Map of China and Taiwan
Since that time the Nationalists (Republic of China - ROC) and the Communists
(People’s Republic of China - PRC) have faced off; threatening, cajoling and
occasionally opening fire on each other. The small islands of Matsu and Quemoy (Kinmen),
the sole territory under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, have played a part in
all the bluffing and psychological operations. In particular, starting about 1954 the two
sides sent leaflets to each other on alternate days by balloon and artillery. In this
article we will look at some of the leaflets prepared by the Nationalist Government and
sent into mainland China up until about 1979 when the United States and the People’s
Republic of China normalized relations.
During the Cold War the American government constantly worried about the morale of
the Nationalist Chinese and their willingness to carry on the fight against Communism.
They regularly studied both Taiwan and Mainland China and a number of reports were written
by the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly stating that it did not believe China would
attack Taiwan as long as the United States offered naval and air protection. Other studies
attempted to discern how the loss of the smaller islands would affect Taiwan. A 1955 CIA
report entitled Morale on Taiwan says in part:
The islands of Quemoy and Matsu are so important in the eyes of the Nationalists
that their loss during the current crisis would be a severe blow to the morale…The
effect would be considerably greater if the islands fell to Communist attack, especially
if U.S. forces were involved…We believe that they would continue resistance to
Communist pressure as long as they have confidence in the determination and ability of the
U.S. to defend Taiwan.
For those readers that do not recall the Cold War, I should point out that one of
the most secret operations was the 1959 training of six Nationalist Chinese pilots in
Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, to carry out clandestine U-2 spy flights to determine
Soviet nuclear capability. These flights were highly classified but the fact that Chinese
pilots were flying American spy planes shows how important the Chinese were to American
interests at the time.
Chiang Kai-shek |
Mao Zedong |
In a 2005 International Affairs article entitled “Old
wine in new bottles: China–Taiwan computer-based information warfare and
propaganda,” Gary D. Rawnsley adds:
Chinese shelling of these islands, and Taiwan’s own bombardment of the
mainland in response, was designed to have more symbolic than military value, and was
pivotal in the psychological and propaganda offensive across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing
decided to shell the islands only on odd-numbered days, and Taiwan’s military
launched its own shells against the mainland the rest of the week. A practice that
continued until 1979, this combat by timetable confirmed the political and symbolic,
rather than military, intention of cross-Strait warfare, especially as the shells
contained nothing more harmful than printed propaganda that dispersed upon impact.
The U.S. Army 7th PSYOP Group headquartered on Okinawa had a two-man
Taiwan Detachment located in Taipei responsible for maintaining liaison between the
7th PSYOP Group and the Republic of China. In 1968 they trained 25 Chinese PSYOP personnel
at their headquarters in Okinawa. The United States had little interest in supporting Taiwan
with military and psychological training until 1951 when the North Korean attack on South
Korea awakened America to the possibility of using Taiwan as an area to harass and spy on
the Chinese mainland.
7th PSYOP Group Crest
U.S. Army Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Underhill of the 7th PSYOP Group told me about a
class that he taught:
I presented a three week course of instruction to the Chinese on Taiwan (as
requested by the CIA) on leaflet development and dissemination (via balloon). I was
able to show the defect in their program that allowed the balloons to end up in such
places as Okinawa, India and Laos. (I was in Laos when one came down
there). The group I taught was a collection of people involved in leaflet operations.
It included printers, artists, weather forecasters, etc. They were a sharp
group. The launch site had a pipeline from an oil processing plant that piped
hydrogen to the sight. They then filled conventional tanks and arranged them in a
bank where they were able to open all valves and fill huge balloons without stopping.
When Dave Underhill returned home he was replaced by his understudy,
Captain Charles V. Nahlik. Charles was also tasked with teaching PSYOP classes and he
told me a story about his Chinese students:
I taught a large class of Taiwanese officers. They came with their own
translator/interpreter who had translated the 7th PSYOP Leaflet Book into Chinese. I
would demonstrate something and then he would explain it. If I would talk for one
minute, he would talk for three. He was a fantastic assistant and a great help in
the “hands on” process of plotting. The funny thing about this class
happened after they were finished, returned to Naha Air Base, Okinawa, and then started
the flight home. After each of the three days of class, they would go
to the Post Exchange to spend all the money the U.S. was paying them on this trip.
They did well with US paid per diem -- too good. They overloaded the plane to
such a point that upon takeoff back to Taiwan and it could not lift off the runway and
could not stop. It went through the fence and slid into the Ocean, but did not sink.
However, the baggage area did get flooded so don't know how much of their assorted
cameras and electronic items were damaged or destroyed.
We should not hold this against the Chinese officers. America was known throughout
Asia as “The land of the big PX” and it was quite typical for all foreign
officers and enlisted men on American bases to purchase everything they could get their
hands on. They seldom sunk a plane with their shopping though.
Some of the Nationalist Chinese leaflets attacked Mao; others depicted the happy life
of the Chinese on the island of Taiwan or pictured defectors from Communism living a rich
and secure life.
The 7th PSYOP Group was constituted 19 August 1965 in the regular Army and activated 20
October 1965 and assigned to the Ryukyu Islands. It was tasked with support activities in Okinawa,
Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand and Japan. The group consisted of the 14th PSYOP
Battalion, the 15th PSYOP Detachment, the Japan Detachment, the Korea detachment, the
Taiwan Detachment, and the Vietnam Detachment. They worked side-by-side with the Chinese
of Taiwan, but it is impossible to tell what input they had, if any, on the leaflets we
will depict in this article.
