Tang Wensheng
Vice-Chair of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation
June 29, 2009
Dear friends,
It is my honor and pleasure to extend on behalf of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation our sincere congratulations to all Gungho people on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives. In its 70 years, Gung Ho has played a significant role in supporting the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, in promoting friendship between the Chinese people and people of other countries and in building a new countryside. Its outstanding contributions will be remembered by generation after generation.
Madame Soong Ching Ling staunchly supported the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives when it was set up in Hong Kong 70 years ago and became its honorary chairperson. As Rewi Alley put it, when foreign friends saw the name of Soong Ching Ling, they would feel that it could be trusted. Soong Ching Ling herself pointed out in a speech broadcast over Hong Kong’s radio station ZBW on December 10, 1939, that the significance of the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives was demonstrated not only in what they did to rebuild society, but furthermore in what they did to improve the economy. She felt that when you looked at it from the social and economic point of view, the “Indusco” units were invaluable. She moreover pointed out when she was visiting the Chengdu office of Gung Ho with her two sisters in late April 1940 that the industrial cooperative movement was precisely practicing the democracy the Dr. Sun Yatsen had advocated, on the one hand seeking to improve the people’s life, on the other seeking to increase the country’s economic strength. She expressed the hope that the issue of democracy would be studied more closely so that Dr. Sun Yatsen’s testament could be universally applied. She wrote many letters to her friends abroad, mentioning the importance of the industrial cooperative movement and calling upon them to support it. She combined the work of the China Defense League and that of Gung Ho, raising funds and material support for the resistance against Japanese aggression. In late 1939, she entrusted the northwestern Gung Ho to have textile and garment cooperatives in Baoji and Xi’an work day and night to have 100 thousand pieces of padded clothing ready to be packaged and shipped to the Eighth Route Army Office in Xi’an.
In May 1941, she launched the “Bowl of Rice Campaign” in Hong Kong, which she held to have a far-reaching effect, because it is to help the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives to organize the refugees and the wounded for strengthening the economy, for production to save the country and help the people to help themselves. This is the most effective form of relief. The Campaign raised 22144HKD and 615 Chinese dollars. The Hong Kong branch of British United Aid to China made it a round sum of 250000HKD, which was donated entirely to the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives to be used in relief for the refugees in China’s northwest regions. On November 11 of that same year, the Chins Defense League and Gung Ho jointly organized an activity in Hong Kong that included a display of pictures and literature on the industrial cooperatives’ products and how they organized production to save themselves. The activity raised another 20000HKD.
The wartime Gung Ho that was born of and thrived on the heart’s blood of those like Soong Ching Ling, Rewi Alley, Edgar Snow and Chen Hansheng, organized people in production to save themselves, building line upon line of support for the war effort. The Gung Ho today has kept alive not only the organization, but moreover the spirit of Gung Ho to “work hard, work together”. Moving forward with the times, it has absorbed new blood, new ideas and is combining the efforts of friends in many countries to work hard to achieve new goals.
We are sure to see Gung Ho make further contributions to China’s economic and social progress.
Thank you.
