Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The Last Twenty Years

The U.S. government reiterated its view that Chiang Kai-shek's government was "the true mouthpiece of a free China."The Kuomintang government also stated that the "sacred mission" of restoring the freedom of mainland Chinese should be realized not by force but by Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People.Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek waited for a long time with confidence. Chiang Kai-shek's life is coming to an end.He had to be carried around or moved around the house in a wheelchair.He has become a hermit, and usually only sees his son, wife, and sometimes his senior aides.

Chiang Kai-shek's life was turbulent until he left the mainland. In Taiwan, he lived a life away from home, but relatively speaking, his life was much more peaceful and stable. Under his rule, Taiwan became a place to be admired, not because of its democracy, but because of its economic prosperity, rapid development, relative contentment and preservation of traditional Chinese cultural heritage.The small piece of land in Taiwan, which was obtained through desperate struggle, is everything Chiang Kai-shek owns. As some observers have said, Taiwan's development is the achievement of others, the hard-working Taiwanese people.This is not difficult to see.However, it may be unfair to say so.

Just as a commander-in-chief may be forced to claim credit or blame for the successes or failures of his junior officers, so Taiwan's achievements should ultimately be attributed to Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek's situation in Taiwan is very unusual, and so is his government. In legal terms, that was unprecedented. After the fall of the mainland, he brought the remnants of his troops and his followers to take refuge in Taiwan Island, which had been ruled by Japanese colonists for half a century and had been recognized as Chinese territory in the Cairo Declaration in 1943.Thus there are two Chinese governments.

The Communist government in Beijing undeniably controls all Chinese territory except the island of Taiwan and a few small coastal islands, and Chiang Kai-shek's "Republic of China" government undeniably controls Taiwan, which both Beijing and Taipei recognize as a province of China. In fact, there are two Chinas.However, neither the Communist government nor the Kuomintang government was willing to consider this issue. The whole world thinks that the Beijing regime's claims are not difficult to understand.To an outsider, Chiang Kai-shek's demand for mainland sovereignty seemed absurd, even disrespectful.However, from the perspective of power, Chiang Kai-shek's claim has certain logic.Because if he doesn't insist on this proposition, how can the Kuomintang rule the vast majority of the people of Taiwan?He can only insist on the proposition that his government is the only legal government in all of China.

In asserting this claim, he never hesitated, and declared that he could "prove" that he had protected his power in Taiwan, based on this absurd logic of iron and ruthless laws and a A series of similar abnormal events had to continue.Due to the development of Taiwan's population, which reached 16 million in 1975, there had to be two governments on this small island, one governing the whole of China and the other governing Taiwan Province. On November 21, 1947, the Republic of China held its first general election. This was an election without results. In a sense, it was just an informal exercise.

Most members of the Legislative Yuan defected to Taiwan.The legislators who sit in the town are all old people, year after year, until they die.They claimed to represent the interests of distant "voters" in long-lost continental provinces. The majority of Taiwanese people have virtually no say in the "national" legislative process, and at most they can expect to find a job in the provincial government, with partial elections in late 1972 injecting a little bit into the aging legislature. Fresh blood, but, up to this point, the obvious anomalies haven't changed much, and in a way, the fantasy of being loved or marveled by the outside world is completely unreal.On the other hand, it is absolutely true that Chiang Kai-shek's withered seat of power and the last refuge of the Kuomintang.Denying this untrue reality means giving way by giving up this power base.

Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek has passed the resignation stage with other plans.He has come to Taiwan, and will stay here until time declares his death, or some unforeseen but not impossible circumstances will restore his legitimate Nanking regime one day in the future. Chiang Kai-shek's hopes, which peaked with the outbreak of the Korean War, also cooled down with the end of the war. His Taiwan base was protected by his security treaty with the United States and effectively prevented him from using it.Since then, his hopes have been clouded with every international crisis and dire news from the CCP. For Chiang Kai-shek, these moments were more meaningful than any record-breaking numbers on Taiwan's economic development.

One such moment occurred in January 1955, when the CCP sent some warships and planes to land on Jiangshan Island in the north of Dachen Island.All 720 members of the Kuomintang garrison were killed. After the CCP’s large-scale bombing of Dachen Island, Zhou Enlai announced on January 20 that Taiwan must be “liberated” and that the United Nations or any other country would not be allowed to interfere during this period.On the same day, President Eisenhower, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, requested Congress to take the necessary military action to repel the Communist attack in the Taiwan Strait.

Congress gave the president the powers he needed, and Chiang Kai-shek was encouraged accordingly.However, the crisis ended after the UN Security Council invited the CCP to send representatives to participate in the ceasefire negotiations, but was rejected by the CCP. To Chiang Kai-shek's relief, he soon proved that he still had some influence in the major Western countries.It is true that the Nationalist government was excluded from the Southeast Asian Defense Treaty signed by the United States and other countries in Manila on February 25, 1955 In addition, however, US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles continued his visit to Taipei on March 23.