Republic of China Balloon Launch
The ROC propagandists have not been very talkative about their campaigns. About 1968,
the Psychological Warfare Department of the Defense Ministry did admit that the government
had sent 101,614,528 balloons to Mainland China since the start of their campaign. They
said that the load carried by the balloons varied from 35 grams to 4,763 grams. They had
two large balloons measuring 10 x 13-feet and 10 x 18-feet that can rise to 40,000 feet
and carry leaflets as far as Tibet and Sinkiang. The total of leaflets and booklets sent
to China was more than 213,000,000 pieces. The balloons also dropped food, toys,
household goods, daily commodities and national flags. They also sent
"passports" promising good treatment to those defectors who made it to Taiwan.
The Nationalists also used music to strengthen their propaganda. Taiwan balloons rained
down leaflets and Teresa Deng music cassettes. Teresa Deng was a Taiwanese singer known
for her gentle love songs. Allegedly, the mainland Chinese were known to say: “I like
the little Deng, not the big Deng,” meaning that the singer's popularity rivaled that
of Chinese leader Deng Xiao-ping, who briefly served as Premier Chou En-lai's deputy.
The Communists in return sent floats to Taiwan containing Mao’s “Little Red
Book” during the Cultural Revolution.
The 1958-1959 Republic of China Yearbook noted how the Ministry of National
Defense had strengthened its psychological warfare capabilities during the offshore
islands crisis:
Each month aircraft flew deep into the mainland to drop leaflets, proclamations,
charts, safe conduct passes and food. The air-droppings have borne fruit in influencing a
fair number of mainlanders to flee from behind the Bamboo Curtain.
Gary D. Rawnsley believes that the Americans were deeply involved in the balloon
campaign in The Clandestine Cold War in Asia, London,
Frank Cass, 2000:
1967, the CIA Far East Division encouraged the launch from Taiwan of balloons loaded
with propaganda leaflets, pamphlets and newspapers that would drift across the Strait to
the mainland. This has been described a “knick-knack bombardment,” with the
balloons carrying “pens, can openers, bright T-shirts, and other cheap items”
which would “pop and shower the mainland with the flotsam of capitalism.”
Irving R. Fang, in an article entitled “The Chinese-Chinese Psywar,” said in
1979 in that both sides send out their propaganda by radio, balloons, artillery shells,
sea floats and loudspeakers. Small gifts were sent too; he mentioned underwear, toys and
cooking oil.
The Falling Leaf, the Journal of the Psywar Society, “the international
association of psychological warfare historians and collectors of aerial propaganda
leaflets,” mentions the Chinese propaganda campaign in several issues. In their
summer 1975 edition, we find in part:
In the 1970s there was a considerable increase in the number of leaflets. In 1971
only 200 million leaflets were dropped on the Chinese mainland; the number increased to
1.6 billion copies by the end of October 1973. Mao’s anti-Confucius campaign was the
main item in their propaganda leaflets; to defend their great cultural philosophies they
poked at the promises of Mao Zedong. Other leaflets deal with the thousands of refugees
coming to Hong Kong. There are miniature newspapers that tell of the western world. The
balloons targeted at central China drift at a height of 40,000 feet and deliver their
cargo of 15 kilograms within 12 hours. The balloons that travel deeper into China drift at
a height of 60,000 feet and carry 100 kilograms of leaflets for 40 hours. Most of the
leaflets disseminated lately have a camouflaged cover with a Communist title. The
prosperity of Taiwan is shown in pictures; some of the booklets contain manuals on how to
build a simple wireless set.
Rawnsley seems to be mentioning these camouflaged booklets when he says:
Publications carried by balloons across the Taiwan Strait were designed to appear as
near as possible to the few dissident publications already circulating through parts of
China, and to add to the confusion, they used fictitious names of anti-revolutionary
organizations as the source of the propaganda. Of course the US denied all knowledge of
these operations, assigning all responsibility to Chiang Kai-shek, the CIA’s
“willing and cooperative host for the operation.” Refugees arriving from the PRC
in Hong Kong carried the leaflets with them, thus providing for the agency apparent
evidence of the success of its propaganda.
More comments are found in the Falling Leaf
of winter 1976:
Chinese fighters have tried to intercept and shoot down balloons bearing
humanitarian aid to the earthquake-stricken Tangshan area from the offshore island of Quemoy.
Supplies of rice, medicine, sugar, powdered milk, blankets, underwear, dehydrated noodles
and propaganda leaflets were collected from Formosa and shipped to Quemoy where they were
packed by soldiers from the huge Nationalist garrisons. Each balloon was fitted with a
timing device so that its cargo would be jettisoned after 20 hours, by which time it
should be over the disaster area.
Another comment is:
By tacit agreement, both sides indulge in propaganda shelling. The Communists also
fly propaganda across on paper kites. The Nationalists reply with plastic balloons. Gifts
of clothing and sweets are tied on the balloons to attract people on the mainland.
In the November 1966 issue of The Aerial Leaflet I wrote an article entitled
“Propaganda Leaflets in the Air over China.” I said at the time:
In 1962, the London Telegraph mentioned that although there are 1,700 gun positions
facing Quemoy, the only shooting was an occasional airburst shell that showered the
countryside with leaflets. The Aero-Field reported that Quemoy has released thousands of
leaflets about 20 July 1962 containing leaflets and parcels of food for peasants living in
Communist China.
The London Telegraph of 16 July 1963 said that Quemoy is becoming one of the major
tourist attractions of the Far East. The article states further, “If he is lucky, the
tourist may experience a Communist shelling. These days the shells contain only propaganda
messages.”
