894A.00/11–447: Airgram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 14—10:55 a.m.]
A–233. Following article was published in Central News Agency’s English Bulletin of October 28, 1947:
“President of the Executive Yuan, Chang Chun, returned to the capital at 2:50 this afternoon from Taiwan, after having taken off from Pingtung, Taiwan at 10:40 in the morning. He issued the following statement:
“‘I have just come back from Taiwan, where I attended the second anniversary of the island’s restoration to China, brought the Government’s greetings to the local people, and also looked into conditions there. Though my visit was a brief one, I have formed some impressions.
“‘First, as 97 percent of the Taiwan population were immigrants from Fukien and Kwangtung, they have a good foundation in Chinese culture. Throughout the Japanese rule they made every effort to preserve their Chinese mode of living, habits and beliefs. Their common ethical outlook is Confucius while the guiding spirit in their enterprises is inspired by Cheng Cheng-kung,40 a national hero of China, who fought the invading Manchus from Fukien and later from Taiwan following the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. There is at Taipei a magnificent Confucian temple and an even older one to the memory of the sage at Taiwan. The local people there are now raising funds to make repairs. The sage’s birthday is annually celebrated with ancient dancing and music.
“‘The people of Taiwan adhered to their own customs and language [Page 469] during the 51 years of Japanese occupation. In that long period only 20 Taiwan girls had married Japanese. During the 2 years after Taiwan’s restoration there have already been more than 2,000 marriages between the Taiwan people and Chinese from the mainland. This shows that Japan’s 51 years of rule of Taiwan was successful only politically, but not spiritually.
“‘Such spirit on the part of our Taiwan compatriots, therefore, commands our admiration. And the good behavior of youths and primary school children as well as their seriousness in quest of knowledge are likewise praiseworthy.
“‘Second, Japan’s reconstruction of Taiwan, though colonial in character, has laid a fairly solid foundation for the island. The Taiwanese were, of course, not allowed to take part in politics at the high level, but there is a framework for local self-government. While the Taiwan people had no opportunities for college education, education from secondary schools down was accessible to all. In Taiwan, more than 85 percent of the entire population have received primary education.
“‘Despite the fact that economically Taiwan was an off-shoot of Japan, agriculture and industries for the production of civilian goods were plentiful. Meanwhile, communications and transportation have been highly developed. Consequently, the people have known stability in livelihood, and unemployment was scant.
“‘In the development of Taiwan, Japan can be said to have fully utilized the island’s conditions. She applied human efforts at places where natural conditions were meager. Take the power plant at the famed Sun and Moon Lake and the irrigation works at Tachuan for instance. The natural conditions at both places are by no means superb. At the lake, the Japanese went so far as to generate power by water conducted through a 10-kilometer long tunnel so as to make electricity available to the whole island. By the construction of irrigation works at Tachuan, large spans of wasteland were reclaimed. These characteristics in the reconstruction of Taiwan deserve our careful attention.
“‘Third, now that Taiwan has been restored, we should make use of the existing foundations in our reconstruction efforts. For example, Taiwan has a sound base for local self-government, census, land and police administration. This will facilitate our work of establishing domestic government there.
“‘Likewise, we should take full advantage of Taiwan’s existing educational system and well-equipped schools to put higher education within the reach of more young people in the province.
“‘Furthermore, on Taiwan’s agriculture and basic industries for manufacturing civilian goods, we should try to make good the imperfections the island’s erstwhile subordinate role in economic affairs. The fullest use should be made of Taiwan’s products to guide the island’s economy into a new coordinate relationship with that of the mainland.
“‘Thus in a short time, Taiwan will be able to make normal and steady progress in political, educational, and economic fields, and thereby serve as a model province in China’s over-all reconstruction program.
[Page 470]“‘In the past, Taiwan’s administration and educational facilities as well as economic reconstruction had evolved their own forms and coordinated relations. These forms and relations must be understood. And in attempting any change and reform, therefore, we must give due regard to its affect on such inter-dependent relations. The provincial government has given careful thoughts and taken well-thought-out measures. Meanwhile, people’s representative organs have also been working hand in hand with the local government.
“‘Visiting various parts of the island, I received a number of people, including representatives from the tribes-people who live in the hills. They all frankly and sincerely expressed their wish to make their contributions toward Taiwan’s reconstruction under the Central Government’s leadership. With hardly any exception, the views they set forth and the requests they made, are all matter-of-fact and reasonable. Problems which could be solved on the spot by myself were duly solved. I have brought with me to the Capital other problems which call for consultation with competent departments in the Central Government, or which need further discussions in meetings.’”
- Known also as “Koxinga”.↩