 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific Story. This is the story of the Pacific and the drama of the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. This is the background to the events in the Pacific and their meaning to us and to the generations to come. Tonight's Pacific Story comes to you as another public service with drama the past and present and commentary by Lawrence Gay Rossinger, research expert for the Foreign Policy Association, authority on Far Eastern Affairs and author of the book, China's Crisis. The Liberals in Chongkai-shek's camp. It can become a democratic nation only if democracy is first realized within the Guomindang. These are the words of Sun Po, loyal member of the Guomindang and arch-critic of its rightist policies. We of the Guomindang have come to regard ourselves as the sovereign power of China. The Guomindang is not the sovereign power of China, but is ruling only as the trustees of the people of China. In these words is expressed the thinking of the left wing of the Guomindang. Our greatest mistake was the expulsion of the communists from the Guomindang. Since our time, the Guomindang has developed reactionary tendencies. The Guomindang must one day give up its dictatorial powers and become only one of the political parties of the Chinese Republic. All political parties will then be free and equal under the law. But the leftist position is not for communism, nor for capitalism. It is for working out the destiny of China with both the communists and the Guomindang. For 20 years, since the death of Sun Yat-sen, father of Sun Po, the leftists have played a dynamic role between the Guomindang and the Chinese communists. We must carry out the principles of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. China must be pro-Soviet. And the Guomindang and the Chinese communists must settle their differences and work together. This was the leftist position. No, China must end its connection with Russia. And the Guomindang must have nothing to do with the Chinese communists. This was the rightist position. The rightists were the merchants, the bankers, the industrialists. The leftists were the revolutionaries who had borne the brunt in the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty. But why the part as the rightists and leftists were on these points? On some points, they were in complete agreement. Do you agree on anti-imperialism? Yes. We must oppose foreign imperialism in China with all our united strength. Both rightists and leftists had had long experience with foreign imperialism in China. And we are in agreement on Northern militarism. Completely. We must overcome the militaristic groups in North China and bring all China under control of the Republic. At the time of these discussions, the seat of the Chinese Republic was in Canton. Under the terms of an understanding between Sun Yat-sen and Soviet Russia, Chiang Kai-shek had gone to Moscow. He had studied Russian revolutionary technique and was now back. And the Soviet delegation headed by Mikhail Borodin and including the celebrated General Blukar was in Canton acting as advisors to the Chinese. With the object of crushing the militarists in North China, the Northern expedition was planned in the spring of 1926. The plans were laid by the Russian advisorate. The first objective must be Han Kow. Look closely at this map. This is Mikhail Borodin. Here is General Blukar's strategy. One drive will be made in this direction, up through Hunan province. And at the same time, another drive will be made here, up through Chiang-shek province. And the two drives will converge on Han Kow? Exactly. After we have taken Han Kow, we will move down the Yangtze and take Nan-King and Shanghai. That will place us in a position to strike toward Peking. That is right. When Peking is taken, you will have control of the North. And what part will you or General Blukar take in this expedition, Mr. Borodin? General Blukar and the rest of us of the Russian advisorate will act solely in the capacity of advisors. Chiang Kai-shek will be in supreme command. The Northern expedition was launched in July 1926. The two drives started northward from Canton. Chiang with one column took Nan Chang, the other took Han Kow. But almost as soon as they had reached these first objectives, disquieting reports began filtering in from the rear. Communists to Gelamit to take over the government at Canton. The communists and the leftists... Communists and the leftist party workers are moving in and organizing the territories already won. Under their influence, the conquered areas are becoming radical. The government moved from Canton to Han Kow. Some for the government were strongly under the influence of Borodin and the Russian advisorate. Others had their own views but cooperated with the Russians to achieve their own ends. A rift fast developed between the Han Kow government and Chiang Kai-shek. Here is the information. Let me see it. Here. It just came from Chiang Kai-shek's headquarters. He is trying to convoke a meeting of the Central Executive Committee at Nan Chang. Yes, to assert his dominance. Is he trying to take over power for his personal granddism? What are your representatives of the Chinese Republic say? The government is here in Han Kow. If the Central Executive Committee is to be convoked, let it be convoked here. Yes, yes. Let him come here to Han Kow. Then, then let us convoke the Central Executive Committee here and let us invite him. Yes, ask him to come here. The Central Executive Committee was convoked in Han Kow. Chiang Kai-shek was invited, but he did not attend. Where is the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Chinese Republic? He has been apprised of this meeting of the Executive Committee. Why is he not here? I say remove Chiang Kai-shek as Commander-in-Chief. Yes, he must be removed. Chiang was removed. He went directly to Shanghai. I say it was a mistake to