In Taipei, Dulles had a long conversation with President Chiang Kai-shek, Vice President Chen Cheng, President of the Executive Yuan Yu Hongjun, and Foreign Minister Ye Gongchao, and analyzed the meaning and purpose of the mutual defense treaty.After the day-long conversation, Dulles issued a press communiqué before leaving, in which he pointed out that Quemoy Island and Matsu Island were "related to the security of Taiwan." In any case, this is a kind of consolation to Chiang Kai-shek. Three or four weeks ago, Chiang Kai-shek had ordered the troops to withdraw from Dachen Island due to the violent air strikes by the Communist army.

However, according to the declaration of the US Secretary of State, it is completely impossible for the Kuomintang to abandon Kinmen Island and Matsu Island. Although the Communists launched another offensive in March, Chiang Kai-shek strengthened the garrison, stationing 60,000 troops on Kinmen Island alone.However, the situation is still not good. On March 25, the CCP announced that they had withdrawn another 6 divisions from North Korea to deal with the war. Chiang Kai-shek's maritime observers and mainland intelligence personnel reported that the CCP had deployed heavy troops along the coast of Fujian opposite Taiwan.Chiang Kai-shek said that at the press conference on February 14, the situation had become "quite clear" that the United States would protect these islands. He said that in any case, these islands would never be ruined. When Chiang Kai-shek learned of Zhou Enlai's major success at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference, he recalled Shanghai in 1927 and the humiliation he had received in the Xi'an Incident in 1936, which made him furious. The Prime Minister of Ceylon, His Excellency John Kotrawala, put forward "his" solution to the Taiwan question on the basis of what he thought was fair and good.he suggested. Matsu Island and Kinmen Island should be transferred to the communist government immediately; the U.S. Seventh Fleet should withdraw from the Taiwan Strait; Chiang Kai-shek should "retire with honor"; the United Nations or the Colombo Group should trust Taiwan for 5 years, and when the trust period expires, it should be decided by referendum Whether Taiwan belongs to Chinese territory or is independent. In Washington, the U.S. State Department asked China to show its sincerity in pursuing peace by declaring an immediate ceasefire and the immediate release of illegally held U.S. Air Force personnel and other hostages. But Zhou Enlai only declared that Taiwan's future would be dealt with by the United Nations after China's admission to the United Nations, and Zhou publicly stated that he proposed a "reasonable" solution to the problem of Chiang Kai-shek's status. Chiang Kai-shek thanked Zhou Enlai for his maneuvers during the Xi'an Incident 20 years ago to restore his freedom, but he would never allow the Communist Premier to pass this "reasonable" plan to remove him from office.His government announced that it was not prepared to participate in negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party. After these disappointments and setbacks, coupled with the failure of the Marshall Mission, dissatisfaction with the 1949 White Paper, and the rapid dashing of hopes for the Korean War, relations between the United States and Chiang's government had entered a rapprochement phase. stage. The United States is contributing generously to Taiwan's economic development and construction.Although the question of China's representation is debated in the United Nations every year, every year there is an overwhelming majority of countries willing to follow the advice of Chiang's American allies. Soon, a sudden outburst of strong anti-American sentiment broke the deadlock. The causes are trivial. On May 23, 1957, Robert Raynor, a sergeant major of the US military, was charged with killing a 30-year-old Chinese, but was found not guilty. It is said that the victim peeked at the sergeant major through the window. Mrs. Reynolds yelled at her husband in surprise, and Mr. Reynolds rushed out of the room and shot the man twice, killing him.The case went to court, but Reynolds denied the charge and argued that he feared the intruder would do something to him.After being acquitted, Leno sneaked away from Taiwan to the Philippines with his wife and children. Due to this unreasonable sentence, a group of irritated people gathered outside the US embassy to protest, and mocked and insulted Americans on the street.The victim's wife also came on a hunger strike, holding a sign that read "Demand Justice."Police stood by as the frenzied crowd tore down the American flag and tore it to shreds.The national flag of the Kuomintang was planted above the US embassy building.Crowds broke into the embassy, ​​smashing tables and chairs and throwing steel cabinets through