History should not forget

Author: Israel Epstein
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This book mainly tells about some of the author's experiences. After Japan occupied Shanghai, Soong Ching-ling moved to a new location—Hong Kong—to continue her work. Before leaving, she had to go through one more hurdle. Although her residence was in the French Concession (the International Settlement and French Concession in Shanghai were under foreign jurisdiction and were theoretically neutral zones), there were now additional Japanese spies monitoring her, in addition to the usual ones who frequently visited nearby. To deceive them, on the day she left—December 23, 1937—she arranged an impeccable scene of tranquility at home. Two foreign friends came to drink tea, and shortly after, Louis, a New Zealand friend, also arrived. She and her personal maid, Sister Li, climbed into a taxi hired by through the back door, then drove to the Bund pier in the International Settlement and boarded a coastal passenger ship flying a foreign flag. She covered half of her face with a scarf (it was very cold that day), one hand resting on's strong arm, walking onto the gangway with ease and composure, and no one had time to stop or question her.
Regarding domestic affairs, her work was to maintain, strengthen, and advance the anti-Japanese national united front and its core—the re-cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, which had seen ups and downs during the war. Internationally, she helped establish and strengthen the anti-Fascist front. To achieve internal unity and expand progressive influence amidst the flames of war in China, she never ceased her efforts. In the first year or so after arriving in Hong Kong, the focus of her work was to strengthen the emerging positive and constructive trends. In particular, she strongly supported the 《》, which was passed by the Kuomintang's temporary in Wuhan in the spring of 1938 and was oriented toward the united front. In April, she and He Xiangning jointly published an open letter to the Kuomintang-led government, stating that the program should be implemented rather than just remain on paper. Both were Central Executive Committee members of the Kuomintang and consistently advocated for the Kuomintang-Communist cooperation (though they were almost isolated for a long time). Though they had no real power, they were highly respected by the public. In the letter, they proposed seven suggestions regarding the Kuomintang's responsibilities to the nation and its people:
"1. Restore discipline within the party and severely punish responsible members who fear death, engage in corruption, or oppress the people through unjust laws;
2. Respect public opinion and realize civil rights, completely abolishing all laws that suppress public opinion or hinder civil rights, whether tangible or intangible;
3. Stop all forms of factional struggles within the party and strive for unified and sincere solidarity among the people of the entire nation;
4. Never forget the humiliation of our nation and people at the moment. Be proud in victory but not arrogant, and not discouraged in defeat. Fulfill the goals of the anti-war and national construction campaign without changing course midway. Any proposal to seek peace at the slightest victory, which is in fact an act of humiliation, should be firmly opposed to prevent our nation and people from falling into another abyss of ruin;
5. Vigilantly guard against enemy plots and avoid falling into their tricks of provocation and temptation, ensuring that their sinister plan to destroy China without fighting is doomed to fail;
6. Strictly execute the deprivation of civil rights of those who collaborate with puppet traitors and confiscate their entire property. If they hold positions in the party or government, they should be subjected to severe penalties;
7. Never forget the suffering of our fellow countrymen in occupied and battle zones. The authorities should sacrifice the comfort and privileges of a few to alleviate the hardships of the people. Efforts should be made to rescue refugees, comfort the displaced, honor the families of martyrs and those who perished, abolish and prohibit all onerous taxes and usury, and consider exempting or reducing taxes based on circumstances, all to ensure that our fellow countrymen are willing to follow our party in fighting to the end."
Soong Ching-ling had no sympathy for those who evaded military service or fled during the war. On June 2, she wrote to Wu Tiecheng, the governor of Guangdong Province, proposing that the public should be stopped from fleeing to Hong Kong (excluding women, children, and the elderly). The large-scale flight of young, strong, and wealthy people would lower international respect for China. More should be trained for combat, air defense facilities should be improved, and the lives of refugees should be cared for. She was deeply angry and disgusted with the attitude of surrender and its plots. In a letter to her New Zealand colleague James Bertram on May 25, 1938, she condemned China's surrenderism and linked it to the situation in Europe: "Those defeatists are shouting for peace again. But in my heart, I am certain: we—the people—will fight to the end. Hitler has ordered the recall of all German military advisors (they once helped the Kuomintang fight the Chinese Red Army, later briefly helped fight Japan, and now Japan has become an ally of Nazi Germany). None of them want to go back. Hitler has yet to realize what a foolish thing he is doing. After we clear out those problematic individuals and spies from among us, we will fight even better."
On July 7, 1938, in her article ""①, Soong Ching-ling praised the severe and sacrificial battle that had been fought over the past year but warned that it "was merely the beginning of our fight for the liberation and independence of our Chinese nation" and that "we must be vigilant against domestic politicians who are timid in foreign affairs but bold in domestic matters, who at the start of the war embraced defeatism and immediately began to engage in activities to promote peace, wishing it could be realized at once. We must cut off the other demonic hand of enemy aggression—the conspiracy of political appeasement." She also said that although the 《》 had been announced, its implementation was still necessary. Political mobilization and military training of the people were essential. Equally necessary was to mobilize wealthy Chinese and overseas Chinese to raise funds for the development of southwestern and northwestern China. "Improving people's livelihoods" and "improving political institutions" (a theme she often mentioned) "must be implemented immediately." The government should convene the "National Consultative Assembly" as soon as possible, "not only to listen to their opinions but also to swiftly implement their proposals, and further to change the powers of the Consultative Assembly, transforming it from an advisory body for a central government into a practical embodiment of the functions of a democratic parliament."