remove him. Mistake? Do you know what he is doing now? He is trying to get the support of the bankers and the merchants and the reactionaries who withdrew from the Gomindong because they did not approve of our rapprochement with the Soviet Russia. Chiang Kai-shek is a reactionary. Then I too am a reactionary. It was a mistake for us to tie ourselves up with the Russians. The split in the Gomindong was growing. Chiang Kai-shek was read out of the party. In Hongkou, Borodin became the power behind the leftist government. Chiang is no different from the warlords of the north that we are trying to crush. He is out for personal gain. You're saying that you, Mr. Borodin, are here to gain control of the Hongkou government for Moscow? I have no connection with Moscow. Sun Yat-sen invited Mr. Borodin to China four years ago. I am here as an individual, not as an official representative of Moscow. Not as an official representative of the Soviet. But it is true, is it not, Mr. Borodin, that you are exercising more and more influence over our government here? Mr. Borodin is only trying to help us fulfill the aims of our revolution. No, let him talk. The people in Shanghai are... The ones around Chiang Kai-shek? Yes. They are saying that you have made our government here communist. The Hongkou government is not communistic. A communist's faith in China is impossible at this time. You cannot communize poverty. The task of us Russians here... Many moderates in the Kuomintang at Hongkou joined Chiang Kai-shek in Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the right wing of the Kuomintang. He went to Nanking, established a rightist government, and invited the support of all who were opposed to communism and to the Russians. Many of Russia is trying to use the Chinese revolution to her own advantage. Borodin and the Russian advisers are more interested in achieving their own goals than in helping us attain ours. To this statement of the rightists in Nanking, many listened. One who listened was the powerful General Feng. General Feng left Hongkou, joined Chiang Kai-shek, and sent a message to the Hongkou government. Many of the radical element have wormed their way into our party in an effort to control the entire Kuomintang movement. There is only one solution. Makal Borodin should return to his country at once. This meant get out or else. Secondly, those members of the Central Executive Committee in Hangkou who wish to go abroad for a rest should be allowed to do so. This meant get out while there is still time. The others may join the Nanking government if they desire. And there's only going to be one government in China. And Nanking is it. I make these suggestions sincerely and expect you to accept them. In other words, this is a last warning. Borodin and the Russians hurriedly left China. The leftists in Hangkou agreed to come back into the Kuomintang if Chiang Kai-shek were removed. Chiang resigned and returned to his childhood home in Chekyang. Then went to Japan. The leftists in Hangkou government joined the Nanking government. But with Chiang out of the way, the powerful warlords of the North marched on Nanking. In desperation, the Nanking government sent for Chiang. But now it was his turn to drive a bargain. And drive a bargain he did. Chiang Kai-shek will be turned on two conditions. First, that the communists be expelled from the Kuomintang. And second, that all the military resources of the Nanking government are mobilized to affect national unity. We leftists agree that all military resources be mobilized to affect national unity. He also demands the expulsion of the communists. We have supported the communists from the very beginning. You must expel them in the interest of closing the street in the Kuomintang. Chiang is not only suppressing the communists. He is also suppressing some of us who are not communists. What do you other leftists say? No! No, we cannot turn against the communists! The leftists joined the rightists against the communists. And this, the leftists today regard as their greatest mistake. Chiang Kai-shek returned, resumed his northern expedition, captured Chien-sen and at last Fee King. He changed the name of Fee King to Be Ping. Moved the nationalist government to Nanking and drove the communists underground. But the struggle between the rightists and the leftists was not at an end. The right wing has taken over control of the machinery of the Kuomintang. Yes, and Chiang Kai-shek is again concentrating more and more power in his own hands. Actually, we have almost no influence in this Nanking government. It is more serious than that. Under Chiang, we have a military control that is no better than the northern militarism which we have just destroyed. Again, in effect, we have relinquished political control to Chiang Kai-shek and the rightists and they have built up a military control. Then what influence do we have in this Nanking government? None. It was I who urged that we expel the communists. Now I say that we have made the mistake that we should take immediate steps to rectify this error. Yes, we must do it. What do you propose? We can use the same tactics that Sun Yat-sen used. We can get in touch with the leaders. They have attacked the leaders in the north who were of the same opinion as themselves. But this effort failed. They then formed a separate government at Canton. Among the leaders of this group were Sun Po and TV Soong. The Canton government organized an army and launched a campaign. They marched on Chiang and Nanking. But this was late summer, 1931. The Japanese have attacked at Mukden and are driving for control of all Manchuria. The fighting broke out in the middle of the night this morning the Japanese were in complete control of Mukden. Then we must stop our drive on Nanking. We must start negotiations with junks. The campaign was abandoned. The leftists again returned to Nanking. And after a time Chiang was again supreme in the