windows.U.S. cars and vans were set ablaze, as were embassies.However, the fire was extinguished in a short while.As a result, more than 100 "troublemakers" were arrested. Chiang Kai-shek's staunch protector, US Ambassador Rankin, strongly protested against this. Chiang Kai-shek wrote to President Eisenhower and Mr. Dulles, expressing his "deep regret" and assuring that the incident "could not be interpreted as anti-Americanism" in any way, but rather that Reynolds' acquittal was generally accepted by the masses. Express dissatisfaction. As a result, three senior police and army officers were dismissed, and Chiang Kai-shek's government promised to compensate for all losses. The Beijing government also took the opportunity to spread propaganda through newspapers and radio.A radio station in Beijing said: "The Americans treat the people of Taiwan as slaves and cannon fodder to manipulate at will," and "all patriotic forces should unite to drive the American aggressors out of Taiwan." However, long-term practice has proved that Chiang Kai-shek's assessment is correct, and the outburst of public outrage is only an isolated incident, which will never be repeated. The following year, a new, more turbulent Quemoy crisis broke out, disrupting Chiang Kai-shek's dream and showing that he would continue to depend on American help. On August 23, 1958, the artillery battery of the Communist Army fired 50,000 shells at Kinmen Island within two hours.Over the ensuing five days, an average of 60,000 shells were fired per day, and by the end of the month there were approximately 1,000 casualties, mostly innocent civilians.Food, ammunition, and other supplies quickly ran out, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately turned to the United States for help. Since September 7, the U.S. Seventh Fleet has escorted Kuomintang warships to deliver supplies to Taiwan.Other supplies were air-dropped by Nationalist transport planes. On November 11, U.S. President Eisenhower issued a statement declaring: If the Communist Party occupies Kinmen Island, the war will never end. "It is part of a plan to occupy by force," he said, "a plan that will destroy all free world positions in the Western Pacific and place them in the hands of governments that oppose the United States and the free world." He also condemned the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party Fight alongside. A few days later, Zhou Enlai reiterated the CCP's claim to "liberate" Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. The crisis dragged on dramatically until the end of October, by which time the residents of Quemoy had grown accustomed to daily shelling. On September 30, Dulles declared that if the CCP "reasonably and justly ceasefire", the US government will agree with the Kuomintang to withdraw from the offshore islands.Since then, the tension on Kinmen Island has been greatly eased. On October 6, the Beijing government suspended the bombardment, and on the 20th it started again, and then gradually tapered off.Clearly, if Chiang Kai-shek hoped to rely on the hostility between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, he would be disappointed. Indeed, the United States had already made war unthinkable in mid-September by amassing a military force that The New York Times described as "the greatest naval and air combat force in history." On September 22nd and 23rd, Chiang Kai-shek hosted a meeting in Taipei with the participation of KMT and US military representatives.Admiral Felt, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Military in the Pacific Region, and General Chen Cheng, President of the Executive Yuan of President Chiang, attended the meeting. One month later, from October 21st to 23rd, the US Secretary of State flew to Taipei to hold talks with Chiang Kai-shek.The final communiqué made both the United States and Chiang Kai-shek a sigh of relief, but it did not bring complete satisfaction to both sides. The communiqué mentioned unity.The U.S. government reiterated its view that Chiang Kai-shek's government was the "true spokesperson for a free China," and the Kuomintang government also stated that the "sacred mission" of restoring freedom to mainland Chinese should be accomplished not by force but through Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek waited for a long time with confidence. These two Kinmen Island crises have in fact proved that Chiang Kai-shek and his regime are safer than before, but they are also more constrained.However, life does provide ceremonial compensations.One of the most satisfying of these occurred on June 19, 1960.On that day, Chiang Kai-shek welcomed President Eisenhower to Taipei. They congratulated each other and talked about "long-term friendship". Under the restrictions and protection of the United States, Chiang Kai-shek still used some limited methods to wage war against