New Chronicle
24/1147
NEWS CHRONICLE. Friday, January 24, 1947
CHINA TODAY
Split by a Greater Wall
Second Article by Gerald Samson
EEP mistrust and
an
D'almost psychopathic
suspicion of one another have so far prevented any practical agreement being reached between China's warring factions.
Both the Kuomintang (Nationalists) and the Com, munists are obsessed with the idea that the aim of the other side is to annihilate it a feel- ing buttressed by 20 years of bitter conflict and ending flood of vicious recrimi- natory propaganda.
a never-
While negotiating a basis for close co-operation both parties have been conscripting for war on a larger scale. Cease-fire agreements have been wilfully disregarded when it appeared convenient, and the operations of Truce Teams sent out to investigate these breaches have been deliberately obstructed.
Most of the trouble is being caused by the extremists in both camps, though the strict discipline exercised by the Communist Party makes this more difficult to detect on their side.
Within the Kuomintang there is a numerically small but extremely powerful group of reactionaries dominated by a military clique which seeks to maintain the Army's feudal hold over the nation.
MILITARY CLIQUE
High Army officers openly brag of their ability to mop up the Communists in a matter of months and are resentful of the outside pressure brought to bear on the Generalissimo to curb their activi. ties. Regional Commanders have been guilty of numerous provoca- tive acts calculated to sabotage a
rapprochement and they have had their effect.
Their colleagues, the civilian die-hards, who are genuinely frightened of Communism, as well as conscious there would be no place for them in a Coalition Government or opportunity to exercise power behind the scenes. are fighting a desperate rear- guard action. "The infiltration tactics of the Chinese Communists are no different from those em- ployed elsewhere. Anyone, who does not agree with them cannot exist." I was told by one of their leaders, who added as a parting! shot: "The British Labour Party has the same fear of Communism."
LIBERAL VICTORY
The unanimous vote by which the revised Constitution was passed by the National Assembly last month, however, represents a major victory for the more liberal section within the Kuomintang.
Forty-two Der cent. of the attending 1,485 delegates who came from nearly every part of the country including Mongolia, Sinkiang (Turkestan) and Tibet. were Kuomintang members. majority of Independents, made up another 48 per cent, were also nominated by the Nation- alists.
The who
The remaining 10 per cent. were composed of members of the Young China and Democratic Socialist Parties who at one time formed part of the Democratic League, a loose federation of originally five minor political groups. (The Democratic League, as such, supported the Communist Party decision to take no part in the Assembly.)
The significance of these minia- ture groupings is the disinterested status of most of their members, who are well-known intellectuals to whom the masses are accus- tomed to look for guidance.
The Assembly itself was most impressive, and the arrangements for delegates and Press (Chinese and foreign) were on ส scale usually associated with inter- national conferences.
The Westernised atmosphere, complete with microphones, loud- speakers and a voting procedure which was as fascinating to watch as a moving electric sign, was a novel experience for most of the delegates, close to one hundred of whom were women.
Although stigmatised by the Communists as "hand-picked," four out of five of the hundreds of delegates who rose to address the Assembly freely criticised the Government, and in committee several of their amendments were accepted.
NEW CONSTITUTION
Under the new Constitution there will be a democratically elected National Assembly every six years. Its powers at present are restricted to the election and recall of the President and Vice- President and the amendment of the Constitution.
Other elected bodies are the Legislative Yuan, the highest legislative organ, and the Control Yuan, a supervisory committee with power to institute motions of censure and impeachment.
The Executive, Examination and Judicial Yuans complete the five- branch administrative structure. The Cabinet is the nearest approach to the Executive Yuan and the various Ministries are responsible to it. The Examina- tion Yuan administers the Civil Service and the Judicial Yuan has. charge of the judiciary.
"The politicattle cannot be fought out on 4. ttlefiel at in
the most profour comment. the Generalissimo time on the cir- rent situation, which we dis- cussed frankly whilst taking tea with Madame Chiang, who acted as interpreter.
A better administration coupled with the introduction of universal suffrage and the ballot-box would indeed work wonders for China. It would be wise, however, not to expect too much too soon.
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