After the July 7th Incident in 1937, Tan Kah Kee led the Nanyang Overseas Chinese Organization "Nanyang Overseas Chinese Relief for Homeland Refugees Association" to raise huge sums of money to support the motherland's war of resistance. In 1938 and 19392 alone, the amount reached 144,456,000 yuan. Adding the donations in 1937 and 19402, the total amount reached approximately 200 to 300 million yuan. In addition, Tan Kah Kee also presided over the work of soliciting the purchase of "national salvation bonds" in Nanyang. In 1938, he raised 15 million yuan in public bonds in Malaya alone; he also raised more than 5 million yuan in donations from overseas Chinese in Malaya for the Chongqing "Needle Child Care Association" and "Cold Clothes Fundraising Association" for which Song Meiling was the chairman.
At that time, half of China had fallen under the iron heel of the enemy, and financial resources were greatly reduced. Donations from overseas Chinese and remittances from overseas Chinese to support their families played a great role in the financial economy of the motherland. According to the 1940 Kuomintang Military and Political Minister He Yingqin reported at the National Political Participation Conference: the military expenditure in 1939 was 1.8 billion yuan. In the same year, the amount of money remitted by overseas Chinese back to the motherland reached 1.1 billion yuan, of which donations accounted for about 10%, while donations from overseas Chinese in Nanyang accounted for more than 70% of the total donations from overseas Chinese. In order to fight the war and save the country, Tan Kah Kee has always worked very hard to lead overseas Chinese in raising relief.
In late March 1940, Tan Kah Kee returned to China as chairman of the Southern Overseas Chinese Association for inspection and condolences. The Chiang Kai-shek government regarded Tan Kah Kee as a god of wealth because of Tan Kah Kee's great appeal to the overseas Chinese community, especially because Tan Kah Kee had led the overseas Chinese to make great achievements in raising relief. Therefore, welcoming Tan Kah Kee was regarded as a major event and mobilized relevant party, government and military officials to welcome and receive Tan Kah Kee.
Tan Kah Kee’s return to China for a condolence inspection was also welcomed and valued by the Communist Party of China and other patriots from all walks of life.
Under the personal planning of Chiang Kai-shek , the main methods used by the Kuomintang authorities to treat Tan Kah Kee were initially "praising" and "pulling", that is, they went to great lengths to praise him and tried every means to pull him. In order to favor Tan Kah Kee, the Chiang Kai-shek government prepared 80,000 yuan in Chongqing to hold a series of large and small banquets to win Tan Kah Kee's favor. Unexpectedly, Tan Kah Kee was extremely disgusted with such extravagant entertainment. He believed that when the soldiers and civilians were fighting hard, they should not be so extravagant and wasteful. He was worried that it would cause a chain reaction of squandering in various places. Therefore, he specially published an announcement in various newspapers in Chongqing: "I heard that the government is preparing to entertain the consolation group at a huge expense. I am deeply grateful. However, all the expenses for the consolation group have been fully paid, and I do not want to waste the government or people's hospitality. Expenses... During this difficult and difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War, we should especially try our best to save unnecessary entertainment, so as not to prolong our days and hinder our work. I hope the government and society will forgive me!"
Kuomintang member Hou Xifan in the condolences group said that he was in Chongqing for more than 60 days, and he was not invited to a banquet every day, often twice a day. Tan Kah Kee had a very bad impression of the style of the Kuomintang bureaucracy.
Chiang Kai-shek and others believed that if they could draw Tan Kah Kee into the Kuomintang, they would not only be able to make use of this great god of wealth to "make money in the right way"; they could also use his prestige to win over more overseas Chinese for the Kuomintang. Therefore, not long after Tan Kah Kee arrived in Chongqing, Zhu Jiahua, head of the Central Organization Department of the Kuomintang, announced at a banquet: "We welcome Mr. Tan Kah Kee to co-lead the Kuomintang!" Tan Kah Kee was silent, and the banquet was silent for a while, which made Zhu Jiahua very embarrassed. The old and cunning Dai Jitao saw a look of displeasure on Tan Kah Kee's face and quickly got up to smooth things over and said: "Mr. Chen is dedicated to serving the country and society. It is the same whether he joins the party or not." This eased the tense atmosphere at the banquet. They thought that by giving Mr. Chen a high hat on the spot, it would be easy to draw him into the party, but little did they know that Tan Kah Kee would not fall into their trap.