the CCP.So some air and sea battles ensued.During these battles, Nationalist forces armed with American equipment occasionally launched air raids on mainland territory and frequently dropped "guerrilla" and saboteurs on the mainland, most of them in Guangdong province.Scattered across the countryside, they attempted to establish grassroots anti-communist organizations, but without major success. Beijing also frequently announces the execution of Kuomintang agents.The Nationalist government often declared the successes of the "guerrillas" but sometimes conceded defeat.For example, on January 1, 1963, the Kuomintang Central Intelligence Agency admitted that the CCP killed 172 members of the Kuomintang "guerrilla" in various small-scale conflicts.A few days later, Beijing announced that five Kuomintang agents had been executed and ten others were being held in prisons in Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong.At the end of that year, there were many reports about the Kuomintang's "guerrilla" activities in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Yunnan and Hainan Island. The activities of one of Chiang Kai-shek's "guerrilla units" gave rise to a peculiar controversy that had lasted for several years. They are a remnant of the Kuomintang, about 12,000 people. In 1949, they crossed the border between Yunnan and Burma. At the time, Mao Zedong's troops were fighting in southern China, and on December 8, 1953, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the KMT's activities in Burma.And asked the Burmese government to report all illegal activities of the Kuomintang.After five months of negotiations with Burma, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to withdraw his troops from Burmese territory. On May 30, 1954, the commander of this force, General Li Mi, announced that he had been relieved of his command.Nearly 7,000 Kuomintang soldiers returned to Taiwan via Thailand, and all expenses were borne by the United States. However, the affair did not end there.Among the retreating soldiers were 1,400 entourages.Observers couldn't help noticing that among the retreating soldiers, most were very young and very old.Those who remained were strong and warlike soldiers. Despite the prevalence of disease and lack of proper medical care in the jungle, there were strong material incentives to stay where they were.They earned handsome sums by smuggling opium through carefully tended poppy orchards, and General Chennault's civil air transport company paid for the shipment of imported arms from Taiwan (initially with Thailand's consent). There is no doubt that the remnants of the Kuomintang were engaged in the lucrative opium trade for several years, but the only doubt is whether they did so for their own benefit or whether the Chiang Kai-shek government allowed them to do so. At the end of the summer of 1973, I received some detailed materials on this matter in London, which showed that the Nationalist government itself was involved in the opium trade in the "Golden Triangle" where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet. In fact, I have reason to believe that this clandestine trade by the Kuomintang in Burma has since grown even faster.To this end I wrote two articles for The Times of London (they were published in the papers of September 28 and October 10, 1973). A year later, when I visited Taiwan, Taiwan's National Defense Intelligence Agency categorically denied that the Kuomintang government was involved in this secret opium trade. They said that these activities of Kuomintang personnel were conducted in private and were strictly prohibited. Once discovered, they would be severely punished.However, the Nationalist Intelligence Agency continues to maintain military bases in various towns and cities in Myanmar.I have no doubt that the KMT also continued to engage in many "normal" activities in the region, including intelligence gathering and sabotage of CCP communications and military installations. In this way, China's civil war continued in small fights. From the CCP's standpoint, these air strikes and guerrilla activities are nothing more than a rather nasty thing, nothing more. But in Chiang Kai-shek's view, these activities helped to alleviate setbacks, strengthen fighting spirit, and strengthen the claim of sovereignty over the mainland. In this less than satisfactory situation, one of Chiang Kai-shek's main concerns was to make and keep as many friends of "Free China" as possible all over the world.His diplomatic activities were extraordinarily active, and for many years had been run by a learned and experienced man, Dr. Ye Gongchao.It was very important for Chiang Kai-shek to have the support of the United States, and the United States supported his development of relations with anti-communist countries such as Nicaragua and Senegal.However, year after year, the