The China of Chiang K'ai-Shek: A Political StudyLinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
The China of Chiang K'ai-Shek: A Political Study
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Chiang, Kai-shek, 1887-1975; China -- Politics and government -- 1912-1949
To give to the world in a clear and unambiguous way the
principles our party stands for and the platform we wish to
adopt should we have the chance to serve our country, I have
written a book, entitled _What A State Is Built On_. In
formulating my political philosophy, though I have drawn
freely upon the wisdom of the West, I have kept my eye
steadily on the needs of my people and the circumstances of
my country as the guiding and controlling principles in
shaping my own thought. In view of the possibility of
distortions you have suggested in your letter, an extract is
now being prepared in English, with the idea to facilitate
the understanding of our movement and to present to the
intellectual world of the West our principles and policies
...
The accidental similarity of names between our party and
Hitler's is indeed an endless source of misunderstanding,
but the similarity is truly "accidental." In Chinese the
name of our party runs "Kuo Chia She Hui Tang," which may be
literally translated into "Nation (Kuo Chia) Society (She
Hui) Party (Tang)," a name we adopted long before Hitler's
party became known, embodying principles widely different
from what Hitler's party stands for. The suspicion abroad of
our connection with Hitler's National Socialist Party may be
traced to an incident two years ago at Hankow when
Kuomintang first came to recognize the legal status of minor
political parties. The foreign correspondents, in reporting
my exchange of letters with Generalissimo Chiang with regard
to the recognition of our party, referred without a second
thought to our party as "Nazi," thus creating all
distortions which might have occurred even without such
mischief. I shall be more than grateful to you if you would
undertake to clear the suspicion on us and pave the way for
lasting understanding between us and your people.[16]
[Footnote 16: Letter to the author, dated October 24, 1940.]
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS AND _La Jeunesse_
These two minuscule parties are both expatriate groups organized in
Paris. The Social Democratic Party was organized in 1925. It has no
connection with the Socialist Party of the pro-Japanese Kiang Kang-hu,
but is simply the Chinese affiliate of the Second International. The
Social Democratic Party may unite with the Third Party, in view of the
close similarity of aims and ideology; its leader, Mr. Yang Kan-tao, has
been recognized by being seated in the People's Political Council.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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