The Island of Quemoy
We reached Quemoy’s Chinese Communist Psywar Center to inspect the leaflets and
goodies which each side was lobbing across the strait in a mighty psychological battle
between the Communists and the Nationalist Chinese. The goodies suggested that each side
thought that the other was either starving or unwashed. There must be more slabs of
scented soap stuffed with political messages than anywhere else on Earth. There were tiny
purple plastic babies with deep blue eyes and brown hair to be sent to the next generation
of Reds. Toothpaste and tea was exchanged, dropping from the sky like manna from Heaven.
Suddenly we all had thrust in our hands gaily colored balloons, each with its
subversive little gift in a plastic sack, to release into the wind, which happens to be on
our side, blowing westward...
Souvenir Booklet for the 7th PSYOP Group
We depict the cover of one of the souvenir booklets brought back from the 7th PSYOP
Group.
Second Souvenir Booklet for the 7th PSYOP Group
I also have a second similar booklet with the title in Chinese on the front:
Psywar Propaganda Leaflets
Although we use the modern term, the Chinese word Xinghan literally means
"War of Minds." These leaflet catalogs came in many volumes. The above is volume
28, covering 26 August to 1 September 1967, with 33 leaflets included, of which a total of
330,000 were printed, according to the caption.
THE LEAFLETS
As we stated above, there are millions, and more likely billions of leaflets sent from
Quemoy and Matsu to mainland China. Clearly we cannot depict a true representation of the
various types and themes since there are thousands of different leaflets. Also, sometimes
there might be a dozen or more leaflets on the exact same theme, such as a Chinese pilot
defecting to Taiwan. As a result, we have selected a very small number of leaflets that
show some various shapes, themes, or messages. The reader should understand that this is
less than 1 percent of all those dropped.
In all of my 120+ articles on psychological warfare, the leaflets drive the story. I
try to show a good representation of the leaflets and every one has at least a partial
translation. I will add more leaflets and translations as volunteers become available.
I ask the reader to understand and be patient. In all these articles, the
translators are the most difficult experts to locate. I have been forced in other articles
to find people who could read Vietnamese, Kikuyu, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, and a host of
other languages. It is much easier to locate leaflets than it is to find people who can
translate them. Readers expert in Chinese who would like to help with some of the titles
and texts of the leaflets in this article should contact the author.
I especially want to thank Dr. Alexander Akin, a historian of China and amateur
collector of psywar ephemera who generously provided translations for some of the leaflets
and comments about their actual meaning and political background. This article would have
been impossible without his help.
60803800
We start this study with cartoon leaflets. They have little text and are easy for the
average finder to understand. The back is blank. In this leaflet a group of angry Chinese
point weapons at Mao Zedong who has been found burning China's historical culture. The
text is:
Above Mao: He is our real enemy!
On Mao’s torch: Cultural Revolution
Below: China’s innate historical culture
At right: The United Front denouncing Mao and saving the country
60804000
In this cartoon Mao seems to be lecturing, surrounded by a small group of his Communist
followers, all standing on a buoy in an angry ocean. The back is blank. The text is:
Is this the pleasant atmosphere one year after the Eleventh
Plenary Session?
On waves: Opposition to Mao, opposition to the Communist Party
[Note: Left of Mao is Lin Biao, to his right is Jiang Qing. This would have been
issued in 1967, one year after the eleventh plenary session of the Eighth Central
Committee at which Mao spurred on the Cultural Revolution with his document “Bombard
the Headquarters.”]
50905800 – Chinese Jet Fighters
Many of the Nationalist leaflets are designed to impress the mainland Chinese with the
power of the military forces of Taiwan. Some show aircraft, some show naval forces, others
show armor or troops. This leaflet depicts a Taiwan flight line bristling with F-104
Starfighters. The F-104Cs saw some service during the Vietnam War. The Republic of China
F-104s engaged the Red Chinese fighters over the disputed island of Quemoy. This was a
very difficult aircraft to fly with its long body and stubby wings. Germany was given a
number of F-104s and had numerous accidents and fatalities. Two crashes took place in
1961. There were seven crashes in 1962, 12 in 1964, and 28 in 1965, or more than two a
month. By mid-1966, 61 German Starfighters had crashed, with a loss of 35 pilots. At the
height of the crisis, the Starfighter accident rate peaked at 139 per 100,000 flying
hours. As a result, the German press went into a feeding frenzy and the F-104G was given
derogatory nicknames such as the “Flying Coffin” or the “Widow maker.”
Knowing the record of this aircraft, it is hard to believe that the PRC was very
frightened of it. The text on the front is:
The mighty National Air Force guarantees the rescue of our
compatriots on the mainland!
The propaganda message on the back tells the reader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's
"Three Guarantees to potential defectors", while the chart at right outlines the
awards (payable in ounces of solid gold) to those from the mainland's air force who switch
sides. Prizes vary by rank, with the highest set at 4,000 ounces and the lowest at 500.
Taiwan received its Starfighters from various sources. 24 USAF F-104As and 5
F-104Bs were provided in 1960 and 1961. Another 46 F-104Gs and 8 TF-104Gs were obtained
from Lockheed between 1964 and 1969. 21 RF-104Gs were also obtained about the same time
though apparently nobody knows where they came from. 6 US National Guard F-104Ds were
provided in 1975. 38 F-104Gs and 26 TF-104Gs were provided by the German Luftwaffe in
1983. 22 F-104Js and 5 F-104DJs were obtained from Japan, and 15 F-104Gs and 3 TF-104Gs
were obtained from Denmark in 1987.
In The Aerial Leaflet of May 1967, I mentioned another leaflet that
depicted a flight line of North American F-100 “Super Sabre” fighter aircraft.
The text stated that any Communist pilot who flew a MiG-19 to Formosa would receive 4,000
taels of gold. The older MiG-17 was worth 2,000 taels and the MiG-15 1000 taels of gold.