When Chiang Kai-shek entertained Chen Kah Kee for the first time, he pretended to be open-minded and asked Chen what he thought of Chongqing. Tan Kah Kee said that he is a layman on politics and has not visited the Chongqing factory yet, so he cannot make any important comments. He only thinks that the rickshaws and cars in Chongqing are very dirty, which not only affects the viewing experience, but is also unhygienic.When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, he recorded his opinions in the manual as if it was a serious matter and ordered the city's vehicles to pay attention to cleanliness. This was just done to show Chen to please him.
Chiang Kai-shek also heard that Tan Kah Kee was usually frugal, so he specially served Tan Kah Kee and the consolation group with only four or five dishes and some bread in Jialing New Village to flaunt his so-called New Life Movement. However, the debauchery and lavish spending of Chongqing's dignitaries could not be hidden from Tan Kah Kee's eyes. In Chongqing, what dissatisfied Tan Kah Kee the most was the corruption and personal gains of important officials in the Chiang Kai-shek government. He was extremely surprised by the magnificent private residence of a senior official in Jialing New Village; when he heard that the magnificent and novel Jialing Hotel was privately opened by Kong Xiangxi, he did not believe it at first. Later, Kong Xiangxi personally admitted that it was indeed opened by him, which made Tan Kah Kee astonished. He thought that Kong Xiangxi, who had been the Minister of Finance and the President of the Executive Council for a long time, actually went public with private enterprises to plunder and people's fat . This showed that the corruption of high-ranking officials of the Kuomintang was indeed true.
Once the Chongqing Economic Society invited Tan Kah Kee to give a speech in the auditorium of Chongqing University on the issue of overseas Chinese returning to China to invest. Chen Lao pointed out that for overseas Chinese to return to the country to invest, the Kuomintang government must first have credibility. Chairman of the conference Ma Yinchu made the final speech, praising Tan Kah Kee's words for being relevant to the current situation, and said: "Now the country is unfortunately invaded by a powerful enemy and is in great danger. However, the people who keep the foreign exchange have no regard for the overall situation, stealing foreign exchange, and are greedy. The profit reached 60 to 70 million yuan, which will be left to his children and grandchildren to buy coffins!" Ma Yinchu was so impassioned that he almost burst into tears, which deeply moved Tan Kah Kee. He said: "He is loyal, courageous and straightforward, not afraid of authority, and is deeply respected by thousands of people here." Zhou Jigui from Chuankang Civilian Commercial Bank , who was sitting next to Mr. Chen, quietly said to Mr. Chen: "No one but Ma Yinchu would dare to say such things." Tan Kah Kee therefore admired Ma Yinchu very much, and at the same time he was deeply impressed by the corruption of the Chiang Kai-shek government.
