Chapter 73 Section VI

The university is composed of three main "forces": the president, professors, and students.In terms of the number of students, students are the main body. The appearance of the school can be said to be the appearance of the students, and the appearance of the students is not only reflected in the study and hard work, but also the vitality, ambition and enthusiasm, which are the symbols of youth. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War when the country was in crisis, there were a total of 834 military students in Southwest Associated University, including Mei Zuyan, the son of Mei Yiqi.

In addition to the struggle against the Japanese invaders, the Union University students also fought against the Kuomintang authorities, which were becoming more and more reactionary and attempted to tame the college students and maintain their rule.At that time, Kunming was the "fortress of democracy" across the country, and the backbone of this fortress was Southwest Associated University. Southwest Associated University has a group of professors who pursue China's political progress. Famous democrats such as Wen Yiduo and Wu Han are no exception. Even science professors have the same ideological tendency. In 1945, at the commemoration meeting of the May 4th Movement of the Southwest Associated University, mathematician Hua Luogeng delivered a speech saying: "The foundation of science should be established on democracy." This sentence further developed the May 4th spirit of "democracy and science". layer.

Driven by the propaganda of progressive professors and the CCP’s underground organization, Southwest Associated students have always been politically active.There are more than 20 student associations in Southwest Associated University, and they often publish posters and give speeches to express their opinions on the current situation and the pursuit of ideals.They were not afraid of violence, rose up to fight, and often dealt heavy blows to the Kuomintang authorities. In December 1941, Hong Kong fell.Before the Japanese Occupation, a large number of cultural celebrities were stranded in Hong Kong and could not return to the mainland, but the executive director Kong Xiangxi used the national plane to transport his furniture, nannies and seven pet dogs back to China first.When the news reached the United Nations University, the students of the United Nations University were filled with righteous indignation and launched the "Inverting the Hole Movement". On January 6, 1942, students from Southwest Associated University, Yunnan University, Sino-French University and other schools launched a parade, shouting slogans: "Down with corrupt officials!" , People in the society are very happy for a while.

In 1944, Kong Xiangxi came to Yunnan and gave a speech for Kunming University in Zhigong Hall of Yunnan University.When he was white and chubby, he said, "Today we all live a very hard life", the students of the Lianhe University shouted in unison: "You are not bitter!" Then the booing continued for a long time, and some people shouted: "Fat pig! Fat pig !" After dinner that day, Kong Xiangxi's second daughter presented condolences to the students who joined the army at the United Nations University on behalf of their father.The condolences were thrown all over the floor, and the students said: "We don't want your condolences!"

The Anti-Japanese War ended with victory, but the haze of the civil war immediately enveloped China.Students of the Southwestern Union were thrown into the struggle against the civil war and for democracy. On the evening of November 25, 1945, more than 6,000 students from various schools in Kunming held a current affairs evening party at Southwest Associated University. Four professors including Qian Duansheng, Wu Qiyuan, Fei Xiaotong, and Pan Dakui gave speeches on issues such as peace, democracy, and coalition government.While the speech was going on, the Kuomintang army surrounded the venue and fired guns into the sky above the venue to intimidate.Several bullets flew past the speaker Fei Xiaotong's scalp. Fei Xiaotong's expression did not change, and he gave a speech as usual.The next day, 30,000 students in Kunming announced a general strike to oppose the civil war and protest the brutality of the military and police.

On December 1, a large number of spies and soldiers besieged Southwest Associated University, beat teachers and students of the Union, and threw grenades into the crowd, killing Pan Yan and Li Lulian, students of Southwest Associated University, Zhang Huachang, a student of Kunhua Industrial School, Yu Zai, a young teacher of Nanjing Middle School, etc. Four people, 29 people were seriously injured, and more than 30 people were slightly injured, causing the "December 1 tragedy" that shocked the whole country. The "1.2.1 tragedy" aroused even greater indignation among the people of Kunming. School strikes persisted, and students even organized? During the one and a half months of public sacrifice to the four martyrs, 150,000 people from all walks of life and nearly 700 groups participated in the public sacrifice.In the end, in order to appease the anger of the students and the public, the Kuomintang authorities had no choice but to shoot the murderer who killed the students after a public trial, and removed Li Zonghuang, acting chairman of Yunnan Province.

The last years of Southwest Associated University were stained red with blood. On July 15, 1946, at the memorial service to commemorate the famous democrat Li Gongpu who was killed by Kuomintang agents, Wen Yiduo, a professor of the Chinese Department of Southwest Associated University, delivered a magnificent "last speech".He raised his eyebrows, clapped his hands at the table, and vehemently denounced the despicable behavior and psychology of the Kuomintang reactionaries. In the afternoon of that day, Wen Yiduo fell under the gunpoint of the spies. At this time, there were only 16 days before Southwest Associated University was officially abolished.