try to divide us against ourselves and sabotage our political unity. We must be continuously vigilant against these Communist conspiracies and activities and devote our total efforts to preventing and stamping them out.
Second, the economic prosperity engendered' by the stability and progress of the last more than 30 years has led to sweeping improvement in the people's standard of living. At the same time, prosperity has also eroded the spirit of "perseverance and self-reliance" on which our existence depends. In their lives of ease and peace, some people no longer think of the danger. They have forgotten the virtues of diligence and the simple life and the spirit of sifting the facts to find the truth. They have neglected their responsibility to the nation. From now on, we must reassert the spirit of "perseverance and self-reliance," work hard and live frugally in order to promote national development and create a favorable situation by struggling harder with increased strength.