Although Tan Kah Kee was very disappointed with many phenomena in Chongqing, he could not see where there was light in China at the time, so he still placed his hope on Chiang Kai-shek to reform the bad government and achieve the final victory of the Anti-Japanese War. He attended many conferences in Chongqing, such as the welcome meeting of the National Political Participation Association, the joint welcome meeting of Chongqing military, government and civilian sectors, the banquet of various government agencies to welcome the consolation group, etc. He also talked with many important figures, including Chairman of the National Government Lin Sen, Executive Yuan Kong Xiangxi, Legislative Yuan Sun Ke, and Supervisory Director Yu Youren, judicial president Ju Zheng, examination dean Dai Jitao, as well as Song Ziwen, He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng, Feng Yuxiang, Shao Lizi, Weng Wenhao, Wang Shijie, etc. His speeches during this period were mainly to report on the overseas Chinese's support for the Anti-Japanese War, and to inquire about military and economic issues in my country's Anti-Japanese War. He was especially concerned about whether the Kuomintang and the Communist Party could cooperate in the Anti-Japanese War to the end. He did not openly criticize the corruption of the Chiang Kai-shek government, but kept it secret in his heart. Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, and Ye Jianying, the leaders of the Communist Party of China in Chongqing at that time, made a special trip to visit Mr. Chen and presented him with three sheepskin coats produced in northern Shaanxi. Tan Kah Kee also expressed concern about the issue of and the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in . Dong Biwu and three other people invited him to attend the welcome tea party of the CCP Office in Chongqing. His speech at the tea party was mainly about the support of overseas Chinese in Nanyang for the Anti-Japanese War. He hoped that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would take national salvation as the premise, try their best to avoid civil war , and cooperate in the war to the end, so as to avoid overseas Chinese being heartbroken and disappointed. Mr. Chen asked during the tea party if he went to Yan'an to visit Chairman Mao, where should he go, how many days would it take, and how would the traffic be? Ye Jianying replied that if he arrived in Xi'an, he could go to the 18th Group Army office. He informed that a vehicle would be prepared to take Chen Kah Kee to Yan'an. Soon, Chairman Mao sent a telegram from Yan'an, formally inviting Mr. Chen to Yan'an.
The news that Tan Kah Kee was going to visit Yan'an shocked Chiang Kai-shek greatly. Therefore, the Kuomintang people treated Tan Kah Kee, in addition to "praising" and "pulling" tactics, they also added "prevention", that is, doing everything possible to prevent him from getting close to the CCP, and even more to prevent him from leaning towards the CCP.
When Tan Kah Kee arrived in Chengdu from Chongqing, Chiang Kai-shek also went to Chengdu because he was also the chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Government. He immediately sent out an invitation to invite Tan Kah Kee to attend a grand banquet. At the end of the banquet, Tan Kah Kee was invited to have lunch with him the next day, and a formal invitation was sent the next morning. During this lunch, Chiang Kai-shek also asked Soong Meiling to accompany him. After dinner, Tan Kah Kee left, and Chiang left Chen Lao to talk. At first, Jiang asked: "Where does Mr. Chen want to go from Chengdu?" Chen replied: "To Lanzhou and Xi'an." Jiang asked again: "Where else should we go?" Mr. Chen knew what Jiang meant, so he answered honestly: "If there is a car that can go to Yan'an, I would also like to go." So Chiang Kai-shek cursed the Communist Party and said many bad things about the CCP, which meant that Chen Kah Kee should not go to Yan'an. But Mr. Chen replied: "My duty is to return to China on behalf of the overseas Chinese for inspection. I have to go to any important place where there is no traffic obstruction to fulfill my responsibility. When I return overseas, I can report the truth to the overseas Chinese." When Chiang Kai-shek saw that Tan Kah Kee insisted on going to Yan'an, there was no reason to stop him. , and it was not easy to arouse the resentment of this "God of Wealth", so he had to say: "You can go, but you must not be deceived by the Communist Party." He thought that Tan Kah Kee was a capitalist and would not easily sympathize with the Communist Party. If Chen Kah Kee did not believe in the Communist Party and could be used by the Kuomintang, it would be a good tool to fight against the Communist Party.
When Tan Kah Kee was going to Yan'an from Xi'an, before leaving, a life-saving section chief of the Kuomintang's Western Provincial Government hurried over and said that the provincial government had sent him to take Tan Kah Kee to Yan'an and asked Mr. Chen to ride with him. He is responsible for monitoring Tan Kah Kee's actions. When passing through Luochuan, some so-called "people" handed Chen Lao's car many "complaints" slandering the Communist Party, and the contents were similar. This kind of fake "public opinion" cannot deceive Tan Kah Kee. He showed the "indictment" to Chief Shou, then tore it into pieces and threw it on the roadside. The day after Tan Kah Kee arrived in Yan'an, Director Chiang of the 18th Group Army went to see Mr. Chen and said that his car had only arrived in Yan'an the night before and handed Mr. Chen a "letter of indictment." It turned out that this "indictment" scolding the CCP was mistakenly thrown into his car. Because the "indictment" stated that it was to be handed over to Mr. Chen, he brought the photo to hand over. Tan Kah Kee left a good impression on the Communists' aboveboardness.
