President Liu and honored members of the Legislative Yuan:
It is a great honor and pleasure to meet all of you here at the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China, and to have the opportunity to say a few words.
My trip to Taiwan this time was made possible by the invitation of President Yu Youren of the Control Yuan, who has been my friend and mentor for many years. When the members of the National Assembly of South Korea learned of my trip to Taiwan, they unanimously approved a letter to the Legislative Yuan. President Liu read the contents of this letter to you earlier. The ideas expressed in the letter are precisely what I want to say today. Additionally, I feel it is necessary for me to briefly talk about the situation in South Korea, for your future reference.
The Establishment of the Republic of Korea
After the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on August 15, 1945, Korea was freed from the chains of imperialist Japan. Many Korean revolutionaries, who had been exiled overseas and were suffering from their displacement and uncertainty, happily returned to their home country together. Everyone in the nation believed that Korea could be independent and free from now on. I returned to Korea from Chongqing, via Shanghai, in December of that year, and I too thought that Korea was liberated. But in truth, Korea was a long way from actual liberation at the time, because Korea was divided into two parts, north and south. It was premature to say Korea had been liberated. It would be more accurate to say Korea was free from the heavy chains of Japan’s imperialism, but the north was now shackled by something even worse than the Japanese’s chains—the chains of the Soviet Union. The liberation of Korea existed only in name and not in fact. Consequently, after Dr. Syngman Rhee, the leader of the Korean independence movement (applause), returned to Korea from the USA, he integrated the efforts of revolutionaries in Korea, in China, and in the USA, urging them to continue fighting and create the conditions that would lead to Korean independence.
Communists in Korea may look Korean on the outside, but they are malicious on the inside; they have the hearts of foreigners and not Koreans. Thus, the first thing we had to do was to fight communism. At the end of 1945, the international situation was perilous. The issue of Korea was raised at the Cairo Conference and the Tehran Conference, while at the Moscow Conference and the Yalta Conference discussions were held regarding Korea being ruled by a trusteeship, so we also had to fight against this trusteeship. Democratic principles dictate that we must follow the will of the people, so we held elections and formed a government, thereby establishing Korea’s independence and autonomy. A general election was held in May 1948, in accordance with a UN resolution and with the UN’s assistance, and a president was elected in July. On July 17, the Korean National Assembly formulated the constitution, and on August 15 the Republic of Korea was officially established, which was internationally recognized in December of the same year. However, North Korea, under Soviet influence, rejected the election and opposed unification. To achieve reunification, the Republic of Korea adopted a two-pronged approach involving both military and political measures. With our collective efforts and strong determination, the results were quite noticeable, but led to antagonism from the Soviet Union—the enemy of all mankind, the bandit of all the world, and the home of red imperialism. As a result, the North took military action against South Korea on June 25 last year, forcing the South Korean government to move the capital southward. After the unrest of June 25, the UN Security Council adopted an resolution in the emergency special session to provide aid to Korea. On June 28 and 29, troops under the command of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur arrived in Korea to aid in the war, as the Korean army had been working hard in training but were still underequipped and thus could not repel such a fierce invasion. The allied forces fought together for three months before recapturing Seoul. They then crossed the thirty-eighth parallel and nearly completed the great task of unifying the Korean Peninsula. However, the Soviets’ lapdog China sent its vast communist armies last December to participate in the invasion. As a result, in January of this year we had no choice but to tearfully abandon Seoul once again and move towards south. This is the bitter history of Korea.
Recent Events in Korea
Currently, Korea is still in a state of war. Korea’s armed forces could not even be called a military during the American occupation; instead it comprised just a tiny Constabulary. The establishment of the Republic of Korea also involved the official establishment of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, but troop numbers were low, and they were underequipped. Currently, only around one-hundred-fifty to one-hundred-sixty thousand members of the ROK Army are well-equipped; the remaining forty to fifty thousand troops are extremely underequipped. We also have a navy, but its power is very weak.
The Korean Peninsula has a population of over thirty million, of which over twenty million live in the South, while around ten million live in the North. Many people in the North can no longer endure the violence behind the iron curtain and the life of slavery under the yoke of military oppression, and thus have voluntarily fled to the South; over a million people have moved towards south in this way. Consequently, currently the population of the South is approximately twenty-three to twenty-four million. Among this population of twenty-some million people, approximately six to seven-hundred thousand young people are receiving military training, and will join the fight against the communists as soon as they receive their equipment.
