893.001 Chiang Kai-shek/9
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 6.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s telegram No. 1913 of October 11, 1943,70 in regard to the inauguration of General Chiang Kai-shek as President of the National Government of the Republic of China, I have the honor to enclose a copy of President Chiang’s speech70 broadcast to the nation on the day of the inauguration and to report further regarding the inaugural ceremony.
[Page 362]Summary. General Chiang was sworn in as President of the National Government at the National Government Building on the morning of October 10, 1943, in the presence of high government officials. No foreign diplomatic representatives or newspaper correspondents were invited to attend the ceremony. In the afternoon following the ceremony, President and Madame Chiang received the members of the diplomatic corps and of the foreign military missions at Chungking. The Chinese vernacular and English language press carried reports of congratulatory messages from foreign governments and from various leaders throughout China. End of Summary.
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President Chiang’s Broadcast Message to the Nation
In his broadcast message to the nation on the night of October 10, President Chiang referred to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s policy of building up the Republic of China: 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; the territories of the Hans, Manchus, Mongols, Muslims and Tibetans should be welded together into one country and merged into one nation; and China should establish a republican form of government, improve the people’s livelihood and fulfil the high aspirations of the nation through the consummation of the revolution. President Chiang stated that China was now engaged in a war in pursuance of this consistent policy. He explained how the Chinese people must exert themselves in order to establish a democratic government and pointed to the important prerequisite to the realization of the “Principle of Democracy”: the democratic spirit lies in the observance of law and discipline and the Chinese people should grasp fully the true meaning of freedom and government by law and cultivate the habit of respecting freedom and observing law and discipline.
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Respectfully yours,