When the Japanese war with China was coming to an
end in 1945, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek delivered a
broadcast speech to the nation in which he made extraor-
dinary claims for the party he represented. "The Kuomin-
tang," he said, "is the historical party of national revolution.
It overthrew the Manchu dynasty. It destroyed Yuan Shih-
kai, who wanted to be emperor. It utterly defeated the
militarists who followed Yuan Shih-kai. It brought about
national unification. It achieved the removal of the unequal
treaties. It led the country in the eight-year-old struggle with
the Japanese. Finally, it is the party of liberation and progress."

If any one of these statements had been entirely correct, it
is probable that the Kuomintang would have retained its

-241-