Chapter 12 Chapter 11 Chiang Kai-shek announced his re-assignment as "president", and the Kuomintang entered the most dangerous period in history

After Chiang Kai-shek announced his return to the presidency, the Kuomintang entered the most dangerous period unprecedented in history. (Taiwan, March-May 1950) In the center of Taipei today, there are many high-rise buildings with novel styles and elegant shapes, giving the city a modern atmosphere.This building with only five floors and a tall tower is no longer the tallest, largest and most magnificent building among those high-rise buildings.This five-story building belongs to the European Renaissance style building. The building is a reinforced concrete structure with red bricks on the outside of the wall. The structure is rigorous and solid. Construction started on June 1, 1912. It was officially completed in March.It took thirteen years from drawing to opening. At that time, it was the most magnificent five-story building in Taiwan.At the end of the Japanese occupation period in World War II, it was bombed by American planes.Japan surrendered Taiwan and took it back to China, and began rebuilding it as it was in 1946.It was completed in 1947, when Chiang Kai-shek was 60 years old. At that time, Taiwan Provincial Chairman Wei Daoming renamed the building "Jieshou Hall" in order to please Chiang Kai-shek.Soon, it became the office of the military and political chief in the southeast.In 1949, when the Kuomintang withdrew from the mainland to Taiwan, this building was still the most magnificent building in Taiwan.

On March 1, 1950, Chiang Kai-shek announced his resumption of the presidency, so he chose this building as the "Presidential Palace".This building is the most beautiful building on Taiwan Island. However, the president who was in this building at that time was not a beautiful president.At that time, Li Zongren, the Acting President in law, went to the United States and stayed in New York in the name of medical treatment. He couldn't afford a hotel, so he bought an ordinary carpenter's house in New Jersey and used it as an apartment.Since the government of the Republic of China withdrew to Taiwan in December 1949, its presidential position is vacant.In the name of the president of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek controlled the real power of the land, sea and air forces. Of course, this was not justified and not in line with the spirit of the Constitution; therefore, Chiang Kai-shek played political tricks and re-wear the hat of the president of the Republic of China.To be honest, the situation on Taiwan Island was in dire straits at that time, and some people described it as "just a powder magazine waiting to explode".

The island of Taiwan has an area of ​​36,000 square kilometers, two-thirds of which are occupied by mountains, but less than one-third of the arable land, and a population of six million.Economically, it had just returned to the level before the Anti-Japanese War in 1949.However, more than 2 million soldiers and civilians suddenly retreated from the mainland, the population increased sharply, the economy deteriorated, production was out of balance, and inflation was extremely serious.According to the average price index issued by the Taiwan government, prices in 1949 were more than 7,000 times those in 1945 when the Anti-Japanese War was won.However, according to calculations by Mr. Yan Yancun, a Taiwanese businessman, the increase is not limited to the figures announced by the government; he remembers that the vendors sang in the alleys: "Fried crispy powder, each 8,000 yuan, you want to buy it, buy it quickly!" In the year of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, such snacks cost only one or two cents each.Mr. Yan said that as far as this item is concerned, the increase is between 40,000 and 80,000 times!This kind of increase is insignificant compared with the gold round coupons on the mainland, and the common people are already miserable.

As serious as the economic situation is the instability of people's hearts.At that time, many people from other provinces who had experienced the retreat on the mainland already had the mentality of "I'm afraid it's almost over";Some entrepreneurs who moved from the mainland to Taiwan had just shipped their machinery and equipment to Taiwan, but they finally felt relieved and hired ships at a high price to move their machinery to South America.Some politicians have also left overseas one after another. For example, Wei Daoming, who once served as the chairman of Taiwan Province, lives in Brazil; Xiong Shihui, who was a senior official in Northeast China, also stayed in Hong Kong and did not want to come to Taiwan.

Dong Xianguang, an orthodox biographer of Chiang Kai-shek, had this to say about Chiang’s restoration of the presidency—— Of course, if President Chiang is reinstated, he will encounter many difficulties. If he is planning for himself, it is better to retire. China's honor has surpassed the highest peak.What he encounters in the future may inevitably go downhill, so from the principle of personal convenience, it is best for him to stay out of the situation and avoid the arduous responsibility of the final struggle. Chiang Kai-shek's resumption of the presidency was actually expected by people with a discerning eye.This method of "advancing through retreat" has been used twice in his early political career, and it does not appear to be new.This time, facing the actual situation of the island of Taiwan, which is "perilously endangered", he, as Tao Xisheng said, "does what he knows he can't do."

