@rber of tbe frounberg snb lFstrfots of 9merrca TBU[Lettn Published by the General Court of the Order GARDNER OSBORN, Secretary General Federal Hall Memorial, 15 Pine Street, New York 5, N. Y. JOHN D. BLAUVELT, Editor 2120 Clove Road. Staten Island 5. N. Y. Vol. XXXVII-No. I February, 1964 Whole No. 101 General Albert C. Wedemeyer, United States Army (Ret.) General Society-News Your editor has been fortunate in having been given permission to reprint in full an address given by General Albert C. Wedemeyer, United States Army (Ret.), to the members of the New York Chapter of Fu-Jen University (Taiwan) Foundation, at the Hilton Hotel, Feb- ruary 1, 1964, on the occasion of the celebration of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon). A reprint of a letter to your editor from the General precedes the republication of the address: A. C. \/1r'EDEMEYER GENERAL, UNITED STATES ARMY, RETIRED FRIENDS ADVICE BOYDS. MARYLAND February 5, 1964 Dear Mr. Blauvelt: Herewith glossy print and a copy of the talk made to the members of the New York chapter of Fu-Jen University at the Hilton Hotel last Saturday night. I am complimented that you should want to distribute the ideas embodied in that talk so widely. I do believe that the American people should be provoked into thinking about these matters and discussing them with fellow Americans. I still maintain that this is a free society, and in the final analysis we will have the kind of government and the type of decisions by that government as determined by the electorate. All good wishes. Faithfully, A. C. WEDEMEYER General, U. S. Army (Ret.) -2- MR. CHAIRMAN, YOUR EXCELLENCY, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, MY CHINESE FRIENDS AND FELLOW COUN- TRYMEN: I am truly grateful for the opportunity of participating in this Second Annual Dinner of the New York Chapter of Fu-Jen Uni- versity. Actually we all are joined by invisible bonds tonight with millions of Chinese throughout the world who are celebrating the traditional festivities of the Chinese New Year. Last year was the "Year of the Rabbit" in the Chinese Calendar. This new year ushers in the "Year of the Dragon." This may sound ominous but don't be alarmed. According to my Chinese friends, this will be a lucky, fortunate and beneficient year for all. And it will be an exciting year for many young ladies. As you know, this is Leap Year. My admiration and respect for the Chinese people are abiding and sincere. During my four years in China, I had many rewarding and happy experiences as well as serious challenges which I shared with the Chinese in the common struggle against the Japanese. The heroic Chinese people had stoically sacrificed and suffered eight long years to defeat an implacable invader. You all know how enthusiastically we Americans helped in the war against Japan and then tragically permitted a more insidious force-Communism-to overrun main- land China. Today 650 million Chinese are under the heel of power- drunk Communist tyrants. Red China is totaliy in the grip of absolute power, not only claimed but ruthlessly exercised at every level of life' The United States, following VE-Day and VJ-Day, blindly con- tinued its policy-fateful of friendly cooperation toward the Soviet Union. Since that post-World War II period, the Free World has pursued successively a policy of appeasement, then containment, and more recently a policy of accomodation in coping with the interna- tional Communist conspiracy. Despite the fact that we now know that defensive or passive measuris will neither retard nor stop Communist aggressions, the leaders of the West still refuse to seize the initiative. Their concern today seems to be the preservation of freedom in that part of the world which is still free.-They do not seem interested in those people who have already lost their freedom' Policies appear to be impro- vised in panic. We meet crises at times and places of the enemy 9 choosing.- The Communists act; we react. They attack; we defend. They demand and we negotiate. They threaten and we accommodate. Are such policies and actions worthy of the champions of individual liberty or-of those of us who enjoy the noble heritage of American freedom? Those who advocate appeasement or accommodation of our enemies tell us that sterner measures would precipitate a nuclear war. Some say it would be "better to be Red than dead." If this -3- were true, why have so many thousands of people fled from behind the iron and bamboo curtains, risking their lives to escape from the Reds? As a former professional military man, I feel confident that the Communist leaders will carefully avoid bringing about a world- wide military conflict. They recognize as do we that there would be no victor in a nuclear war. I believe the Communists therefore will not risk an all-out, no-holds-barred war. But they will continue to rattle their missles