The Nationalists also wanted bombers so they offered 4,000 taels for an (Ilyushin) Il-18
or Il-28, 1,000 for the Il-14, and 800 for the Il-12.
Taiwan was the only allied air force to operate the F-100A model. The first
F-100 was delivered in October 1958. It was followed by 15 F-100As in 1959 and by 65 more
F-100As in 1960. In 1961, four unarmed RF-100A reconnaissance aircraft were delivered.
Additionally, 38 ex-Army National Guard F-100As were delivered later, to bring total
strength to 118 F-100As and four RF-100As. F-100As were retrofitted with the F-100D
vertical tail with its AN/APS-54 tail-warning radar and equipped to launch Sidewinder
air-to-air missiles. Several were lost in intelligence missions over the People's Republic
of China.
50905700 – The Republic of China Army
This leaflet depicts the nationalist Army at attention during a ceremony. They are
lined up as far as the eye can see. The title of the leaflet is:
The mighty National Army guarantees the rescue of our compatriots
on the mainland!
The propaganda message on the back tells the reader the "Three Guarantees"
to potential defectors, at the middle is a tenfold pact outlining these protections in
greater detail, and the chart at right outlines the awards (payable in ounces of solid
gold) to those from the mainland's land forces who switch sides. Prizes vary by rank, but
are much lower than the payments offered to air force defectors. The last line cites
earlier defectors and argues that changing sides offers the only hope for the reader's
future.
50905900 – The Republic of China Navy
This leaflet depicts Chinese sailors at attention in front of and aboard one of
their destroyers. At the upper left, three destroyers are depicted at flank speed. One
suspects that these ships were gifts from the United States. During WWII Britain accepted
50 destroyers from the United States in return for allowing the American Navy to place
military bases on fourteen British colonies in the Americas. The Germans immediately
started a propaganda campaign claiming that Britain had liquidated its empire by giving
these islands to the Americans. I wonder if the Red Chinese produced the same sort of
propaganda.
The back of this leaflet has a long text message which is addressed to
"brothers" in the People's Republic of China's Army, Navy and Air Force. It
says:
Chiang Kai-shek loves you
You will find comfort and freedom in Taiwan - fly towards Taiwan!
You are not our enemies, you are our comrades.
Interestingly, Chiang is referred to as Wei
da de, ("glorious,") the same term used for Mao on the mainland. The red
design at the edges says:
One tells it to ten, ten tells it to a hundred; unite hearts and
rescue the people.
41185800 – Military and Civilian Life
The last leaflet using this theme is almost in the form of a cartoon with a Chinese
flag at the center and along the right margin various military scenes; jet fighters,
parachutists, artillery, etc. The left margin shows civilian gains; electrification, law,
academics and farming. The short title on the front is:
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of the Father of
our Country [Sun Yat-sen]
Build up Taiwan; Restore the Mainland
The text is in red as that signifies happiness. All the pictures portray the
improvements the Nationalists have by no longer being in China.
51111700 - Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen has often been called the father of the Chinese nation. His image
appears on pre-Communist Chinese stamps, currency, and numerous leaflets during the Cold
War. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912
and later co-founded the Kuomintang where he served as its first leader. I found no less
than six leaflets using the same format as the one above, each in a different color and
with a different text. Clearly, the Nationalists believed that the comments of Sun were
important and still meaningful, even in the People’s Republic of China. These
leaflets are only printed on the front on a very thin tissue paper. They would be easy to
disguise in a book or hide in an object and because of their light weight many could be
stuffed in a small hiding place. The text is:
Mr. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China
To commemorate the birth of Sun Yat-sen, the father of our country, we must
overthrow the dictatorial, despotic Mao regime;
We must endeavor to achieve: a country jointly possessed by the people, an
administration run jointly by the people and an economy jointly enjoyed by the people as
set down in the Three Principles of the People.
U.S. Korean War Leaflet 7089
What I found really amazing is that the exact same image of Sun Yat-sen had been
used by the U.S. Army First Radio Broadcast and Leaflet Group in September 1951. The
Chinese Army was taking part in the Korean War and the U.S. propagandists wanted to use a
theme that they believed would be meaningful to the Chinese troops. Some of the text on
leaflet 7089 is:
Sun Yat-sen – Father of China
Forty years ago, the Chinese people, under the leadership of Dr. Sun Yat-sen
wiped out the alien, despotic Manchu Dynasty and established a free democratic and
independent China.
But now the Communists set up their dictorial regime and invite the Soviets as
super-rulers to control China.
Under the orders of their Soviet masters the Communists force you to be cannon
fodder in Korea while they massacre your people at home….
60114500 – Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang was the political and military leader of 20th century China. He was an
influential member of the Kuomintang and took Sun Yat-sen’s place in the party when
the latter died in 1925. In 1928, Chiang led the Northern Expedition to unify the country,
becoming China's overall leader. During WWII he was a strong ally of the United States,
but some American generals like “Vinegar” Joe Stillwell so hated him for his
lack of willingness to fight the Japanese and the corruption of his government that he
allegedly twice plotted to assassinate the Chinese leader who he called “the
Peanut.” After the retreat of the Nationalist Chinese Army to Taiwan, Chiang ruled
there with an iron fist until his death in 1975. This leaflet is one of four almost
identical pieces depicting Chiang, each with a different text. The text on the front is:
President Chiang calls on all Chinese domestic and overseas compatriots to unite
and wholeheartedly endeavor to promote Chinese culture, and has decreed November 20 as
Chinese Culture Revitalization Day.
Chinese culture is the spirit of the 5,000-year history of the Chinese people,
and reasonable "Red Guards" would not allow themselves to become accomplices of
Mao's communist gang in destroying the spirit of our people!