Chiang Kai-shek used political means to return to power, so he paid special attention to the reactions of all parties, especially the reactions from the United States.The reaction of Li Zongren, a political opponent in exile in the United States, was expected by Chiang Kai-shek.Song Meiling got the news from the English telegram, and various newspapers in the United States published the statement of Li Zongren's spokesman Gan Jiehou.On behalf of Li Zongren, Gan Jiehou made a statement inviting Chiang Kai-shek to restore the presidency, calling it an unconstitutional action, on the grounds that after Chiang Kai-shek handed over the presidency to Li Zongren, he had become a commoner.Gan Jiehou asked the reporters: "How can a commoner call himself the President of China?"

When Chiang Kai-shek learned that, he just smiled bitterly.On the day he announced his official reinstatement, he sent a telegram to Li Zongren, informing Li that due to the needs of the current situation and the environment, he had resumed his presidency in Taipei on March 1, and hoped that Li would serve as his vice president in the United States. The special envoys are fighting for foreign aid in friendly countries.He was not surprised that Li Zongren responded through Gan Jiehou. Chiang Kai-shek was more concerned about the response of the American authorities.When he announced on the night of March 1 that he was "resuming his post as a matter of course", he received a report from Foreign Minister Ye Gongchao that US President Truman would still meet with Li Zongren at the White House at noon on March 2. Pain led to anger, but he could not vent it to the outside world; he could only ask Ye Gongchao to instruct the ambassador to the United States, Gu Weijun, to report in detail to Taipei as soon as possible about the banquet and reception that Truman invited Li.Ye Gongchao was particularly concerned about taking care of Wei Jun, and the chairman of the committee was particularly eager to know how President Truman called Li Zongren and whether he called Li the acting president.

At a press conference held at the White House on the morning of March 2, a reporter asked President Truman how and in what capacity he would receive Li Zongren.This is exactly the characteristic of American journalists. The more embarrassing questions they ask, the more they like to ask them.President Truman replied at that time: "As the acting president of China." When the reporter asked him whether he knew that Chairman Jiang had resumed the presidency, Truman replied that he had not had direct contact with the Chairman. In the early morning of March 2, Foreign Minister Ye Gongchao gave Ambassador Gu Weigou an instruction that if Truman's luncheon was held with Li Zongren as the acting president, Gu Weijun, the ambassador of the Republic of China to the United States, should not attend at all. , and formally explained the reasons for not attending to the US State Department.After receiving the instructions, Gu Weigou judged that this was an instruction ordered by the Chairman to issue when he saw Gan Jiehou's statement attacking him in Taipei.Gu Weigou was a seasoned and mature diplomat, and he felt that Chiang Kai-shek's request was obviously unrealistic.If Gu follows the instructions, he feels that it will cause a political storm with the US government, which will make the situation very unfavorable for the Taiwan authorities.Gu Weijun still decided to accompany Li Zongren and Gan Jiehou to meet Truman, and discussed with Gan Jiehou in the car driving to the White House, and Gan introduced Li Zongren's identity.The White House was under renovation at the time, and Truman used the Blair Building opposite the White House as his headquarters.The meeting and banquet was held at Blair Building.In addition to Truman, Li Zongren, Gu Weijun and Gan Jiehou, the US Secretary of State Acheson and Secretary of Defense Johnson attended the banquet.According to the "Memoirs of Li Zongren", "After Du's welcome speech, according to diplomatic etiquette, he should ask Ambassador Gu to translate, but Du, contrary to the usual practice, asked Jiehou to translate, and did not exchange a word with Gu at the end of the meeting."

After the banquet, President Truman stepped out of the banquet hall first, followed by Li Zongren.When Gu Weigou was about to accompany Li, Acheson suddenly grabbed Gu and said, "Let's talk here." Acheson also asked Gan Jiehou to interpret the conversation between Li and Du.In this way, Gu Weigou was held back by Acheson and talked with Johnson in the living room.Li Zongren and Truman were able to avoid Gu Weijun and talk in the small living room.In fact, according to Li Zongren, Truman only said some etiquette words to him.Truman said that he understands what is happening now, but the future will be long, and advised Li to be patient for the time being and keep in touch with him.Between the words, Li Zongren learned that Truman had decided to deal with the real situation, and Li felt that there was no need to talk about other content.However, Gu Weijun, who was the ambassador to the United States, was excluded from Li Zongren.Outside of Truman's conversation, this was clearly a prearrangement.Chiang Kai-shek and his cronies in the United States were very annoyed by this, but there was nothing they could do.

