Evening star., 1950-05-18
WishfuI and Tragic Chang

Despite their recent vows to defend it to the
death against the Chinese Communists, there is
nothing really surprising about the fact that the
Nationalists, without firing shot, have with
drawn from Chusan. The withdrawal-which is
said to have involved the evacuation of about
10000 troops to Formosa and which has come
only few weeks after their abandonment of the
. much larger and more defenSible island of
Hainan-ftS into the pattern that has charac-
terized their operations ever since the beginning
of their political and military disintegration on
the mainland First the large claim or brave
promise, and then the retreat or defeat.
Actually, of course, the loss of Chusan has
been expected for some time. The little island
located at the mouth of the Yangtze-has been
important in the past as a base enabling the
Nationalists to throw rather effective blockade
around Shanghai. But within recent weeks, in
view of its closeness to the mainland and because
of the Communists growing strength in terms
of air power and invasion equipment, its present
fate has seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
Certainly, regardless of the VOWS to defend 1t,
its abandonment to the Chinese Reds became
fairly practicable as soon as the forces OF Gen.
eralissimo Chang Kai-shek, after having made
similar pledges, pulled out of Hanan of the
southeast coast of China.
Today, with Chusan thus added to the long,
tragic list of abandoned places, Formosa is prac-
ticay all that is left to the Nationalists out of
the vast area they once governed. It is large
island with about 100 miles of sea between it
and the Communist-controlled mainland, and
because Generalissimo Chang is in command
of very large forces there-forces that have at
least the look of being able to stage terrific
defensive battle-he may be right in predicting
that a Red INVASION if one is attempted this
spring or summer, will be crushed completely.
Yet, considering the disasters that have already
befallen him and his armies, it is difhcult-to
put it mildly-to share his optimism about win
ming back the tremendous country he has lost
Indeed, seldom has he sounded more
pathetically wishful than in marking Chusan's
loss with statement asserting that I'VE will
sweep the Communists from the mainland within
three years, and score complete success within
five years." Nothing could seem less likely at
this stage To make it reality would almost
certainly require either gigantic upheaval and
flaming revolution in China proper or full
scale Asiatic war involving all-out American
ntervention-extremely remote possibilities at
best. The Chang optimism, in Short if it were
not the optimism of man whistling in the teeth
of the wind, in moment of great personal
and national tragedy, would be a ludicrous mock
cry of the hard and obvious realities of the
hour.
Those realities, moreover, encompass not
merely what has happened to Generalissimo
Chang and his country. Potentially at least,
they threaten profoundly adverse developments
for the free world in the Far Eastern balance of
power, and they raise serious and pressing ques-
tions regarding diplomatic relations with Red
Peiping. AS. far as the United States is con-
cerned, the situation-whch can gravely weaken
our strategic position in the Paci1c-is particu-
larly significant, depressingly SO because there
seems to be little we can do right now to reverse
it. In that sense the Chinese tragedy is in part
our tragedy, too.