893.00/5–2345: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Hurley) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 23—2:16 p.m.]
834. The Sixth Kuomintang Congress closed at noon May 21 with the election of 460 members and reserve members of the Central Executive Committee and Central Supervisory Committee as follows: CEC 222 members, 90 reserve; CSC 104 members, 44 reserve.
A manifesto issued at the conclusion of the Congress summarized previous resolutions and stressed following:
- 1.
- Armed resistance. China’s most urgent task today is to strengthen her armed forces for the destruction of the enemy. Only by liberation of peoples in the northeastern provinces, the return of Formosa and the restoration of independence to Korea, may China consider victory completely won.
- 2.
- Foreign relations. China is ready and willing to strengthen friendly ties with the United Nations, especially the United States, Britain and Russia, and to cooperate with them in the establishment of an international security union. China will welcome financial and technical cooperation to carry out its industrial program. Reconstruction will be promoted on basis of mutual benefit and world prosperity.
- 3.
- Principle of nationalism. China aims to secure its independence and the equality of all the social groups within the country. China will actively aid the economic and cultural development of the frontier [Page 392] racial groups, respect their languages, religions and customs and promote self-government. A high degree of autonomy will be granted Outer Mongolia and Tibet.
- 4.
- Principle of democracy. The National Assembly shall be convened in November to adopt and promulgate a constitution and to return the reins of power to the people. The Chinese people, fully cognizant of their hard-won independence and freedom, will suffer no force to set Chinese history back or jeopardize the foundation of the republic.
- 5.
- Principle of people’s livelihood. The Congress, after examining its past records, regrets that due to numerous obstacles it has not carried out the policies of the equalization of land and the restriction of private capital. All measures, including [the] prevention [of] monopoly, elimination of hindrances to production, prevention of [land] aggrandizement, promotion of farmers owning [the] land they till, improvement of living standard of front-line soldiers, safeguarding livelihood of farmers, laborers, government and school employees, shall be faithfully carried out. China shall, on the one hand, encourage the people to engage in private enterprise under a general plan of national economic reconstruction, and, on the other hand, develop state capital to engage in large-scale economic enterprises, especially communications and motive power.
In commenting on the manifesto, the Ta Rung Pao states that, “no matter how magnificent the resolutions may be they will always remain promises on paper unless they are immediately and vigorously put into practice. From now on, national unity presents China’s chief problem. If it can be achieved, everything will be automatically solved; if it cannot, the sacrifices China has made will amount to nothing. China’s unity can be attained only through constitutional democracy.”