劉正教授學術演講録第54講駁斥陳伯達的四大家族說的造謠和誹謗——評才華卓越而廉潔奉公的民國政治家宋子文博士

The topic we are going to talk about today is Dr. Song Ziwen, a politician of the Republic of China who is talented and dedicated to his work. Song Ziwen is a well-known politician, activist and educator in China's modern history. He is one of the leaders of the early democratic movement of the Republic of China. He has made significant contributions in many fields such as politics, education and culture. In 1917, Song Ziwen obtained a doctorate in economics from Columbia University in the United States. Then he came to the United States to work in a Chinese-owned bank to train his financial management skills and international financial connections. A few years later, in 1923, Song Qinglin encouraged Song Ziwen to return to China to serve the Republic of China. After returning to China, Song Ziwen became Sun Yat-sen's English secretary and began to lead the operation and management of the Chinese bank. In August 1924, he officially became the vice president of the Chinese Bank of the Republic of China. In 1925, he again became the Finance Minister and Finance Minister of the Guangdong Revolutionary Government. At this time, he was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen to raise funds for the construction of the Huangpu Military Academy and the army. This is a very important milestone. So how did he raise the money? Let's take an example. In 1924, the Guangzhou provincial government's annual income was 8 million yuan. Two years later, under the leadership of Song Ziwen, the number increased to 80 million yuan. This is a tenfold increase. The Guangzhou government, founded by Chiang Kai-shek's Beifa and Sun Yat-sen, strongly supported the rich economy. It can be seen that Song Ziwen's economic policy was effective. His entire international relationship played a full role. In 1928, he officially became the Finance Minister of the National Government of Nanjing. In November, he officially became the president of the Chinese Bank. So under his leadership, the earliest financial reform system in Chinese history, the establishment of a constitutional system and the strengthening of the education system, and a series of modernized policies and reforms, were all realized under the personal command of Dr. Song Ziwen. He made an important contribution to the modernization process of China. He is also the economic foundation for the maintenance and operation of the Republic of China. At the same time, he is also a famous writer and poet. Therefore, we can say that the government of the Republic of China, from 1911 to 1949, was able to maintain operations, establish military schools, and command large-scale anti-Japanese and military forces all over the country. He even paid a large sum of money to all the troops and officials, including Yan'an and Mao Zedong, every month, as well as their salaries and military supplies. All of this was due to the operation and operation of Song Ziwen's fortune. In May 1945, the Kuomintang convened the first session of the Sixth Congress. Song Ziwen, the reformer of the Kuomintang government, became the director of the Executive Yuan, and took charge of the administrative and economic power of the country. According to my investigation, there were two sets of staff members around Jiang Jieshi at that time. One set of staff members was the official business group at the core of Kong Xiangxi. The other set of staff members was the intellectual group at the core of Cai Yuanpei, Zhu Jiahua, and Wu Zhihui. These two groups were both in favor of Jiang Jieshi, but they were also in conflict with each other. So this is why the Wen Ren Group appeared later, and the reason why the Wen Ren Group concentrated firepower to attack Song Ziwen. Because Song Ziwen's identity was special. He was in charge of two groups. The business group at the core of Kong Xiangxi, and the intellectual group at the core of Cai Yuanpei, Zhu Jiahua, and Wu Zhihui. Both groups recognized him as a representative. This was not only because he was a professor of economics at Harvard University, and a doctor of economics at Columbia University. More importantly, Song Ziwen, for so many years, he contributed a lot to the establishment of the Republic of China and the government, and the establishment of the military academy, and the operation of the Republic of China economy. So at that time, he became a person recognized by both sides. It should be said that he was an absolute elite in the British and American economic system. This is his most important symbol. Unfortunately, for many years, Song Ziwen's attacks on him were more than just affirmation. It was more of a slander. On June 4, 1933, Song Ziwen announced to the Nanjing government that the U.S. financial after-sales company agreed to provide China with a $50 million loan. The form of payment was to use four-fifths of the loan value of cotton, and the rest of it as a small loan. China's national tax guarantee was to pay it off within five years. This is a well-known cotton loan. It really solved the survival crisis of the entire Chinese nation during the Korean War. However, when Song Ziwen returned to Nanjing, he found that the $50 million loan he had worked so hard to get was actually used by Chiang Kai-shek for military expenses in Jiangxi. So Song Ziwen got angry and had a fight with Chiang Kai-shek, and he resigned from the position of Deputy Director of the Executive Yuan and Minister of Finance of the Republic of China. As a result, Chiang Kai-shek was beheaded, fired, and his military expenses were withdrawn. The reason was Song Ziwen's opposition. So on this point, the CCP never dared to admit this fact. It was at the most critical moment that Mr. Song Ziwen saved them. From 1940 to 1942, Song Ziwen came to China and the United States. On behalf of the Kuomintang, he received a $600 million loan from the United States. He supported the government of the Republic of China and the whole of China who were at a critical juncture at that time. He maintained the KMT and even maintained the survival of Yan'an. So this is Song Ziwen's contribution. After 1945, Chiang Kai-shek again invited Song Ziwen to serve as the Director of the Executive Yuan and Minister of Finance. At the same time, he