number of people in favor of retaining the Taiwan delegation as a representative of "China" inevitably dwindled.In Asia and the Pacific, Chiang Kai-shek strengthened ties with countries that hated Beijing, notably South Vietnam and South Korea, as did the Philippines and Thailand, two members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.There are also two Australian members of the organization - Australia and New Zealand. As long as the U.S. government unswervingly implements the tough policy advocated by Secretary of State Dulles, everything will be safe and sound. Chiang Kai-shek knew that as long as this policy remained unchanged, he could rely on the support of many countries, large and small, either allies or vassals of the United States. Granted, there were some exceptions, such as the UK, which soon recognized the Chinese government, but that didn't do the UK any favors.Of course, the occasional treachery also gradually eroded Chiang Kai-shek's status.For example, General de Gaulle established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in January 1964.This event shocked the United States and Chiang Kai-shek (about two years later, President Chiang met with Eric Zhou, expressed his admiration for de Gaulle, but also criticized him for weakening the power of the Western Allies. Added that Churchill was the only Western leader to see through Stalin). But what if the Americans themselves are willing to weaken their allies?This is a nightmare haunting Chiang Kai-shek. Out of concern, Chiang Kai-shek sent his wife to the United States for a long-term visit in August 1965.She did not return to China until October 1966. Madame Chiang asserted in speech after speech that as long as the United States provided arms to the Kuomintang, the Kuomintang would be able to do "the job" alone, namely to retake mainland China. Chiang Kai-shek emphasized in a meeting with Stanley M. Swinton of the Associated Press: "We can use our own power to counterattack the mainland, there is no need to ask the US military. We don't want the United States to be involved in any war. In mainland China, it is between us and the Chinese Communist Party. Once we return to the mainland, we have enough power," In Chiang's family and adviser circle, Chiang Kai-shek, who was not easy to lose his temper in his youth, is now often surprised by the timidity and incomprehension of his American allies.He credits America's failures in Vietnam and Korea with this reason.President Truman refused to listen to General MacArthur's suggestion to directly attack the Communists on the other side of the Yalu River. As a result, the United Nations led by the United States suffered a defeat in Korea. Today, they are repeating the same mistake over and over again, because they failed to blow up Hanoi, and failed to destroy the main command center of the Viet Cong. Of course, mainland China is still very dangerous because the CCP has the atomic bomb. Once China's center of influence is allowed to grow, it will pose a threat.Why doesn't America understand this?The Chinese Communist Party’s nuclear weapons are mainly in Xinjiang and Sichuan, and these nuclear weapons are extremely vulnerable to damage by a US-first attack.However, this situation will not last forever. These were issues that Chiang Kai-shek often debated at home and in the presidential office.He pledged to convey these issues to the White House and the State Department in appropriate diplomatic language. However, all this is in vain. In April 1966, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution broke out in mainland China, and Chiang Kai-shek's spirit was revived at this time.Those radical youths who were called "Red Guards" carried out a revolutionary rebellion according to Mao Zedong's instructions. At that time, President Liu Shaoqi was overthrown, and later the general secretary of the Central Committee, the party's outstanding thinker Deng Xiaoping, and the chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and former Minister of Public Security Luo Ruiqing were overthrown. Watching these turbulent developments from afar, Chiang Kai-shek was more concerned with the propaganda opportunities the situation might provide for the Kuomintang than with the ups and downs of politicians.As some observers speculated, Chiang Kai-shek did not think the time was ripe for a military offensive, not to mention the lack of air and naval power at the time. Contrary to this, he declared in his New Year's address on January 1, 1967. Military aggression is secondary now, what we really need is increased political readiness so that if the CCP falls due to its internal conflicts, we can smoothly replace it.None of his New Year's speeches over the years was as interesting as the one in 1967. When attacking mainland newspapers, radio stations and public opinion, he cursed: The important issue