Chapter 63 After comparing Chongqing and Yan'an, Tan Kah Kee concluded: "China's hope lies in Yan'an!"

Tan Kah Kee, a well-known overseas Chinese leader of a generation, a well-known industrialist and patriotic educator both at home and abroad.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he led the organization of the "Southern Overseas Chinese Association" in Singapore and led overseas Chinese in various places to raise donations. His deeds became a shining example for the vast number of overseas Chinese. In 1939, Chiang Kai-shek told stories, fabricated facts, and distorted the truth of the friction between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. This aroused the anxiety of overseas Chinese, and they asked the Nanqiao Association to send a delegation to return to China for inspection.

Mr. Chen, who is nearly 70 years old, is very concerned about this matter. Although he is weak and sick, as the chairman of the Nanqiao Association, he decided to personally lead a condolence team to return to China for inspection. After arriving in Chongqing, Mr. Chen clarified the purpose of this trip openly and frankly: one is to pay tribute to the soldiers and civilians of the Anti-Japanese War; Go and inspect to clarify the truth, and I will live up to the entrustment of the overseas Chinese." Mr. Chen's speech made the Kuomintang authorities very disturbed, so they used three tactics of "blowing", "shooting" and "deceiving" in front of the condolence group.On the one hand, they boasted that "Chairman Chiang is the great leader who led the War of Resistance" and how the Kuomintang "united with sincerity" and "united against Japan"; Swim without striking", "undermining unity".

In the hearts of the Kuomintang, Mr. Chen is a "God of Wealth" and has a universal prestige in Nanyang.Therefore, they treated the consolation group with great care and support, and specially prepared a hospitality fee of 80,000 yuan, hoping to win Mr. Chen's favor and prevent his trip to Yan'an. Although obstructed by the Kuomintang in many ways, Mr. Chen's determination to visit Yan'an remained unchanged. He finally arrived in Yan'an on May 31 and was warmly welcomed by Mao Zedong and the army and people of Yan'an. At first, Mr. Chen didn't understand the anti-friction struggle in Yan'an. He believed that on the issue of the relationship between the KMT and the CCP, the CCP should make more concessions and seek unity through unity.

For Mr. Chen's criticism of not knowing the truth, Mao Zedong showed a high degree of understanding.On the one hand, he truthfully exposed the KMT's reaction in front of Mr. Chen, and on the other hand, he patiently explained to Mr. Chen the policy of the Chinese Communist Party's united front.Mao Zedong said that the diehards in the Kuomintang created many anti-communist frictions, with the purpose of sweeping away the Communist Party so that they could surrender to the Japanese invaders without any scruples.Therefore, under unavoidable circumstances, appropriate counterattacks should be given to their attacks in order to maintain the existence of progressive forces and various anti-Japanese parties.If unity is sought through struggle, unity will survive. If unity is sought through unity, not only will unity fail, progressive forces will be destroyed, and the country will fall into civil war again.

Talking about the constant friction between the two parties, Zhu De said angrily to Mr. Chen: "This is all the work of those unscrupulous elements. They created friction and blamed it on us. In terms of armaments, the government has not given the Eighth Route Army a single gun or shell in the past three years. Since 1939, it has not even fired a single bullet." From the perspective of combat, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army resisted an enemy almost equal to the regular Kuomintang troops on the vast battlefield behind the enemy, and they fought very heroically."

"Take Shanxi as an example. Shanxi was attacked by the Japanese invaders the year before last. Yan Xishan's army couldn't stand it. He asked Chongqing to retreat and tried to cross the Yellow River west to Shaanxi, but was rejected by Vice President Bai. Vice President Bai said: 'There are people ahead of you The 30,000 communist army, who are on the front line, can persist, why do you have to withdraw the 100,000 troops defending behind?' Order Yan Xishan to defend, so as to withstand the long drive of the Japanese invaders. It can be seen that if there was no me at that time The army was fighting bravely on the front line, but Yan's 100,000 troops had long since fled away...”

After listening to Mao Zedong and Zhu De's words, Mr. Chen pondered for a long time and remained silent, as if he had understood something from Mao Zedong's patient explanation and Zhu De's straightforward words, but he still wanted to see many things with his own eyes. The Kuomintang often slanders the Communist Party as a "communist communist wife, murder and arson, and a devil who commits all kinds of crimes."Mr. Chen was dubious about this at first, but after witnessing a few things with his own eyes, his doubts were eliminated. Several overseas Chinese girls visited Mr. Chen and reported to him the situation of the school and the anti-Japanese war.Unknowingly, it was getting late, and Mr. Chen thought that the two girls would have to walk more than ten miles back to school in the dark, so he asked them if they would like to send someone to see them off. To his surprise, everyone present laughed.

A girl said: "Mr. Chen, don't worry, we are not afraid of walking alone at night, and even two of us will be fine." After hearing this, Mr. Chen was very surprised and said: "Unexpectedly, in places under the Communist Party, the folk customs It was so good, it was beyond my expectation.” Seeing Mr. Zhu competing with the students on the basketball court, Mr. Chen sighed and said: "If I didn't see it with my own eyes today, I would not believe it. Your party is equal, and you can do it if you are intimate." To that extent is really admirable.” Seeing the development of national industries and commerce in the border areas, and seeing the troops growing their own food and vegetables, Mr. Chen also changed the Communist Party's view that all production must be shared.

Mr. Chen, who is upright and respects the facts, changed his understanding significantly after only eight days of visits, from initial suspicion to sympathy and trust towards the Yan'an side. After returning from the investigation, Tan Kah Kee compared Yan'an with Chongqing in terms of politics, economy, and social atmosphere, and expressed the feeling that "China's hope lies in Yan'an!" The Kuomintang sent people to monitor his actions and lured him with high-ranking officials and generous salaries in an attempt to silence him, but Mr. Chen insisted on seeking truth from facts and publicized his personal experience in Yan'an wherever he went. In 1942, the Kuomintang authorities removed his status as a member of the political council and sent spies to follow him and try to murder him.Mr. Chen had no choice but to remain anonymous in Java for 10 years.

The Kuomintang's actions not only did not make Mr. Chen change his attitude, but instead made him embark on the road of cooperating with the Communist Party.Mr. Chen later engaged in united front work for a long time and made great contributions to the construction of new China. His patriotic behavior became a shining example for the vast number of overseas Chinese.