In Liu Zhilu et al.’s telegram, after enumerating eight charges against the Nationalist Government, they appended a lamentation and then continued: “In short, to launch an expedition to quell the rebellion, to punish the guilty and save the people—should our resolve to combat the Communists be shared, even erstwhile enemies may become our good friends. When one’s cause is just, victory is assured without need for prolonged engagement. He who has Heaven on his side will prosper; the contrast between benevolence and brutality is readily discernible.” The telegram lists various officials, including the chief and vice ministers of all departments under President Duan, Directors-General and Administrators such as Zhang, Xiao, Zhao, Fang, and Zhou, as well as provincial governors and such gentlemen as Cen, Wu, Kang, and Liang, all of whom are indeed united in their anti-Communist stance. Yet why, then, were not included in the list Governor Sir Cecil Clementi of Hong Kong and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin of London, who likewise share this same anti-Communist purpose? Moreover, Governor Clementi provided substantial funds and military supplies, and he also afforded protection to Commander-in-Chief Chen by allowing him to establish his headquarters in Hong Kong. His commitment to the anti-Communist cause is as bright as the sun and stars; yet his title was conspicuously omitted from the list. What, one wonders, could have been the intention behind such omissions? As for the concluding lines about “a just cause ensuring strength,” they are even more bewildering—they amount to nothing less than a eulogy praising the Nationalist Government.




○ Political Weekly, Issue 1    Guangzhou Political Weekly Press    December 5, 1925