Despite being invaded, Korea has endeavored to build up its infrastructure on its own. However, in these times and with this greater environment, things are now different. It is no longer enough to rely on yourself, instead it is necessary to ask for external help. It is said that the heavens will help those who help themselves, and it would be dishonorable to not work hard after receiving assistance from others. It is not dishonorable for us to ask for help. Of course, it is less satisfying to receive help than it is to help others. The USA has given Korea much aid, but it is not yet enough. The aforementioned six to seven-hundred thousand young people are still awaiting more assistance from the USA. Since the UN passed the resolution to aid Korea, fourteen countries have provided assistance, while six to seven countries have sent troops to participate in the fighting. Coupled with Korea’s own armed forces, the military strength here is already quite strong. If the six to seven-hundred thousand young people awaiting equipment could also participate in the fighting, then the overall military strength will be further enhanced. Korea’s armed forces were only established not long ago, so they have not received much training, but their strength on the field is a match for any other military. (applause) General MacArthur has repeatedly praised the strength of the Korean military during his addresses to Congress, which serves as a fair and objective evaluation of Korea’s forces (applause). This is comforting to us in Korea. Korea’s armed forces are currently fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with UN forces. If the six to seven-hundred thousand young people can receive the necessary equipment, then Korea’s military will be able to shoulder the responsibility of national defense after the withdrawal of the UN’s forces. This is something that all officers and enlisted personnel in the Korean military are confident about! (applause) All officers and enlisted personnel also feel determined to successfully go on the offensive!
The suffering and sacrifices inflicted upon Korea in all this unrest has been unspeakable. No one has the fortitude to speak of it, and no one else has the fortitude to hear of it. Military and police casualties number up to one-hundred-sixty thousand, while civilian deaths have reached more than two-hundred thousand. Most cities and villages have been destroyed. There are six to seven million refugees in the south. They are hungry, cold, and sick. This is a scene of terrible tragedy, and an unprecedented disaster for the Korean people.
As for the casualties suffered by the enemy, because they use inhumane human wave tactics, they send hundreds of thousands to their deaths in wave after wave. It is also a terrible scene. According to the latest statistics from the UN forces, over the last three months, the communist forces have suffered six to seven hundred thousand casualties. Currently, the communist forces have retreated to around the thirty-eighth parallel and are launching another counter-attack, but such counter-attacks are only causing more unnecessary deaths.
Korea’s Current Objectives
After suffering devastating damage from the ravages of war, restoring Korea to its previous state will be a difficult and time-consuming task. But citizens of Korea, regardless of age, share the same determination. The refugees have suffered endless hardship, but they adamantly believe that they will soon be able to return home! (applause) And despite all they have suffered, all the troops on the front line have declared that they will soon fight their way to the banks of the Yalu River! (applause) All civil servants at all government agencies are rallying their fortitude and tightening their belts, as they firmly believe that good days will come in the near future! Throughout the entire country, there is a common belief that victory is at hand! (applause) I say to my countrymen that justice will be on the side of the final victor! (applause) Good deeds will bring good rewards, foul deeds will bring foul rewards, this is a universal truth in both theory and practice. The most persuasive proof of this fact is Korea’s independence. Over the last thirty-some years, Korea has suffered under the yoke of Japanese imperialism, and we constantly longed for independence. Now, Korea is independent! (applause) There is a Chinese saying: “Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.” Many democratic countries have provided assistance to Korea, in the form of financial aid as well as sacrificing many young lives. They did so not because the Korean people are especially beautiful, nor because Korea is home to beautiful scenery at Mount Kumgang, and definitely not because Korea has rich mineral resources underfoot. They provided assistance to Korea firstly because Korea is faultless, and has virtue. (applause) Secondly, Korea is a new democratic country. In the past, international alliances were a means for bandits to divide their illegitimate gains. They cared not about the deaths of Korea’s nation and people. Now, however, the United Nations is different, it provides assistance to promote international democracy. The people of Korea understand that democracy is essential to survival, which means that implementing democratic principles is a crucial task. (applause) All of the people in Korea are determined to strive towards democracy now and forever.
When we speak of democracy, people understand that we are referring to elections and national assemblies. Democracy is the business of all the people, and must be conducted according to the people’s collective will. We advocate political democracy, economic democracy, cultural democracy, and democracy for all peoples! (applause) This is the goal that everyone in Korea is working towards.
The Hope of All People in Korea
The greatest hope of all people in Korea is to be free of suffering, to build close ties with other democratic countries, and to live in peace and prosperity. Our greatest hopes are with Republic of China, because the relationship between Republic of China and Korea is vastly different from that between other countries. In the past, people described the relationship between Republic of China and Korea as one of mutual protection and solidarity, which illustrates the close relations between the two countries. Elders in Korea even described Sino-Korean relations with the astronomy term “in the same twelfth zodiac zone of the sky”, referring to how whatever happened in China would also happen in Korea. Mainland China has fallen, and now the people of Korea are hoping for Repblic of China to retake the mainland. (applause) When Korea was invaded, President Chiang Kai-Shek of the Republic of China stated his willingness to send troops to Korea. Unfortunately, this has not yet occurred. The people of Korea are eagerly awaiting the day that forces from the Republic of China will come to the aid of Korea. (applause) To fight a war is to fight to win. Currently, in the war in Korea, how can victory be achieved and the war be ended if we do not bomb the communist air bases in northeastern China? Therefore, the Korean people also hope that the UN can bomb the communist bases in northeastern China as soon as possible. (applause) These hopes are not just for Korea itself. They are for Korea, as well as for China to retake the mainland in the near future. (applause)
This concludes my brief remarks, in which I explained the current situation in Korea for your reference. I expect that this will not have been a meaningless task.
I will be staying a few days more in Taiwan, but I will be returning to Korea on the 22nd or thereabouts. I hope the next time we meet will be in Nanjing or in Beijing. Thank you very much.