appointed him as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. It can be said that Song Ziwen was a big dog. So at that time, Mr. Song Ziwen went back to Chongqing, Washington, and London to speak for the Chinese government. In particular, he participated in the founding of the United Nations and participated in the draft United Nations Declaration. He abolished all foreign law in China. In 1945, the United Nations held a meeting in San Francisco. In June, Song Ziwen officially attended the meeting as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the General Agent of the Republic of China, on behalf of the Chinese government. In 1946, he was appointed as the chairman of the KMT's Economic Committee. At that time, the KMT set up the Economic Committee. It is very similar to what Qingfengdi did today. The State Council set up an economic leadership team. Who did he learn from? He learned from Song Ziwen and the KMT. He was not the first founder of Qingfengdi. He didn't have the ability to do this. In October, Song Ziwen was appointed as the director of the KMT again. Because Song Ziwen did not understand the shallow rules of the Chinese officialdom, his interpersonal relations were very tense. Even with his relative, Kong Xiangxi, they did not get along well. But for a long time, a lot of people, as we just said, Jiang Jieshi's people were very dissatisfied with Song Ziwen. They began to slander him, saying that he embezzled public funds and paid taxes, etc. It was a political suppression. So Song Ziwen resigned many times in a fit of anger. He not only refused to return to Hong Kong for bribery, but also Song Ziwen was very honest with others. He resigned from any slander. He was very westernized and polite. In March 1946, the KMT announced the opening of the gold market. This is the policy implemented by Song Ziwen. He came up with a gold cash regulation to alleviate the economic crisis at the time, and raise the anti-war funds. One of the most important rules is that anyone with more than 2 taels of gold must donate gold. And when you exchange it, you have to pay a tax of 40%. This is tantamount to depriving the rich of their assets, making the rich's gold depreciate by 40%. But the country increased by 40%. This was a special policy at the time. It was entirely for the rejuvenation of the economy of the Republic of China. Song Ziwen's policy of taking away the wealth of the rich. But this policy angered Jiang Jieshi, including the Kuomintang, which you just mentioned. So on February 13, 1947, this policy was terminated by Jiang Jieshi. Then, in August 1945, after the defeat of Japan, Song Ziwen set up the Executive Yuan first, to recover the National Association for the Adoption of Women. He first issued an order to confiscate all the property of traitors to the Executive Yuan, instead of to the provinces, cities, ministries, and districts of the Kuomintang government. This caused the entire Kuomintang camp to rebel. Everyone thought that Song Ziwen was taking away the wealth on behalf of the country. We see today that this policy is very correct. But at that time, he was severely punished. So Jiang Jieshi's soldiers from various provinces and cities were all against Song Ziwen. So there was a fight for Song Ziwen in the news of the national newspaper. At this time, Chen Baoda and others felt that this was the best opportunity to eliminate the Kuomintang. So the so-called Stajanova, Chen Baoda, and others, began to write various articles, cooperating with the left and right parties in the Kuomintang, to question Song Ziwen at the same time. Because of his economic policy and his policy of taking away women's gold, as well as his policy of depriving the National Association for the Adoption of Women from all provinces and cities of the country, he was greatly impacted by local protectionism. In the end, Song Ziwen resigned in anger. So we see that Song Ziwen is very responsible and responsible. He is clearly doing his best for the country, but he was cornered by local tycoons and local forces, including the CCP, the Kuomintang's leftists, rightists and literati, such as Hu Shi and the famous Taiyuan Pei, Wu Zhihui, and Fu Sinian. Song Ziwen jumped out in anger in the newspapers and the media. So is the so-called Song Ziwen unbeatable? He died on April 26, 1971. The U.S. government registered Song Ziwen's entire property as a villa, which was less than 1 million yuan at the time, and the deposit was less than 1 million yuan. All the property, including the cultural relics, was added up to 272.9 million yuan. In New York, he didn't even get into the middle class. What's more, the four families are rich and powerful. This is nothing more than a political slander. And I want to make it clear, because I wrote a book last year about the history of the Republic of China, and there are several articles about Song Ziwen. I took a close look at the Kuomintang files. All of them, including Hu Shi, Fu Sinian and others, accused Song Ziwen of corruption in the Song family, as well as the CCP, the four families, said Chen Boda accused Song Ziwen of corruption. There is no evidence. This is the only conclusion I can make. There is no evidence to accuse Song Ziwen of corruption. After Song Ziwen left the Republic of China and emigrated to the United States, all of his property, including bank deposits, was cleared up. This is all from his salary and part of the stock investment. Song Ziwen was very tight-lipped about all the public funds. He didn't say a word. So we can say that Song Ziwen is an ordinary person. Because in the study of the Republic of China, so far, as long as it involves Song Ziwen, it still maintains Chen Boda's face. Some people are keen to promote the Kuomintang, historians, Fu Sinian, etc. In fact, Fu Sinian accused Song Ziwen of being domineering. That's all. But in the end, all the financial accusations came to light. From the 1940s to the 1960s, until 1971, Song Ziwen's facts came to light. At the National Government Conference, all the investigations and evidence, as well as the Ministry of Finance, were all leaked. Especially the bank accounts of the Song Ziwen family were leaked. There is no evidence to support Song Ziwen's accusation of corruption. Thank you for watching.