Chiang Kai-shek

“ A mighty conflagration is sweeping the world and, after the nature of fire, it will continue to burn up all in its path until, and unless, it is extinguished. To control this ghastly evil the only course is to strike down the flame while there is yet time. ”

“ We must not allow the latter enough time to consolidate their gains and strike with strategic advantage. It is now widely argued whether Japan would move southward or northward. Some people seem to assume that she is not in a position to strike either or both directions and will possibly devote her further efforts of aggression to attacking China alone. To my mind we must carefully guard ourselves against making any calculation based upon such arguments of assumption because the aggressors are both opportunists and aggressors and therefore are capable of sudden and unpredictable action. ”

“ We were and are confident that China is strong enough to master Japan. If the countries friendly to our cause will but assist us to the best of their ability in our military and economic necessities, the progress of our Army will be accelerated and the world will be sooner rid of one of the greatest dangers to its welfare. The Chinese people are supremely aware of the cruelties of warfare and they are second to none in their reluctance to see any nation under go the sufferings that war entails. ”

“ I would conclude by expressing a certain point of view in response to the assistance rendered China by her friends among the nations. The Chinese people will ever remember with gratitude our neighbor Soviet Russia, America of the Western Hemisphere, and England, contending herself with the greatest adversity of circumstances, have all contributed generously to our support and resistance thus encouraging and inspiring. The Chinese Government and People will certainly act up to the task given them for not to do so would be to fail the ideal animating their own struggle and sacrifices. ”

“ As things stand today the war in the Far East is no longer to be viewed as merely a conflict between two nations, for the European and Asiatic Wars have now become closely interrelated. Scarcely a single country remains unaffected because this predatory group of powers excludes no country from the scope of its design to dominate the world by force. ”

“ Secondly: the issue of the conflict will depend upon the efficiency with which the forces working against aggression can make themselves felt. Asia is the center of the globe's greatest masses of population and of its richest resources. If, therefore, the democracies of Asia, America and Europe can truly concentrate their energies in the pursuit of their common endeavor against the aggressors their co-operation can insure victory and the destruction of the powers devoted to the rule of force. ”

“ Japan, Germany, and Italy compose a block the sole policy and purpose of which is aggrandizement at the expense of the rest of the world. As a result all peoples, lovers of peace and freedom, have joined themselves up in an opposing front. We Chinese firmly hold that this front is potentially far stronger than the aggressors. ”

“ The Chinese Army and People will consider their sacrifices adequately rewarded if the cause of justice triumphs and humanity is spared at least from one peril, the terrible experiences we have stood here. ”

“ As such, to the expansion of her power southward she has established naval bases on Hainan Island and in Indo-China. Japan has thus been outstandingly instrumental in magnifying the scale of the war, in finessing the plan she was the first to make. She is to be regarded as more than the villainous originator of the Far Eastern War. She is responsible for the universal character of the strife we now see spreading over the earth. Until this final flame of the evil is backed up there can be no hope of permanent peace for mankind at large. ”

“ If they conceive it possible to distinguish between the Axis Powers and Japan, shrinking at the former and letting the latter have rein, the consequences are likely to be shocking. I am convinced that no democratic country can afford to view with unconcerned perspective the fierce flames of war in Asia until they find their own territory aglow. ”

“ In order to insure victory its strength must, however, be developed to the utmost by close co-operation with one another in the course of the life and death contest that has now begun. Your vision must not be marred by attention to trivial and merely immediate features of the situation. Indecision and vacillation must be eliminated. We must make up for lost time and wrest the initiative from the aggressors. ”

“ If they wishfully think the Japanese may experience a change of heart and suppose it safe to let them have their way for the time being, they will find their error as disastrous as the policy of appeasement pursued until recently by European countries toward Germany. ”