and to incite guerrilla action as well as localized or limited wars. They unquestionably will continue cold war tactics and techniques, utilizing economic and psychological tools or weapons which they have already used so effectively. Economic forces have historically been vital instruments of gov- ernment policy. For example, in World War One the German Army did not suffer military defeat; it was the Allied economic blockade that compelled German capitulation. The people were starving; the wheels of industry had stopped. It was impossible to carry on. Today, instead of making timely and intelligent use of economic measures that would weaken or destroy our Communist enemies, what are the free nations, including the U. S., actually doing? They are competing with each other-eager to trade with avowed enemies. The United States and Canada sell them wheat. The British sell them busses. Japan, West Germany and other so-called free nations are also involved in such questionable trade. This situation is similar to that which took place immediately prior to Wor1d War II when many of our American business firms sold scrap iron to Japan. Some politicians and business men maintain that the items now being sold to Communists countries are non-strategic, that is, the items sold would supposedly not strengthen their military power. I cannot agree. When we sell wheat to the Soviets, we are indirectly strengthening their sinews of war and bolstering their shaky economy' Well-fed, healthy men and women are essential to the military forces as well as to agriculture and factories. f must emphasize that raw and processed materials, air, ground and sea transport, foodstuffs, clothing-all of these contribute to economic strength from which military power is drawn" The lesson is clear. Nations of the free world must carefully coordinate their trade policies and design them to weaken the economies and limit the war-making potential of Com- munist countries. By recognizing Red China, General de Gaulle dropped a bomb- shell that is still reverberating in the capitals of the world. I believe that most Americans admire General de Gaulle for his proven ability not only as a soldier but also as a statesman. He has done much to restore the dignity of the French people and to recover their self-respect. Furthermore, under his skillful direction France has stabilized her economy and has become an important factor in the economic growth and military security of Western -4- Europe. Understandably everyone was shocked and is wondering just why he extended diplomatic recognition to Red China. Certainly he has not taken seriously the propaganda dissemi- nated by Communist leaders and by liberals in his own country and in ours to the effect that a genuine cleavage is developing between Moscow and Peking. It iJ generally accepted that Red China's economy is dependent on Soviit Russia. If Moscow should decide to impose a total boycott, Peking's industry and transportation would soon come to a halt and the munitions supply would be cut to a trickle. Does de Gaulle expect some great economic or political gain for France or for the free world by extending the hand of friendship to the Red leaders, Mao Tse-Tung and Chou En-Lai? Surely he knows that the Communists only trade with Western nations when it suits their political purposes. Does he believe that his move will recover prestige and influence for France in the Far East? He should consulf Prime Minister Home who would tell him that Her Majesty's Government has been making futile diplomatic and com- meiciai overtures since 1949 when the Reds seized control of Main- land China. Mr. Home would also tell him that the Red Chinese have not even exchanged diplomatic amenities with Her Majesty's Government. With the Chinese Communists twisting the British lion's tail, I am sure that those distinguished statesmen, Disraeli and Pitt the younger of the British Empire era, are turning over in their graves. Perhaps General de Gaulle and his advisors have forgotten that this same Red regime in Peking to which they now offer the mantle of respectability took the lives of 35,000 young Americans in Korea about ten years ago. But certainly they remember who provided the bullets that slaughtered thousands of young Frenchmen a few years later in Indochina. fn considering diplomatic recognition of other countries Thomas Jefferson stated, "It accords with our principles to acknowledge iny Government to be rightful which is formed by the will of the nation substantially declared." For a century and a half our Ameri- can leaders followed Jefferson's advice fairly closely. There have been only two highly disastrous exceptions: In 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt extended recognition to the Soviet llnion, ignor- ing the acts of bloody violence, perfidy and international intrigue committed during the Red Revolution.