Tan Kah Kee spent eight days in Yan'an. During this period, Chairman Mao went to his apartment to talk several times and had lunch or dinner with him. Commander-in-Chief Zhu also accompanied him to visit some places. Mr. Chen also attended the welcome meeting from all walks of life in Yan'an, was invited to attend a lecture, and talked with the returned overseas Chinese and alumni of Xiamen University and Jimei schools who were in Yan'an at that time. Tan Kah Kee found that the reception given to him by the CCP leaders was very different from that of the Kuomintang authorities. In the same welcome, the CCP leaders were simple and sincere, while the Kuomintang authorities were extravagant and hypocritical. His best impression of Yan'an has the following aspects:
First, there are no excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, unlike the Kuomintang-controlled areas where taxes and taxes are too high.
Second, leaders are clean and honest, and their salaries are very different from those of ordinary cadres and soldiers. This is in sharp contrast to the corruption of high-ranking officials in the Kuomintang.
Third, there are no beggars, no prostitutes, and no unemployed people. The people live a decent life, unlike the people in the Kuomintang-ruled areas who live in poverty.
Fourth, leaders and the masses live on an equal footing, unlike the hierarchical areas governed by the Kuomintang. Fifth, public security is good.
Sixth, the relationship between men and women is serious.
Seventh, simplicity is the norm.
In addition, he also advocates land reclamation, encourages people to produce, and implements popular election of county chiefs in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, etc.
As a result of Tan Kah Kee's visit to Yan'an, he found that there was a bright light in the dark China at that time. Therefore, the pessimistic and disappointed mood he had when he visited Chongqing and other places completely disappeared. He saw that China had a savior, and this was the Communist Party of China. Regarding this point, he wrote in "Memoirs of Overseas Chinese in Nanyang": "I have lived in Nanyang for a long time. Although I have heard about domestic politics many times, I don't know what the facts are.At that time, the power of the CCP was still weak, and it was subject to one-sided propaganda, so it was even more difficult to distinguish between right and wrong... When he returned to China to offer condolences... and went to Yan'an for an inspection... he was seen to be hard-working, honest, loyal and courageous in his service to the public, with the premise of benefiting the people and the country, and implemented democratization , promoted it in the villages in the recovered areas, worked hard with the people, shared the same hatred of the enemy, and laid the foundation for a successful restoration. After watching and expressing my feelings, I am extremely excited from the bottom of my heart, and dreaming of it to celebrate our great Chinese nation. "After Tan Kah Kee visited Yan'an, although he was happy and excited in his heart, he did not show this mood easily in Yan'an and when he returned to Chongqing from Yan'an. At that time, he still hoped that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would cooperate and fight to the end.
The night Tan Kah Kee returned to Xi'an, Jiang Dingwen and Chen Lifu went to the guest house to see him. Chen Lifu cursed the Communist Party when he opened his mouth, and Jiang Dingwen was there to support him. When l1 Huayin , Jiang Dingwen arranged for a special agent to hold a banquet to see Mr. Chen off in the name of the so-called "railway director". The "Director" first scolded the CCP for being "collaborating with the enemy", using trains to transport "enemy goods", and also slandered the CCP for corruption. Then the people at the table took turns cursing the CCP. Tan Kah Kee completely saw through that their treat was "a drunkard's intention is not to drink", and was mainly an attempt to pour ecstasy on him, so he told them straightforwardly: "I am returning to China on behalf of the overseas Chinese for a condolence inspection. Of course, I have my own eyes and ears. I will never be deceived by others and fail the trust of the overseas Chinese. "
Although Tan Kah Kee admired the CCP in his heart, he never said a word to praise the CCP in Yan'an. He was not willing to easily talk about his impressions in Yan'an along the way. This is true not only for Section Chief Shou, who is monitoring him, but also for his friend Hou Xifan. He doesn't bother to argue with people who curse the CCP at him along the way, because he knows that this is tantamount to talking to a cow and will scare the snake.