government. But the conflict within the parties still seized. It is time that Chiang turned his talents toward resisting the encroachments of the Japanese in north China rather than trying to crush communism in China. Chiang is of the opinion, Sun Po. That communism is a greater danger to Chiang than the Japanese. He is wrong. I say that we should concentrate on rooting the Japanese out of north China. That is the only reasonable view. But what chance have we of the left wing of getting Chiang to resist the Japanese? Chiang will not be influenced by the left wing. Then I say we should no longer support Chiang and his rightists. And that we tell the people of the real state of affairs in the Nanking government. Chiang now was engaged in his extermination campaigns against the communists. And now with a growing threat of the Japanese in the north, a popular movement started against Chiang's policies. The government must stop this civil war. Japan is a real enemy. Yes. Chiang Kai-shek should be using the nationalist armies against the Japanese rather than against our own people, even if they are communists. The movement spread. The voices became louder. Demonstrations were held. The storm broke in December 1935. The time has come to stop appeasing the Japanese. And yet, only a little more than a month ago, a delegation of Chinese bankers and industrialists and merchants, some of them closely linked with our government banking system, went to Japan, visited Tokyo to see if they could reach some kind of agreement with the aggressor. Why is the government at Nanking appeasing the Japanese while they are shooting down our own people, trying to wipe them from the face of the earth? Stop the civil war! Let us unite and fight the Japanese! We demand that the government grant civil liberties and stop this civil war so that we can all fight Japan! All of these demonstrations came the All-China Federation of National Salvation Unions. This was a federation of more than 70 groups dedicated to the promotion of a Chinese United Front. High in the councils of this National Salvation Group was Madam Sun Yat Sen, widow of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The group stood for, first, immediate end of the civil war, second, immediate release of all political prisoners, and third, the formulation of a plan to fight the Japanese. The Japanese had not yet struck at the Marco Polo Bridge. This was yet to come. Meantime, Chung was seized at Siang, was released on his agreement to fight the Japanese. The leftists were gaining influence. General Feng, who had abandoned the leftists and joined Chiang Kai-shek against the communists, now allied himself with Madam Sun Yat Sen and Sun Po. We therefore urge you, as our generalissimo, to return to the policies of Sun Yat Sen, cooperation with the Chinese communists and with Soviet Russia. But part of the problem was solved for Chung and the rightists. Wait for the Japanese during the night. They struck at the Marco Polo Bridge just outside Pei Ping, and are today driving with... Upheasement ended. Now, there could be no question whom the Nationalist armies would fight. Before the Japanese onslaught, the conflict within the Guomindong faded into the background. The immediate need was unity against the enemy. The rightists and the leftists joined against the Japanese. Some leftists were taken into the government service. Comparative harmony blossomed within the Guomindong. But in less than 18 months, by the end of 1938, dissension was again cropping out. Why is the Guomindong the only non-Guomindong youth organization? There is fiction between these groups in the Guomindong. It is not only these groups that the Guomindong is opposing. The Guomindong is also opposing the state socialist party and the young China party. The Guomindong is ruling as the trustee of the people. But as the trustee, there is no full responsibility. First, to resist Japan. And second, to prepare the people for constitutional government. Is opposition to the conservative minorities as well as the left wing to be construed as preparing the people for constitutional government? The leftists continued to clamor for the relaxation of the rigid one-party rule. Still, though they favored admitting the communists to the party, they remained loyal. And Sun Faw made two trips to Moscow to try to arrange closer cooperation between Russia and China. Sun Faw is a disciple of Soviet Russia. Sun Faw is not a disciple of Soviet Russia. He stands for the same kind of democracy that his father stood for. A government that looks to Russia? A government that looks to Russia as it looks to all nations. But not a government that precludes relations with Russia. But after Pearl Harbor, when more help was given China, the grip of the Guomindong tightened. The leftists chafed under the controls of the rightists. Rightists are using the help they are getting from the United States to impose their will on us. They are taking advantage of this situation to put down all opposition to their policies. What of our civil liberties? Yes. Must we be watched by secret police that are no better than the Nazi Gestapo? Must we be spied upon? And must we be throttled by a rightist censorship? Why do we not have a democracy? To be clear to you leftists by this time that the Guomindong is ruling as the instrument of the people. Ruling as the instrument of the people by crushing the very principles of democracy that it was sworn to defend, China is facing a great crisis. A ruthless and powerful enemy. We must have unity. Unity, yes. But we can have no democracy if the Guomindong enforces its wishes on the people without regard to their wishes. There will be a democracy after the war. It is useless to talk of creating a democracy after the war. Unless it is introduced now, China can look forward only to internal strife and the scramble for power which will come when the war ends. Now is the time to put our house in order. Yes. Give