Text on the back is:
President Chiang has pointed out: the main purpose of Mao's "Great Cultural
Revolution" and the "Red Guards" is to organize and use bandits and Boxer
rebels in similar manner to Hitler's Nazis, to destroy Chinese culture by wiping out
intellectual elements and destroying modern civilization and threatening the human race
with a people's war. This is a sure sign of the accelerating decline of Mao's communist
regime.
50906000 - Balloons
A great number of the Chinese leaflets depict people launching balloons. This seems
to be a favorite way for the Chinese to celebrate, and it might also be the actual
launching of propaganda balloons in some cases. In this case a group of a dozen people
launch balloons, many of which seem to be printed with the Chinese Nationalist flag. The
text on the front says that this is a group of young anti-communists from the Mainland
who are releasing balloons to "bring the good news to compatriots on the
Mainland." The banners attached to other balloons refer to the Three People's
Principles of Sun Yat-sen.
Swimmers
Note the Basketball Liner
This leaflet depicts two young Chinese men who defected to the Nationalists by
swimming or floating to freedom.
The story is told in a Kings Syndicate article of 5 October 1966. John
Chamberlain mentions the escapes in a story entitled "A Cheaper Way to Beat
Mao," and says in part:
In Red China they are taking Mao Tse-tung's admonition to practice swimming, but
some of the Chinese have been swimming to get away from Mao.
Hsu Wei-hsun made it from Kwantung Province to Portuguese Macao, a distance of three
miles, on his second try. The other, Lin Yung-an, got out from Fukien Province to the free
island of Quemoy by clinging to an inflated inner tube of a basketball through four miles
of buffeting currents.
Hsu first tried to use an inner tire as a float but was caught and released by the
Chinese border guards. He was also approached by guards in a boat at sea on his second
attempt, but since he was already inside Portuguese waters, they did not detain him.
25-year-old Lin says that he swam to get away from the economic crisis and the political
terror caused by the "Cultural revolution."
60803700 - Armed Guards
There is an entire series of leaflets printed on a thin tissue-paper with blank
backs that seem to be "Black propaganda." For instance, the leaflet above
depicts an armed Chinese guard standing in front of barbed wire. Another in this series,
leaflet 60803900, depicts a long line of Chinese peasants being led off carrying all their
belongings. The text on the leaflet claims that anti-Mao rebels have seized the Baiyun
airport in Guangzhou; it claims that "Public Security Brigades" are
spontaneously forming, serving as catalysts for an imminent revolution. The rebels in
charge of the airport are quoted as urging their countrymen everywhere to stand up to Mao
and overthrow the Chinese Communist Party. The red label to the right of the soldier says
"Down with Mao Zedong," the one at bottom left says "Baiyun Airport."
60801600 - Air Letter
Three of the Nationalist Chinese leaflets are in the form of leaflet-airmail letters.
In all three, the front of the leaflet appears to be an airmail letter with a red and blue
border. Two of the three leaflets also depict a jet aircraft giving an even greater
impression of an airmail letter. The back of the leaflets are all text. The codes on the
leaflets are 60801600, 60802700 and 60803300. Each of these three leaflets attack the
“Cultural Revolution,” a time of chaos in China brought on by Mao Zedong. He
launched it 16 May 1966 alleging that “liberal bourgeois” elements were
permeating the party and society at large and wanted to restore Capitalism. He insisted
that these elements be removed through pre-revolutionary class struggle by mobilizing the
thoughts and actions of China’s youth, who formed Red Guard groups around the
country. One of the main focuses of the Cultural Revolution was the abolishment of the
“Four Olds:” Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. The revolution
ended about 1976 and China gradually returned to what we might call normalcy.
Leaflet 60801600 is addressed to:
City of Fuzhou
Mr. Han Xianchu, (in red) Commander of the Fuzhou Military Area Command
(It is requested that whichever of our friends finds this letter
finds a way to get it to Han Xianchu himself)
The message on the back of the leaflet is:
Mr. Han Xianchu:
The struggle against Mao Zedong opened by the action of the Million Heroes [a
faction of the Red Guards], led by Wuhan military region commander Chen Zaidao, is the
signal for the entire PLA to openly oppose Mao; it is a challenge to Mao Zedong’s
dictatorship. This event not only marks the state of mind of today’s entire
“Liberation Army,” it also shakes the reactionary foundation of Mao
Zedong’s rule.
Mr. Han Xianchu: The Wuhan military region commander Chen Zaidao was originally your
war comrade; now he leads the “Liberation Army” to arise and publicly oppose Mao
Zedong. You should respond to his action, supporting him either publicly or secretly. Only
by bringing down the autocratic madman Mao Zedong can you be considered true heroes of the
people.
Wishing you successful victory.
[Note: In July 1967, Chen Zaidao led the Million Heroes faction against Red Guards
inspired by Xie Fuzhi. Chen’s alliance with the more conservative military
establishment led him to prefer stability to the forces of the Cultural Revolution, which
was entering its most chaotic period. Chen was dismissed but regained his status in 1972,
after the central government had acted to curtail what it perceived as dangerous
instability.]
60803300 - Air Letter
Leaflet 60803300 is addressed to:
Xiamen, Fujian
To the Chinese Communist Army 93rd division commander Zhong Qi
[From] Li Yaosheng
It is requested that whichever of our friends obtains this document finds a way to get it
to Zhong Qi himself
The letter is from Li Yaosheng, a very minor military figure, who defected to Taiwan on
1 August. It is dated only two weeks later, on the 15th. He describes the warmth of his
reception in Taiwan over the last few days as "moving me almost to tears," and
congratulates himself on having made the right choice. He says that given Mao's autocracy
and the suffering of people on the mainland, many others would follow his example if given
the chance. He says his ultimate goal is to go with President Chiang back to the mainland
and liberate it, so when that day comes soon, he hopes that Zhong Qi will seize the
opportunity and rebel against the Communist Party.