At that time, there was a National Diplomacy Association in Chongqing. The chairman was Chen Mingshu, Hou Xifan was also a standing committee member of this association. Through Hou Xifan, the association invited Tan Kah Kee to give a lecture titled "Perceptions of the Northwest." Mr. Chen readily accepted the invitation. He believed that it was time to make public the many important words he had hidden in his heart.
's lecture this time will be attended by hundreds of people. The auditorium is packed with people from all walks of life, including journalists. Tan Kah Kee cited many vivid facts he saw in Yan'an, proving that Yan'an has a new atmosphere in every aspect. At that time, most of the eleven newspapers in Chongqing were controlled by the Kuomintang, so five did not publish Mr. Chen's speech at all, five only published a little content, and only the CCP's official newspaper " Xinhua Daily " published all of it. At that time, Mr. Chen’s speech was The sensation in Chongqing was like the explosion of a heavy artillery shell to the Kuomintang people. After hearing Mr. Chen's speech, many people with a sense of justice felt as if they had suddenly breathed in a breath of fresh air in the turbid air. They rushed to tell each other, and the news spread throughout the mountainous city of Chongqing. The Kuomintang people expressed dissatisfaction with Hou Xifan one after another. Hou had no choice but to report to Tan Kah Kee, saying that Chen’s speech as an overseas Chinese leader would add fuel to the fire of the Communist Party." Mr. Chen said: "What I said are facts and what you have seen with your own eyes. If you say that I speak for the Communist Party, then your party should also practice good politics and compete with the Communist Party. In this way, the war of resistance will be won and the founding of the country will be successful." He also said: "I speak based on my conscience and personality. I must not ignore my conscience and mistake a deer for a horse.
Tan Kah Kee was elected by the Communist Party of China at the end of July 1940. Chongqing took a flight to Kunming, and then to his hometown of Fujian via Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. When he left Chongqing, Zhu Jiahua went to see him off on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek and said that Chiang Kai-shek would send Wang Quansheng to accompany Mr. Chen to inspect the southwestern provinces. Tan Kah Kee realized Chiang Kai-shek's intentions and wrote an airmail letter to Chiang Kai-shek in Kunming. The letter bluntly pointed out that Chiang sent Wang Quansheng to accompany him on inspections, simply to monitor him and fear that he would say good things about the CCP along the way.He also warned Chiang Kai-shek: "If you want to eliminate the Communist Party, this will be a civil war between the two parties. Millions of overseas Chinese in Nanyang will not sympathize... If unfortunately a civil war occurs, the overseas Chinese will be greatly disappointed, their patriotic enthusiasm will be greatly reduced, and their foreign exchange money will also be reduced." Because Tan Kah Kee exposed the conspiracy of sending Wang Quansheng to accompany him, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to order Wang Quansheng to abort his departure.
The Kuomintang authorities were not only afraid that Tan Kah Kee would express his opinions in the southwestern provinces, but were also worried that he would return to Nanyang to report the good politics of the CCP and the truth about the corruption of the Kuomintang. Therefore, in addition to praising, attracting, guarding, and deceiving, the KMT authorities used another method to treat Tan Kah Kee. Words: hit!
Tan Kah Kee returned to Nanyang and truthfully reported to the overseas Chinese what he had seen, heard, and felt during his domestic inspections. This enabled the overseas Chinese to understand the darkness of the Kuomintang-controlled areas and see the light of the liberated areas, which pushed the overseas Chinese's patriotic movement a big step forward.
Chiang Kai-shek's special envoy Wu Tiecheng and Gao Lingbai, the Kuomintang government's consul general in Singapore, instigated overseas Chinese in Nanyang to oppose Tan Kah Kee in an attempt to undermine the unity of the overseas Chinese. They were counterattacked by Tan Kah Kee and the majority of patriotic overseas Chinese, forming a sharp struggle.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, Tan Kah Kee completely broke with Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang government! He said that he did not want to deal with Chiang Kai-shek in Sichuan again.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-