before us today is no longer how to win the military counterattack to the mainland.Because since the "Cultural Revolution" broke out in the mainland and with the emergence of the "Red Guards", not only Mao Zedong's nerves have collapsed, but also divisions and discord have emerged within the CCP. The problem of counterattacking the mainland today is how to deal with Mao Zedong and stay The chaos in China, when to counterattack the mainland, and how to bury Mao Zedong have become secondary issues.However, this so-called secondary issue does not mean that from now on we can relax our military preparations for a counterattack on the mainland and wait for Mao Zedong to kill himself.It should also be pointed out that in today's anti-Mao struggle, political means are even more important. A month later, the KMT Central News Agency announced the creation of a new National Security Council for mobilization during the CCP turmoil, a new agency responsible for planning defense strategies, planning state proposals, and political management of the "theater zone." Since the Kuomintang relied on its own propaganda organization and cleverly used the traitors of the Communist government, it was not confused by the essence of Mao Zedong's unrest. A loyal old communist like Liu Shaoqi was regarded as a "capitalist roader" Or "reactionaries", but, in Chiang Kai-shek's view, although they were defeated, they did not reduce their belief in the Communist Party. Chiang Kai-shek chaired this new National Security Council.No one is surprised by this.It cannot be overlooked that this new powerful institution gave Chiang Kai-shek the power to command the various administrative agencies of the central government and to appoint domestic officials.In fact, he is still a dictator. As the head of state, the president of the Kuomintang, and the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang army, all power in various fields was inevitably in his hands. The period of "political teaching" by the Kuomintang to the people came to an end with the election in 1947. However, as the KMT's position on the mainland deteriorated during the civil war, martial law was imposed in 1949, which was not lifted until Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975. The 1946 Constitution was controversial because the Temporary Provisions for the Mobilization and Reconnaissance Period, passed by the National Assembly on April 18, 1948, gave the President the power to take all actions he deems fit in an emergency.This "temporary provision" It also allows the president and vice president to be re-elected beyond the two terms stipulated in Article 47 of the constitution, and it also gives the president the sole power to declare the end of the "period of turmoil in the Chinese Communist Party." In fact, until Chiang Kai-shek's death, he never made such an announcement.But if an unlikely historic stroke of luck brings him and his government back to the mainland, he may well decide that years after the end of apparent resistance, the "turmoil" has not passed. This state of affairs has naturally produced many anomalies and injustices. One of the deadliest of these is the fact that the majority of Taiwan's inhabitants are governed by laws that they did not participate in making.In this regard, "the CCP's turmoil" has no part in them at all.A prominent dissident in Taiwan stated: Since the KMT government went into exile in Taiwan 21 years ago, any attempt to point to the fact that the war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has become a war of words rather than military warfare, and that the situation has become fairly stable; Facing and accepting reality; attempts to demand that the government return the situation to normal and restore domestic freedom; attempts to suggest that Taiwan's political future should be determined by Taiwan's residents in accordance with the principle of self-determination, all of these attempts were taken by the government as a colossal affront and were treated as rebellion .... The author of this passage (the article was published in London's "China Quarterly" and published from July to September 1971) is Professor Peng Mingmin (transliteration), former director of the Department of Political Science and Education at National Taiwan University.He and two of his students were arrested for printing 10,000 leaflets. These leaflets are actually leaflets calling on the people of Taiwan to unite against the government. The three were arrested at the same time in September 1964 after being exposed by the person responsible for printing the leaflets. On April 2, 1965, Professor Peng was sentenced to 8 years in prison, and his two accomplices were sentenced to 10 years and 8 years respectively.However, Chiang Kai-shek pardoned Professor Peng in November of the same year. In 1966, the sentences of two of his students were