the people of China their civil liberties now. And this will show them the good faith of the Guomindong government. To this pressure from the left and from outside China, the Guomindong has made some concessions. An announcement was made today that liberal TV Song has been named president of the executive Yuan, replacing Zhang Kaixuek who resigned this post. Song once was a member of the leftist government which was formed at Canton and which started a military campaign against Zhang Kaixuek just before the Mukten incident in 1931. In some quarters, the resignation of Zhang as premier and the appointment of TV Song was seen as a straw in the wind. Wait to this view was added by the visit of Song to Moscow. This may mean that the totalitarian tendencies of the Guomindong are on the way. And it could mean that the progressive elements of China are pushing to the fore and that the long needed reforms in the Guomindong are now on the way. But this point of view is not shared by the extreme rightists. This means that China is being sold out to Moscow and worse, that the threatening situation in China today could lead to civil war. The most important task of the Guomindong is to bring about a democracy. This is Song Po. I remind you, China is still in the concisional period of our political revolution. The revolution has not yet been brought to a successful conclusion. This can only be achieved through a democracy. Let us remember the wisdom of the ancient saying, do not fret over security, but worry about unequivocally sharing. The struggle between the leftists and the rightists within the Guomindong is not yet resolved. To tell what it will mean in the affairs of the Pacific, the national broadcasting company presents Lawrence K. Rosinger, research expert for the Foreign Policy Association and authority on forest and affairs. The next voice you hear will be that of Mr. Rosinger. We take you now to New York. For almost two decades, Americans have been discussing the relations between the Guomindong under Jiang Kai-shek and the Chinese communists. In all that time, there has been far too little emphasis on the existence and problems of China's liberals, liberals who are to be found both within and outside the Guomindong. For too long, there has been a tendency to believe that the only choice in China is between a highly conservative regime and the communist administration, and that nothing in between is possible. It is true, of course, that Chongqing and the communists are the two decisive elements in Chinese politics. But as tonight's broadcast indicates, liberal groups also have a contribution to make, especially if they are encouraged to do so. This contribution can be all the more important now that the war with Japan is over and China must face the issues of reconstruction. Sun Fou, about whose opinions we have just heard, is a high Chongqing official who has spoken out publicly for a liberal point of view. There are other officials, as well as highly respected individuals, like Madame Sun Yat-sen, who are also convinced that China's future depends on the adoption of vigorous progressive policies. In the universities and elsewhere, there are numerous liberals and conservatives who are disturbed by current conditions. Some of these follow their own course as members of the Democratic League, which is an independent coalition of various third-party groups. This is a name that Americans ought to remember, for the Democratic League may play a significant role in the future development of China. What are the views of these Chinese Democrats? Their constant purpose has been to maintain the most active resistance to Japan and to help prevent the outbreak of another civil war. They know only too well how China has suffered from civil conflict in the past, and they are determined that after years of desperate but successful struggle against a foreign invader, their country shall not again waste its energies or lose its opportunities through internal strife. It is the belief of the Democratic League that to avert civil war, the central government should be expanded into a coalition regime. Such a coalition government would bring together in a single administration, not only Chungking and the communists, but also the independent liberals and third-party conservatives. Members of the League realize that it will not be easy to compromise political differences and that the current situation is disheartening, but they refuse to admit that a peaceful settlement is impossible. I would like to stress what I said a few minutes ago that we in the United States have paid too little attention to China's liberals. Today it is essential to recognize that their influence can be helpful in developing the United, Democratic, and prosperous Chinese nation that the United States needs for the sake of peace in the Far East. We have many reasons to be grateful to the Chinese people for their years of resistance to Japan. It is worth noting that the liberal elements in China made a vital contribution to the launching of that resistance in 1937 and later worked hard for an effective Chinese war effort. If given the opportunity, they can be equally valuable in building the future of their country and in promoting ever closer relations with the United States and China's other allies. Thank you, Mr. Lawrence K. Rossinger. You have been listening to the Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable across currents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. May I repeat? For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific Story is written by Arnold Marquess. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. Your narrator, Gaine Whitman. Programs in this series of particular interests to service men and women are broadcast overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This program came to you from Hollywood and New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.