893.00/5–2749
The Minister-Counselor of Embassy in China (Clark) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 7.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a full translation44 of a public statement made by Acting President Li Tsung-jen on May 21, 1949 and to summarize the main points of this proclamation as follows:
Li puts the entire blame for the failure of the Peiping peace talks on the Communists. He declares that the Communists are willing slaves of the Communist International, that they will try to destroy all non-Communist elements in China, and that they are bent upon the eradication of China’s “best moral and cultural traditions”. The Nationalist Government, on the other hand, is fighting for freedom, democracy, and independence.
Granting that the continuation of China’s civil war will mean further hardships for the Chinese people, Li points out that failure to resist the Communists will mean slavery and even greater hardships. All efforts to settle the Communist problem by peaceful means having come to naught, Li says “we are compelled against our wishes to end war by war”. Repeating the charge that the Chinese Communists will fight on the side of Russia in any future world war, Li ridicules the Communist accusations that the Nationalist Government has sold out to America. “My fellow countrymen,” he states, “please try to think again which is more treasonable—to accept aid from the United States which treats us as equals, or to accept the leadership of, to be loyal to and to die for the Communist International by sacrificing our national independence and our people?”
In conclusion, Li admits the precariousness of the Nationalist situation but states that there is nothing to fear if the people “know the realities…45 and understand the intrigue of the Chinese Communists.” Furthermore, he says, “the Government which I lead is now determined to resist the oppression of this brutal force and will not yield even if we have only one soldier left.” At the same time political, economic, and military reforms are not to be blocked by obstacles of any sort. “With the solid support of the people, we will win the final victory.”
Respectfully yours,