also halved. In any case, Professor Peng's case is not isolated. On September 4, 1960, renowned scholar Lei Zhen was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 years for treason, the most serious of which was his failure to denounce a former Communist on the staff of his Free China magazine.However, his main crime may have been organizing a reactionary group called the Forum for Improved Local Elections. In late 1965, a popular magazine, Wenxing, was suspended for a year for publishing an article protecting press freedom. Perhaps a more worrisome case was the trial of two brothers exiled from the Philippines to Taiwan in 1970.They were sentenced to 2 and 3 years in prison respectively.They were accused of publishing pro-communist articles in Manila. In mid-May, when more than 200 foreign journalists toured Taiwan, the International Press Association pleaded for the brothers.Many overseas Chinese noticed that crimes committed abroad could be punished at home (in order to show fairness to Chiang Kai-shek, Philippine President Marcos handed over this difficult case to Chiang Kai-shek, so he insisted on deporting the brothers to Taiwan). Taiwan Chiang and his sons control everything.Chiang Kai-shek was in charge, and Chiang Ching-kuo was in charge of the Bureau of Investigation, a security surveillance agency from which all dissidents had not escaped. Although the most common accusation against dissidents was support for communism in East Asia, during the early years of KMT rule, it was more accusations of participating in or supporting Taiwan's independence movement.The able Taiwanese politician Gao Yushu (I met him in 1957, when he was the mayor of Taipei) participated in the founding of the Chinese Democratic Party in 1960, but he later failed. Indicted for corruption, he was temporarily expelled from politics. However, it is fair to say that under Chiang, Taiwan's economy quickly prospered, and that was shared by all.Due to the dramatic rise in the status of Taiwan's local candidates in social affairs and various elections; due to the enlightened educational assimilation policy implemented in all educational institutions, the mandatory use of Mandarin Chinese as the language of instruction, etc., Taiwan's sense of independence has gradually increased. weakened. In 1965 and 1966, the two leaders of Taiwan, Thomas Liao and Zeng Wanfu, returned to Taiwan to launch an independence movement, but they failed.The two were exiled to Japan for many years, but were pardoned for their acts of repentance and allowed to return to Taiwan.They were never punished again. Although Chiang Kai-shek's government billed itself as "Free China," it has always adopted an authoritarian system of rule.In the "Republic of China", there is the possibility that ordinary people will give up politics.Aside from specific issues, such as anti-communism, the president's personal comments, or Taiwan's independence, Taiwan's press is free and often denounces the national and local governments. Generally speaking, foreign visitors are often impressed by Taiwan's relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.Indeed, as long as one does not participate in politics in Taiwan, it is possible and easy to live a happy life as an individual or a family.In the long run, the result will be an apolitical people. One area in which Chiang Kai-shek allowed great productive freedom was economics, perhaps because he was not particularly interested in economics, which contrasted sharply between the KMT and the Communist Party. In 1953, the output value of public enterprises accounted for 55.9% of Taiwan's industrial output value.By 1974, this rate had dropped to 23.5%.However, the private sector grew from 44.1% to 76.5% over the 20-year period.Chief among all the factors that contributed to Taiwan's "economic miracle" was the combination of political order and economic freedom.Strikes were prohibited, but even in the absence of a ban on strikes, the combination of continued economic prosperity and paternalism kept worker riots at a low level. Of course, there are other reasons for the economic success.In the first few years, the United States provided a large amount of assistance for Taiwan's economic development and military needs. 