Koo Speaks Out

Dr. Wellington Koo, six times China's Foreign Minister, is his country's greatest diplomat. He has attended almost every major conference since Versailles, has been Ambassador to the U.S. since last July. Last week on Double Ten, * the Ambassador spoke out, giving the clearest explanation to date of the Chinese Government's efforts to deal with the implacable Chinese Communists. Excerpts:

"After having experienced 14 years of foreign invasion and eight years of uninterrupted war, my country is faced now with the problem of national unification. . . . The main difficulty arises from, the fact that a minority political party is in possession of an independent army and makes full use of this instrument to oppose the authority of the established Government. ...

"It was for the purpose of effecting peaceful unification that the National Government called the Political Consultative Council last January, composed of representatives of all political parties and groups, during which a series of agreements was reached for bringing about a truce, for broadening the base of the Chinese Government and for the integration of the armed forces, including the Communist army, into one national army. These agreements, the conclusion of which

was greatly aided by the good offices of General George C. Marshall, would have brought about a solution of China's political problem. . . . But. . . .

':No sooner had a truce [between the Government and the Communists] been declared in January than the Communist army began to infiltrate into Manchuria for the purpose of occupying important cities and towns which were evacuated by the Russians, and which, according to the Sino-Soviet treaty of August 1945, should be reoccupied only by the Chinese Government troops. . . ."

Magic Number. "When the time came to hold the National Assembly on May 5 as had been agreed upon, the Communist Party refused to send in the names of their delegates, and they were equally reluctant to nominate representatives to participate in the proposed coalition government. The reason given for their reluctance in this respect was interesting. According to the agreed plan of government reorganization, the State Council, which was to have the power to decide policy and nominate members of the National Government, should have 40 members.

"Twenty of these members were to come from the Kuomintang, which is the Government party, and the remaining 20 from the opposition parties, namely the Communist Party, the Democratic League, the Youth Party and nonparty groups. The Communists claimed that they and the Democratic League must together have 14 members or they would not join at all. Why must 14 be considered the magic number? Because, according to the terms of the agreement, all important decisions must be taken by a two-thirds majority of its members. Now two-thirds of 40 means 27, and with a control of 14 votes, the Communists could veto any measure they do not like. . . ."

Nationwide Longing. "The Chinese Government still earnestly hopes that the Chinese Communist leaders, knowing the nationwide longing for peace and reconstruction, will show some deference to the will of the Chinese people, and abandon their policy of seeking political power by force. Whatever reforms they advocate may be brought up in the proposed all-party State Council for discussion, debate and adoption. This is the recognized democratic process all over the world. The National Government has many reforms to suggest also, as it recognizer only too well there is need for reforms in many respects. . . .

"The present trouble in China is not just a struggle between two political parties for power. The Communist movement in my country is not a movement for local self-government. . . . Nor is it a movement for peaceful agrarian reform, for their method of the liquidation of the landlords, including very small landholders, has always been confiscation and expropriation by force. ... It is the challenge of a minority party with an independent army against the authority of the established Government in the hope of gaining political control of the country. . . ."

* Tenth day of the tenth month, anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's 1911 proclamation of the Chinese Republic.

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