The Americans were actually playing tricks on Chiang Kai-shek.In the evening of the same day, the State Department Press Release Officer McDerint issued a statement saying that the State Council had received an official notification that Chiang Kai-shek had resumed the presidency, and that the United States recognized Chiang Kai-shek as the head of the Chinese government.The statement also said that the question of who is China's president is a matter for the Chinese government to decide for itself. After Chiang Kai-shek was reinstated, he gave a moving speech in front of more than 2,000 high and middle-level cadres at a gathering for the Prime Minister's Memorial Week.The tone of this speech was completely different. The audience was not reprimanded, but Chiang Kai-shek, as the president and the president, made a painful review of himself.The main points of the speech are: (1) Humbly accept the lessons of the failure of the mainland. (2) At the expense of feelings and face, a complete transformation. (3) He himself will devote himself to the final victory.

Chiang Kai-shek's emotional truth can play a role in winning people's hearts.The Kuomintang cadres who listened to his speech were exiled overseas, sympathized with each other, and many of them shed tears. After his reinstatement, Chiang Kai-shek eagerly took measures to stabilize the situation in Taiwan.In terms of personnel, he asked Chen Cheng to replace Yan Xishan as the new executive president and organize the Taiwan cabinet.Reuse the Wu Guo frame and Sun Liren appreciated by Americans.Before his reinstatement, he appointed Wu Guoframe to replace Chen Cheng as the chairman of Taiwan Province; after his reinstatement, he appointed Sun Liren as the important commander-in-chief of the army.Gui Yongqing will be the commander of the navy, and Zhou Zhirou, the chief of staff, will be the commander of the air force.It was also announced that Jiang Jingguo would serve as the director of the Political Department of the Ministry of National Defense.Veterans He Yingqin and Gu Zhutong with high merits stood aside.The rejuvenation of the leaders of the armed forces can be regarded as an "innovation" of Chiang Kai-shek's army. At the end of April, he also asked the Executive Yuan to issue an emergency order to prevent officers and soldiers from fleeing, stipulating that people are prohibited from going abroad to visit relatives and travel;This measure stopped the fleeing wind on Taiwan Island at that time. Before and after Chiang Kai-shek's reinstatement, some economic reform measures were also adopted.As early as the summer and autumn of 1949, when Yan Jiatu was appointed as the Director of Finance of Taiwan Province, the city system was changed to Xintai City. In preparation for the two million taels of gold smuggled in from Shanghai, a limited amount of new gold was issued. Two hundred million Taiwan dollars.Every new Taiwan dollar is equal to 40,000 yuan in the old Taiwan city, and every five new Taiwan dollars is equal to one US dollar.This reform of the city system has curbed inflation and prevented it from becoming vicious.Chiang Kai-shek also implemented land reform policies in Taiwan through Chen Cheng.In the past, tenant farmers in Taiwan had to pay as much as 50% to 70% of their harvest to the landlord.Beginning at the end of 1949, the "37.5 rent reduction" was implemented in the land reform, that is, "25% of the actual expenses such as fertilizers were deducted from the tenant farmers' harvest, and the rest was paid by the landlord and the landlord." Tenant farmers will receive 36.5% of the average distribution.” During the period of the Great Revolution in the 1920s and the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the CCP urged and hoped that the Kuomintang government would implement Sun Yat-sen’s “Twenty-five Rent Reduction” policy. Chiang Kai-shek objected.After going into exile in Taiwan, I learned from the painful experience, and even though it was too late, I still implemented the land reform policy.These measures of Chiang Kai-shek played a role in promoting the development of Taiwan's economy. In terms of law and order, Chiang Kai-shek's measures were more severe.In addition to the implementation of entry and exit controls mentioned above, at the same time, assembly, procession, petitions, strikes, market strikes, and school strikes are prohibited, and the publication of books and periodicals is regulated.Those who are communists will of course be shot.Leftists or those who were involved were also imprisoned for a long time or even shot.Those who are "suspected of collaborating" will all be thrown into prison, or tied up in sacks, and thrown into the sea without going through judicial procedures. There are countless innocent victims.The Machangding near the Botanical Garden in the suburbs of Taipei was the execution ground for shooting people; in those years, there were