1965 was a turning point.At that time, in accordance with the agreement reached with Chiang Kai-shek, and in view of the "healthy economic development" that had been achieved, the US government announced that at the end of the US fiscal year, the US would stop economic aid to Taiwan in June.However, military assistance continues.Since 1949, the KMT government has received $3.6 billion in aid, including $2.2 billion in military aid, $1.2 billion in economic aid, and $250 million worth of agricultural products.The U.S. military assistance program continued after 1965. In another important respect, 1965 was also a turning point.That year Chiang Kai-shek's government decided to extend the six-year compulsory education to nine years.The result is raising the graduation age for students to 16 and marking the beginning of Taiwan's entry into a complex technological era that expands education to create the requisite skilled workforce. A decade later, Taiwan began exporting electronic calculators and color TVs, and built its own jet airplanes.By then, Taiwan's total foreign trade had surpassed that of mainland China, whose population was more than 50 times larger than Taiwan's. In 1973, Taiwan's industrial growth rate reached a staggering 22.7%, but the following year it fell to half of the previous year's growth rate (because of the recession in world trade). The rate of national envy continues to increase. When Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975, Taiwan's per capita annual income had reached US$697, second only to Japan in Asia. As in other countries, this extraordinary growth has often been accompanied by rising prices.If 1966 is taken as the base year, and the urban consumer price index in that year is 100, then the price index in 1974 is 210.7.如果再早一点，把1952年作为基础年，那么1974年的消费指数则为431。但是，这种比较是不精确的。如果把1952年作为工业生产的基础年，1974年的国有工业生产指数为783．5，私有工业生产指数为3950．8。 台湾的经济成就是十分显著的，因为在此期间国民党政府继续养兵60万，并把60％的国民预算用于国防，同时，人口也从1952年的800万剧增到了1974年的1600万。 在缺乏政治自由的情况下，科学的、技术的和经济的专家为政治的迅速发展铺平了道路。当土地改革纲领的起草人陈诚将军于1963年辞去行政院院长职务的时候，蒋介石选择了卓有成绩的财政部长严家淦博士作为前行政院院长的继承人。 此举意义重大，严博士于1966年3月当选为“中华民国” 副总统（以37票的微弱的数票获得通过，这还是在一些身患疾病的人被拉进国民大会进行投票之后才获得通过，这表明北方籍的国大代表对蒋介石选择另一个南方人作为自己的亲密伙伴普遍感到不满，因为严博士也是江苏人）。 另外一些有能力的专家治国论者是财政部长李国鼎和经济部长孙运旋。他们指挥着60年代未台湾经济的迅速发展。当蒋介石于1972年5月“推荐”他的儿子当行政院院长时，李和孙是被蒋经国保留下来的仅有的三个部长中的两个。 从另一个意义上来讲，1972年的变化也是十分重要的，因为那些变化标志着台湾当地人在参与政治上的突破。 1960年卷入政治麻烦的前台北市市长高玉树被任命为邮电部部长。同年12月，“自由中国”举行1947年以来的第一次普选为台湾人候选人提供了机会，使之改变了他们在老化的国民大会中所占的微小的代表人数的状况。 （为了保持拥有大陆主权这一构想，可供选举的席位只有53个）新成员的选举每6年举行一次，然而，1947年当选的1376名代表都是终身的。 ) 1972年只有一件事没有发生变化，那就是蒋介石再次当选总统，并于5月20日宣誓就职。这是他第5次连任国家元首。 专家政治的有力发展对蒋的外交和经济发展起了重大作用。年复一年，台湾政府不得不拉选票以保证其在联合国的地位。与那些会投台湾一票的人交朋友的方法之一就是向新成立的非洲的国家提供专家咨询和技术服务。 非洲国家的领导人越来越多地被邀请来参观台湾的农业生产。当然，这些领导人对他们所看到的情况是很满意的。紧接着，台湾又开始用先进的种植技术培训非洲人，派专家到非洲国家工作，时间通常为2年。在1961年至1966年中期，蒋介石政府向非洲19个国家共派专家630人。结果，在诸如利比里亚、卢旺达和象牙海岸等国家水稻产量大幅度上升。并且品种也多样化了。台北为此得到的回报是，当联合国就中国在联合国大会和安理会中的席位进行争论时，这些国家都对台湾投了赞成票。 这种状况持续了很久。这实在让人吃惊。如果大家都不象蒋介石那样固执的话，那么关于国民党政府是全中国唯一合法政府的设想早就被抛弃了。但是，如果真是如此的话，蒋介石自己对任期合法性的说明本身也将受到严重损害。 我们有理由相信，蒋介石并未完全被其“收复大陆”的梦想所迷惑。他在1966年2月21日的一次较公开的讲话中说，假如台湾在两年内发动进攻的话，他自己的军队，再加上美国的帮助，是可以完成这项任务的。以后就只有美国人自己才有能力把中共赶下台了，因为到1968年时，中共将会建立起一个有效的核武器系统。1968年来去匆匆，蒋介石还是未能“收复大陆”。但是，他仍在发表号召“收复大陆”的讲话。随着时间的流逝，“反攻大陆”的计划也逐渐模糊了。 对蒋的一次出其不意的打击是来自尼克松总统。 一些学习国际关系的学生注意到了发表在1967年10月的美国季刊《外交事务》上的一篇尼克松写的文章。该文是尼克松在1963年竟选加州州长失败后的政治混乱情况下写成的。尼克松在文中暗示，结束中国共产党在国际社会中的孤立地位的时候不久将来到。 1969年7月25日又出现了一个更明确的前兆：尼克松在对关岛的短暂访问期间发表了一项新闻声明，他指出了两点： 美国将执行条约规定的义务；但是，美国越来越希望亚洲盟国处理自己的防御和安全问题，除了核武器的威胁以外（这里很明显是指中国）。 接着发生了一件令人意外的政治事件。1971年7月15日，尼克松在电视讲话中透露，他已经派遣他的国家安全事务助理亨利·基辛格博士秘密到中国同周恩来会谈。他还说他已接受了在1972年5月以前访问中国的官方邀请。尼克松说： “中美两国领导人的会晤是为了寻求中美两国关系的正常化，并就双方共同关心的问题交换意见。” 他保证：“我们与中华人民共和国建交所采取的行动决不是以我们的老朋友为代价的。” 蒋介石在台北得知了这一消息，他感到恼火和沮丧。他指示驻华盛顿大使沈剑虹先生向美国当局提出严正抗议。他只能这样做了。 尼克松总统的声明必然严重地削弱国民党政府在联合国已经垂危的地位。联大第26届大会正准备在10月末召开。早在8月2日，国务卿威廉·罗杰斯就宣布，美国将支持中华人民共和国加入联合国，并且同时保证台湾将不会被剥夺联合国的代表权，但这一保证是虚假的。 这就是“两个中国”的学说，这对蒋介石或毛泽东来说都是不愉快的事。 由于这种形势已经很明确，蒋介石想起了他在1949年离开大陆之前转移政府财宝的预见能力；这时他又想起了转移另一种“财宝”：中华民国自动撤回国际货币基金会的股份，总值达5990万美元（当时为2400万美元）。在10月25日联合国进行决定性辩论的前一周，蒋介石下令提取所有的存款，以免落入共产党手中。 当大会就此进行表决时，76个联大成员国投票赞成中华人民共和国加入联合国和安理会，井同时撤消台湾国民党政府的席位。然而，还是有35个国家对此投了反对票，17个国家弃权。 国民党代表团不愿等待痛苦的结局所带来的侮辱，根据蒋介石的指示，他们在投票以前就提前离开了会场。 国民党代表团团长是蒋的外交部长周书楷。他在离会之前说： 我愿借此机会代表我的政府向凡年来支持我们的友好政府表示衷心感谢。我国政府将在今后几年里进一步加强同这些国家的友好关系，我们将和那些与我们志同道合的政府一起，为实现联合国基于成立的并且联合国大会现在已经打破的最终目标而继续奋斗。 在国民党政府自己看来，提前离会使国民党政府保住了面子，并且能够宣布这是自己退出联合国而不是被驱逐。然而，这些举动并没有改变台湾逐渐被孤立的形象。 联合国投票表决的结局是尼克松1972年2月21日至28日访华的结果。2月27日在上海发表的联合公报冗长却缺乏解决问题的实质性东西，不过，公报里有这样一段话！美国认识到，台湾海峡两边的所有中国人都认为只有一个中国，而台湾是中国的一部分。美国政府对这一立场毫无异议。它再次表示关心的是，中国人民自己能以和平方式解决台湾问题。基于这种认识，美国确认从台湾撤回全部美国军队和军事设施的最终目标。在此期间，美国将逐步减少在台湾的军队和军事设施，以减轻地区间的紧张局势。 这些话是一个明显的通告：从现在起，蒋介石政府要“靠自己”了。然而，公报还有许多含糊其词的语言，美国既通告解除1954年与台湾签订的《安全条约》，并且在近期也不发展与北京的外交关系。 1974年9月，我在台北与一位国民党要人（由于诸多原因，我不便披露他的姓名）讨论了这一形势的影响。他作了这样的评论，我当时逐字记录下来了： “蒋介石是令人难以相信的顽固。他失去了中国。 如果他还这样顽固下去的话，他也将由于不承认现实而失去台湾。他甚至不承认北京政府的存在，如果他承认的话，我们将有两个美国大使馆”（一个在北京，一个在台北）。 台湾当局鼓起勇气对这一新形势作出了反应，别出心裁地通过开设“贸易中心”和“文化中心”作为公使馆和大使馆的场所，井以此获得友好国家的外交承认。 一个典型的例子是西班牙，它和许多其他国家一样突然改变了对北京政府的承认（尽管美国政府本身没有作出这种转变，但美国的行动促使其他政府在这方面有了转变）。台湾在马德里开设了一个“孙中山中心”，西班牙也在台北开设了一个“塞万提斯中心”。这种形势一直在继续。 然而，蒋介石的生命行将结束。尽管他在1972年5月接受了第五次连任总统的职位，但从体力上来讲他已经不能继续履行他的责任。据说这不是年老所致。但身体老化的无情现实确实落在了他的身上。他不得不由人抬着走动或坐轮椅在屋内活动。他已经成了一名隐士，平时只见自己的儿子。妻子，有时也见一见他的高级助手。 蒋介石于1975年4月15日逝世，享年87岁（应为88岁一译者）。 几个月以来，他几乎一直处于昏迷状态。 4月9日，在瞻仰他的遗容时，他的灵枢上方摆放着他的遗嘱（该遗嘱是国民党中央委员会副书记秦孝仪为他题写的）。 4月16日为他举行了隆重的国葬仪式。300多名国外要人来台北参加了葬礼，其中有美国副总统纳尔逊·洛克菲勒。 权力的转让是按照宪法规定有秩序进行的，年逾七旬的副总统严家淦博士于4月6日登上了“中华民国”总统的宝座。 出于对形势的考虑，掌握实权的人物蒋经国提交了辞去总理的辞呈。 但这一辞呈很快就被拒绝了。 这是一个冒险故事的悲惨结局，是命运的野蛮捉弄，是一场终未实现的梦。