60802700 - Air Letter
Leaflet 60802700 is addressed to:
Commissar Comrade He Yunhong (in red), Political Committee Member,
Henan Military District, CCP
(It is requested that whichever of our friends obtains this letter
finds a way to get it to Comrade He Yunhong himself)
The message on the back of the leaflet is:
Comrade He Yunhong:
Since Mao Zedong initiated the “Cultural Revolution,” and spurred
thousands upon thousands of ignorant young “Red Guards” to serve as his tools of
struggle, insane chaos has gripped every part of the mainland. Since this turmoil began,
it has turned the entire mainland into a fearsome, chaotic hell in which each is out to
protect his own.
However, due to your clear intellect, you made the sensible choice, and bravely,
boldly, in a planned and organized fashion directed a unit of the Communist Army in Henan
to arise and beat the Mao cliques into ignominious defeat on May 26, earning the accolades
of the entire nation’s workers and farmers. This is the accomplishment of true
leadership!
But the Mao clique will certainly not relax its attitude toward you. You should
raise your vigilance and bravely arise. The Wuhan military region commander, comrade Chen
Zaidao, leads a unit that now stands on the same battle line as you, both having opposed
Mao; furthermore there are the countless anti-Mao and anti-Communist revolutionary masses,
all acting as your powerful rearguard. Since ancient times, no man of heroism and virtue
has ever stood alone.
You absolutely must remember that the great National Army on Taiwan is ready to come
to your aid at any time – Bravely advance! Smashing Mao and extinguishing Communism,
constructing a new, truly free and democratic China, is the only great path of
self-preservation and the salvation of the nation.
Wishing you successful victory.
[Note: He Yunhong was another local military official who attempted to preserve
stability by suppressing a Red Guard outbreak. However, his action is here willfully
misinterpreted as a deeper revolt against the regime.]
41185400 - Bomber flown to Freedom
This leaflet shows a Red Chinese Ilyushin Il-28 aircraft on Taiwan. The Ilyushin
Il-28 jet bomber was built by the Soviet Union shortly after WWII. It was the USSR’s
first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was also license-built in Red China
as the Harbin H-5. On 11 November 1965, Chinese Air Force Captain Li Xianbin flew his
bomber numbered 0195 the Hangzhou Jianqiao Air Base of Zhejiang Province to Taoyuan Air
Force base on Taiwan. It was reported at the time that due to an accident on landing,
Navigator Li Caiwang was injured and radio operator Lian Baosheng was killed. It took
decades for the true story of the defection to come out. Only the pilot defected. The two
crew members were unwilling participants. Li Caiwang was wounded during the defection and
Lian Baosheng killed himself rather than go over to the Nationalists. Later it was learned
that the pilot was angry that the reward money for the dead Lian Baosheng was shared with
Li Caiwang.
During the Cold War years, many Nationalist pilots defected to the mainland in the
name of the propaganda motto “Come back to the motherland.” At the same time,
many mainland pilots defected to Taiwan to the theme of “Fly to the freedom.”
During that period, the Taiwan authorities paid bars of gold to those they called the
“Anti-Communism Heroes.”
This was the first Il-28 bomber to fall into allied hands. Li Xianbin was rewarded with
2000 taels (100 kg) of gold and Li Caiwang (the navigator) received 1000 taels (50 kg).
There are about one half-dozen leaflets showing different views of this aircraft. It was a
major story at the time. The back of the leaflet depicts various newspapers all mentioning
the story of the defection.
Navigator Li Caiwang served with the Nationalist Air Force for a period and then
immigrated to the United States in 1983. He ultimately returned to mainland China,
denounced the Taiwan government, and was accepted back into the Communist fold. Remember,
he was an unwilling participant in the defection. Pilot Li Xianbin also immigrated to the United
States after retiring from the Nationalist Air Force. In 1991, believing that he might
also return with impunity he flew from Canada to Shandong. He was arrested at Qingdao
airport and sentenced to prison for 15 years for his treason. He was paroled in 2002 due
to stomach cancer.
The title of the leaflet is:
We welcome the defections of Li Xianbin, Li Caiwang, and Lian
Baosheng!
The text is:
Pilot Li Xianbin, navigator Li Caiwang, and radio operator Lian Baosheng from the
22nd Group, 8th Division of the Chinese Communist Party Air Force chose freedom and flew
their Il-28 jet bomber from Zhejiang airport, safely landing at the north Taiwan air field
at 1:18 p.m. on 11 November and received a warm welcome from General Xu Huansheng, the
Commander of the Republic of China Air Force and the staff of the air force base. Li
Xianbin stated that he hated the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party authority and
could no longer bear the persecution. He said that after Wu Faxian became the Commander of
the Chinese Communist Party Air Force, he enforced the repression and persecution of the
air force staff. All the Chinese Communist Party Air Force pilots are upset and hopeless
and are eager to fly to the free world. Li Xianbin defected in response to the political
call of President Chiang and to shake off the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party.
The photo captions are:
General Xu Huansheng, the Air Force Commander, welcomes Li Xianbin
Il-28 jet bomber piloted by Li Xianbin
51111500 - Marriage
Many of the leaflets depict young people getting married. This seems to be a
favorite theme of the Nationalists and one wonders if the Mainland Chinese were tempted to
defect to Taiwan to find love and romance. The text on the front tells of the marriage of
Li Caiwang, who is mentioned in the leaflet above. His wife is named Xue Xunrong. The
flyer is intended to show yet another benefit of defecting to Taiwan! According to
Wikipedia, Xue was Li's nurse. Remember that he was injured by Li Xianbin and tried to
kill himself when he found that his pilot was defecting. She later confessed to him that
she had been assigned by the KMT to spy on him. However, their love was apparently real as
was their marriage.
