Word: chiangs
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...Self-Defense." Having stated his terms, and offered, for the record, to step down in the wildly improbable event that they were accepted, Chiang returned to a more familiar line: "I firmly believe," he insisted, "that the government will win out in the end . . . The people of the nation should realize that only by carrying on this war of self-defense can a real peace be secured...
...Gimo had all but yielded to repeated pleas for his resignation and a peace bid to the Communists. How could Chiang Kai-shek hold out when his Northwest commander, Chang Chih-chung, had counseled another effort to negotiate? When the commander of the armies defending Nanking, sturdy Pai Chung-hsi, had wired him to step aside? Even his sworn brother, ex-Premier Chang Chun, had urged him to "retire into the clouds" and let others less disagreeable to the enemy make overtures for peace. Vice President Li Tsung-jen was ready to propose a cease-fire and immediate peace talks...
...China, to be called a criminal! How can we talk with such people?" Vice President Li's name was also on the Red blacklist, but Li took a less personal view of China's crisis; he was still willing to negotiate. Other Kuomintang leaders stood with Chiang. The newspaper Ta Rang Pao railed against "peace politicians who let themselves be mouthpieces for Stalin" and "peace rumors that sugar-coat a poison designed to crush the Chinese government...
...generals flew in from the hinterland to join in. On New Year's Eve, some 30 leaders gathered for an arm-waving, tear-shedding showdown in the Gimo's red brick residence. The fight-to-the-finish faction tried hard to delete words implying resignation from Chiang's New Year's message. They won out on two points: conditions for peace which the Communists could scarcely be expected to accept, and a delay in the Gimo's abdication...
...negotiated peace is not detrimental to the national independence and sovereignty," Chiang's message read, "if the constitution is not violated . . . the entity of the armed forces is safeguarded and the people's free mode of living . . . is protected, then I shall be satisfied . . . As long as peace can be realized, I am not concerned whether I step out or stay...