frequent shots of "bandit spies" being shot.The mass arrests and massacres at that time were horrific. In March 1950, when Chiang Kai-shek was reinstated, the Taiwan Sugar and Taipower incidents, which shocked the entire island, occurred.Shen Zhennan, the general manager of Taiwan Sugar Corporation, and Lin Liangtong, the director of the personnel department, were shot, and many of their subordinates were sentenced.Shen Zhennan's crime is said to be that he deliberately did not sell sugar, and reserved the supplies for the Communist Party to receive; he planned to use the Taiwan Sugar Railway for the Communist Army's landing.But those who are familiar with general manager Shen Zhennan, no one believes that he will be the Communist Party.Liu Jinyu, general manager of Taipower Corporation, and Yan Huixian, an employee, were also shot dead.Liu Jinren's crimes are said to be: (1) He was arrested at National Taiwan University for joining a left-leaning group. After Liu was released on bail, he went to the mainland. (2) Chen Zhongxi, chairman of Taipower, who joined Weng Wenhao in the Communist Party, once wrote a letter to Liu. (3) Yan Hui stayed in Taiwan for a period of time after the fall of the mainland before coming to Taiwan. There were suspicions of collusion, while Yan lived in Liu's family. Liu was very close to her, and there were rumors that she promised her as a daughter. Judging from today's perspective, the case of Taiwan Sugar and Taipower does not constitute any crime at all.The general managers of the two major companies in Taiwan were just shot by the authorities for an excuse.Why shoot them?Mainly related to their immediate superiors.Weng Wenhao, Qian Changzhao, and Sun Yueqi, the deputy directors of the Resources Committee in charge of public undertakings in the Republic of China at that time, defected to New China successively.The directors of public enterprises in Taiwan are all appointed by Weng Wenhao and others, or have followed them for a long time, and have a strong centripetal force for Weng, Qian, and Sun Zhi.After Qian Changzhao and Sun Yueqi came to Beijing from the Hong Kong uprising, they were reused by New China.Weng Wenhao, who served as the executive president, did not want to follow Chiang Kai-shek when he withdrew from the mainland and lived in Hong Kong to wait and see the situation.The Taiwan authorities invited Weng from Hong Kong to come to Taiwan. If he did not want to come to Taiwan, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Liu Hangchen, gave US$50,000 to invite Weng to study and give lectures in France, so as to prevent Weng Wenhao from going north to join the new China.Weng Wenhao went to France and lived there for more than a year. He was homesick and longed for the new China. Finally, he returned to his roots and returned to Beijing. He was warmly welcomed by Premier Zhou Enlai and others.At that time, the Taiwan authorities were deeply afraid that the senior executives of Taiwan's public enterprises would be influenced by Qian, Sun, Weng, etc., so they used the largest sugar and electricity companies to kill chickens for monkeys to see. At that time, the Taiwan authorities also claimed to have uncovered the CCP’s underground organizations, such as the case of Wu Shi, Cai Xiaoqian, and the case of Li Youbang, chairman of the "New Life Daily". Headlines such as being executed by shooting" appear several times a week. Even Nobel laureate Li Zhengdao's mother, Ms. Zhang Mingzhang, and her son, Li Chongdao, were accused of "covering bandit spies" for staying at home with an old classmate from Guangxi University. "Sin in prison. Regarding the mainland, Chiang Kai-shek proposed "offensive and defensive" requirements to the Kuomintang Air Force, and stepped up bombing of cities, ports and ships along the southeast coast.After refueling at Dinghai Airport in the Zhoushan Islands, the combat aircraft taking off from Taiwan can reach East China and even Wuhan.During January and February 1950, the Kuomintang air force continuously bombed Shanghai and the coastal ports of East China in order to undermine the recovery of the mainland's national economy and prevent the PLA Sanye troops from gathering ships to the coast of East China.On February 6, during the famous "Twenty-six bombing" of Shanghai, the Kuomintang Air Force fleet bombed the power generation facilities in four batches in turn.The bombing killed and injured more than 1,400 Shanghai residents, and caused Shanghai to lose 90% of its electric power, and most factories stopped production and were paralyzed.What annoyed Chiang Kai-shek was the Soviet Air Force's assistance in the defense of Shanghai. After the signing of the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance," Stalin sent an air division to Shanghai and Xuzhou in February and March 1950 to undertake air defense tasks in the interior.The division is equipped with a total of