Red Chinese pilot who defected to Taiwan
It was not only aircraft that made the leaflets. Back in November 1966 I wrote about
a Red Chinese pilot who defected to Taiwan with a MiG-15. This defection inspired another
leaflet shown above with the text in part:
Chinese Communist Navy Brothers: Take Liu Cheg-sze as a model. We welcome you to
come over to our side.
In The Aerial Leaflet of May 1967, I wrote about a leaflet that depicted
Chiang Kai-shek on one side and various routes that a Communist pilot could use to defect
to Taiwan on the other. The title of that leaflet was “The Invincible Chinese Air
Force on Taiwan.” The leaflet message explained the four principals of President
Chiang Kai-shek. They are rewards for defections, positions for those willing to fight the
Communists, protection for those who participated in anti-Communist activities and
forgiveness to those who followed the Communist line in the past. The leaflet ends:
Any member of the Communist army, navy or air force who participates in an
uprising against the Communist regime, or responds to the National forces
counter-offensive by coming over with his military equipment shall be generously rewarded
according to his merits, and shall receive the same treatment as our own government
troops.”
On the subject of defections and rewards, Mark Magnier mentions them in an article
about the radio war between the Chinas in “50-Year War of Words.” The Times,
2005
Like two old soldiers locked in a wrestling grip, the broadcasts press doggedly
on, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, outlasting even North and South Korea's loudspeaker
battle across their tense demilitarized zone. “This isn't just a broadcast,”
said Cheryl Lai, president of Radio Taiwan International. “This is war. China sees it
as a hot war. We see it as a cold war. But it's still a war.” Chen, the broadcaster,
grows animated as she recalls her early days at the station. Recruited in 1978 at age 18,
she was tested, her family and friends screened and her ideology reviewed for any hint of
communist sympathy before she got a job as “professional political warfare
agent,” as presenters were then called.
For most of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, propaganda airwaves in both directions were filled
with hard-core screeds, slogans and denunciations. Another Taiwanese show during this
period, dubbed the “Black Hole Program” by staff members, was so hush-hush that
regular announcers weren’t even supposed to know of its existence. Eventually word
leaked out that the project was producing fake “mainland” broadcasts, designed
to trick Chinese listeners into thinking they were generated from Beijing, even as their
content subtly undermined the communist regime's messages.
It is difficult to assess the number of hearts and minds converted over the
years by either side through these various campaigns. Nor has much scientific effort been
expended to do so. Occasionally, however, there were big propaganda coups. From the early
1960s through the early 1980s, both sides used radio broadcasts to lure fighter aircraft
and ships across the strait with promises of glory and gold.
Taiwan was generally more aggressive and cumulatively threw more money at the program -
paying out more than 2 1/2 tons in gold bars. Periodically, it broadcast a menu of rewards
that included the number of gold bars, based on what machine the defector arrived in; how
the purse would be divided if two soldiers came together; and what job was guaranteed in
the Taiwanese military - always at a promotion over current Chinese rank. Both sides lured
more than a dozen aircraft and several ships. The record reward on the Taiwanese side went
to mainlander Sun Tianqin, who received 770 pounds of gold for flying over in a MIG-21 jet
in 1972. One of the biggest purses for traveling the other way went to Taiwanese pilot
Huang Zhi-cheng, who arrived in the mainland's Fujian province in 1981 in an F-5E, for
which he earned the equivalent of $800,000 at today's exchange rates.
51213800 - Happy New Year
A number of the Chinese Nationalist leaflets are very "arty." That is to
say, they have various forms that make them different from the standard 3 x 6-inch U.S.
leaflet. In this case, the leaflet is in the form of a Chinese screen. The two doors on
the front open to show the leaflet message inside. The text on the outside basically says
"Happy New Year." The propaganda message appears when one opens the screen. The
title on the inside is:
To heed the glorious call of President Chiang, uniting against the
Communist Party, is the only bright path to salvation for us and for the nation!
The text lists Chiang Kai-shek's three proclamations to members of the political and
military establishment on the mainland, which are basically: Do not actively resist us
[during our invasion to re-take the mainland] and we will not harass you; if you accept
Kuomintang leadership and abide by the ten stipulations proclaimed in 1962 you will be
able to keep your political or military rank; the ultimate goal is to be rid of Mao Zedong
and construct a China based on the Three People's Principles of Sun Yat-sen.
51110100 - Defecting Militia Leader
Some of the leaflets are cut in such a way that opening the leaflet
(like a greeting card) exposes the picture and message inside. In this case, part of the
first page has been cut out to expose some of the picture beneath on the second page. A
number of leaflets were prepared like this one with different fancy designs in the
cut-away portion. In this case, the text to the left of the vignette says:
Paving the way for Communist Party cadres to stride toward
freedom: Chinese Communist militia leader Zhang Zongyao (Chang Tsung-yao)
The text tells of how the Communist militia officer defected to Taiwan, found a way
to freedom and set an example for his fellow officers.
41186100 - Circular Leaflet
The Chinese also appear to have liked circular leaflets. When leaflets are
airdropped the size and proportions are very important because the disseminator wants to
know exactly how far and how fast the leaflet will drop and how much ground it will cover.
Since these Chinese leaflets were carried by balloon and there was no worry about rotation
and coverage, they could prepare the leaflets in any form that they wished. A second
leaflet in the circular format has the Chinese character for “Happiness” on the
front and a short message explaining how that happiness is to be found on Taiwan on the
back.
The leaflet above again depicts Red Chinese Air Force defector Li Xianbin. The
picture shows him being welcomed by throngs in Taipei. The text is:
On November 11, 1965, at 2:30, Li Xianbin heroically piloted his
Ilyushin 28 no. 0195 jet bomber towards Free Taiwan.
Text on the back of the leaflet outlines the system of awards payable in gold for
defectors from the mainland. The caption at the bottom notes that holding on to this
leaflet can serve as proof of intent to defect.
Propaganda Booklets
There were a great number of informative propaganda booklets sent from Taiwan to the
People’s Republic of China. Some are highly illustrated with patriotic themes, some
explain sabotage techniques, and some just have text. The 15-page booklet above depicts Wu
Shutong on the cover and is an abbreviated version of his speech given in Taiwan. Wu was a
communist activist in Hong Kong who visited the Mainland numerous times between 1950 and
1966, and was given a role in various Mainland organizations, but defected to Taiwan
during the Cultural Revolution. He paints a dismal picture of the oppression of
intellectuals and the Party's role in fomenting riots in Hong Kong.
60800300 - Free Chinese Industry
This leaflet depicts seven Taiwanese buses on the front and celebrates Taiwan's
industry, noting that people in Taiwan are able to enjoy these fruits of production in a
“modernized, fortunate and free society.” The back depicts five lines of motor
scooters at the top and ten trucks at the bottom.
Miniature Leaflets
Many of the leaflets are quite small; just little strips of paper. The three
leaflets we depict and show here are all printed on one side only, and can easily be
hidden on the person of the finder, and perhaps later stuck on a wall or a window.
Image courtesy of www.war-images.com
The first leaflet is in the form of a pennant with the text:
Soldiers under Mao Tse-tung and under Chu Teh's command!
We offer you the opportunity to come to freedom from the Communist tyranny.
Chu Teh (Zhþ Dé) (1886 - 1976) was a Chinese Communist military leader and
statesman. He is regarded as the founder of the Chinese Red Army (the forerunner of the
People's Liberation Army) and the tactician who engineered the revolution from which
emerged the People's Republic of China.
Image courtesy of www.war-images.com
The second leaflet depicts skulls and bones and the text:
You should not shed blood for the benefit of the Russians.
You should not die for the sake of Mao Tse-tung and Chu Teh.
Image courtesy of www.war-images.com
The third leaflet depicts the flag of nationalist China and the text:
The only way to a happy life is to surrender to the Nationalist
Armed Forces.
Bookmarks
As mentioned in several quotes above, the Nationalist Chinese regularly sent various
gifts and trinkets to mainland China by balloon. We depict one of their propaganda
bookmarks above. A bookmark is a strip or band of some material, such as paper, leather or
ribbon, put between the pages of a book to mark a place. Psychological operators have used
it on numerous occasions to carry their propaganda messages because the bookmarks tend to
be saved and placed in a book and every time the reader opens the book the message is the
first thing that is seen. PSYOP Bookmarks have been used in Vietnam, Korea and by the
Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan. The text is:
Our leader is the anti-Communist, Russia-resisting, prescient Great
Thinker.
(Issued May 20, 1954)
Other bookmarks were all text and had messages such as:
The League of the Chinese College Students urges the youth on the Chinese
mainland to rise up and overthrow the tyrannical Communist regime.
Bookmark to Chinese Communist Pilots
One green bookmark has the symbol of the Chinese Air Force at top center and the text:
Chinese Communist Air Force Brothers:
MiG 0651 has already flown to freedom here in Taiwan. You only have to
be decisive, have courage, get free from your shackles, and attain freedom.
We know this bookmark was printed about 1961 because what the Nationalists did not
tell their Communist brothers was that on 12 January 1960 Wang Wenping, flying a MiG-15
Fagot (0651), attempted to defect from the People's Republic of China, but the aircraft
exploded on landing at Ilan, Taiwan.
Another Bookmark to Chinese Communist Pilots
A white all-text bookmark says:
Defect with your aircraft and fly to Taiwan and receive 3 Main
Guarantees:
1. Guarantee your personal safety.
2. Guarantee a large reward.
3. Guarantee freedom to choose an occupation
Bookmark Bearing the Chinese Flag
Follow the example of Wuchang and raise a righteous revolt.
Down with the tyrannical communist government!
One of the most popular types of bookmarks depicted the Chinese flag at the top. I
have seen six of them written with the traditional full-form Chinese characters still used
in Taiwan and not the simplified characters as used in the People’s Republic of China.
This indicates that the bookmarks were produced in the early years of the Republic of China
government on Taiwan. Some of the texts are:
Remember Sun Yat-sen, destroy collectivization of farms. Carry out the Principle
of People’s Livelihood!
Remember Sun Yat-sen, drive out the Russian bandits. Carry out the Principle of
Nationalism!
Study the Hsin-hai Revolution. Fervently support the "Oppose
Communism, Resist Tyranny" Movement!
Celebrate the Double-Tenanniversary of the Republic, Remember Sun Yat-sen, Support
President Chiang Kai-shek!
Celebrate Double-Ten the real anniversary of the Republic. Rescind the false Ten-One
anniversary of the Republic!
[Notes]
“Wuchang” is the city on the Yangtze River where the Revolution of October
10, 1911 started.
“The People’s Livelihood” is one of Yat-sen’s Three Principles
of the People. The others being Democracy and Nationalism.
“Hsin-hai” refers to the year 1911 in a traditional Chinese dating system.
The “Double-Ten” (10th month, 10th day) refers to the October 10, 1911 founding
of the Republic of China.
The “Ten-One” (10th month, 1st day) commemorates the founding of the
People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