ninety-nine MiG-15 and La-12 aircraft.At that time, the appearance of advanced MiG jets at the Shanghai airport caused the Kuomintang army to panic. The Kuomintang air force shot down five planes in a row. Since then, they have not dared to enter the Shanghai area.In May 1950, the People's Liberation Army Air Force formed the Fourth Mixed Air Force Brigade in Nanjing, and finally had an air force capable of cooperating with the army. Formed in Shanghai, equipped with 10 large tank landing ships and 9 medium tank landing ships.A large number of ships also assembled along the coasts of eastern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. Chiang Kai-shek has received news that the troops of the People's Liberation Army Sanye Chen Yi and Su Yu are actively preparing for a landing operation on the Zhoushan Islands.At this time, news came on May 1 that Lin Biao's four-field troops had all captured Hainan Island, and only two-thirds of Xue Yue's 100,000 defenders had withdrawn.Chiang Kai-shek judged that the People's Liberation Army will launch an attack on the Zhoushan Islands with the army, navy and air force, and its strike force is bound to greatly exceed that of Hainan Island.There are 150,000 Kuomintang troops defending Zhoushan, which is one-third of the remaining Kuomintang army troops and is also the main force of Chiang Kai-shek.If you suffer heavy losses, it will be even more difficult to defend Taiwan. On May 11, Chiang Kai-shek wrote a handwritten order to Guo Jiqiao, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense in Zhoushan, and Shi Jue, Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Government and Commander of the Zhoushan Islands Defense Department, deploying a secret retreat, stipulating that "tomorrow (twelfth) Boarding should begin in the evening, and all work must be completed by the morning of the 15th to the 16th of this month." At 21:00 on the evening of the 11th, Chiang Kai-shek still felt uneasy before going to bed, and wrote a handwriting order to evacuate Zhoushan and pay attention to light control: "Remember that the lights of all transport ships must be controlled and extinguished. want." On May 13, the Zhoushan evacuation began secretly. The 120,000 Kuomintang troops guarding the island boarded the ship in batches. facility.Dinghai Airport, which cost 40 million silver dollars to build, was also completely blown up. On May 16, the People's Liberation Army discovered that the Kuomintang was retreating from Zhoushan, and immediately crossed the sea with three armies, and occupied Zhoushan Island on the 16th. Hainan Island fell, and the Zhoushan Islands were withdrawn. Mao Zedong's next move was to attack Taiwan Island, and Taiwan immediately entered a state of war.Can Taiwan survive?It has become a topic of discussion among people in the streets and alleys of Taipei.Some people say that three hundred years ago, even the big noses of the Netherlands could not resist Zheng Chenggong's navy. Can the remnants of the Kuomintang army defeated from the mainland secure Taiwan? !On the island of Taiwan, there is an atmosphere of pessimism and fear. In June 1950, the Kuomintang entered the most dangerous moment in its history.Even the editorial of "Central Daily" shouted loudly: "Our country has indeed entered an unprecedented dangerous period, and everyone on this isolated island has no place to retreat and escape." Ministry, mobilize the blood alliance of all troops, "swear allegiance to the leader to the death", and "succeed and benevolent and swear to die for the country". For the defense of Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek invited a group of military generals from Japan, including the former Lieutenant General Nemoto of the Japanese North China Dispatch Army.Chiang also personally visited Penghu with Japanese generals to discuss defense plans. On June 5, Chiang Kai-shek announced at the "Taiwan Security Command" officer-soldier meeting that Wu Guoframe would be the commander of Taiwan security and Peng Mengji would be the deputy commander.At the meeting, Jiang gave a lecture to the officers and soldiers, claiming that the defense of Taiwan had completed the mobilization of troops, and that there were no military problems. The key was whether or not Taiwan could maintain law and order. The people must be organized to eliminate the CCP’s underground personnel in order to defend Taiwan and "recover the mainland." Chiang Kai-shek then went on a killing spree, killing several big figures to suppress people's hearts.Lieutenant General Wu Shi, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense, and Lieutenant General Chen Baoquan, Director of the Fourth Military Station were shot first for the crime of collusion, and then Chen Yi, the former chairman of Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to death for the crime of collusion against Tang Enbo and executed by shooting.