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Soong Mei-ling

20 quotes

“I came to school in the United States, and I will always consider America my second home.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Congress honors Madame Chiang" in UPI (July 26, 1995)
“On July 7, 1937, Japan launched an all-out war on China. Through the first four and one-half years of total aggression, China defended herself unaided and alone. Not until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, in December of 1941.. .did the U.S. and China become allies. The combined effort of our two countries laid a solid foundation for the final victory in 1945. In those years of blood and tears, let us remember the moral courage of the people of the United States and China fighting shoulder to shoulder.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Congress honors Madame Chiang" in UPI (July 26, 1995)
“It has been said, and I find it true from personal experience, that it is easier to risk one's life on the battlefield than it is to perform customary humble and humdrum duties which, however, are just as necessary to winning the war.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have reached your country, therefore, with no misgivings, but with my belief that the American people are building and carrying out a true pattern of the nation conceived by your forebears, strengthened and confirmed.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Again, now the prevailing opinion seems to consider the defeat of the Japanese as of relative unimportance and that Hitler is our first concern. This is not borne out by actual facts, nor is it to the interests of the United Nations as a whole to allow Japan to continue, not only as a vital potential threat but as a waiting sword of Damocles, ready -- but as a waiting sword of Damocles ready to des[cend] at a moment's notice.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We of this generation who are privileged to help make a better world for ourselves and for posterity should remember that, while we must not be visionary, we must have vision so that peace should not be punitive in spirit and should not be provincial or nationalistic or even continental in concept, but universal in scope and -- and humanitarian in action, for modern science has so annihilated distance that what affects one people must of necessity affect all other peoples.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We in China, like you, want a better world, not for ourselves alone, but for all mankind, and we must have it. It is not enough, however, to proclaim our idea[l]s or even to be convinced that we have them. In order to preserve, uphold, and maintain them, there are times when we should throw all we cherish into our effort to fulfill these ideals even at the risk of failure.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must have the vision so that peace should not be punitive in spirit and should not be provincial or nationalistic or even continental in concept; but universal in scope and humanitarian in action, for modern science has so annihilated distance that what affects one people must of necessity affect all others.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The teachings drawn from our late leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, have given our people the fortitude to carry on. From five and a half years of experience, we in China are convinced that it is the better part of wisdom not to accept failure ignominiously, but to risk it gloriously.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We shall have faith, that, at the writing of peace, America and our other gallant Allies will not be obtunded by the mirage of contingent reasons of expediency.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man's mettle is tested both in adversity and in success. Twice is this true of the soul of a nation.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We in China, though we have been harried for years by death and destruction, have been giving careful thought toward the perfection of a political and social system that will ensure in the future the greatest good for the greatest number.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“While as a nation we are resolved that we will not tolerate foreign exploitation we are equally determined that within our country there be no exploitation of any section of society by any other section or even by the state itself. The possession of wealth does not confer upon the wealthy the right to take unfair advantage of the less fortunate.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are striving to institute a flexible system of political and economic development that will serve the future as well as the present. This attempt started directly China became a republic, thirty-one years ago, and has continued even throughout the war years. In order to give our people fuller and better opportunities for a well-rounded and happier life, a new kind of Chinese socialism, based on democratic principles, is evolving.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Chinese socialism, if you like to call it that, seeks above all else to preserve the birthrights of the individual. No state can be great and prosperous unless the people are contented.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of our national characteristics is not to do things without careful deliberation. Those who are privileged to direct the aspirations of a quarter of the world’s population have a wonderful opportunity but a fearful responsibility.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Considering what China has already accomplished in the face of heartbreaking obstacles, we confront the future with calmness and confidence. The difficulties before us are stupendous; but with the help, from our sister democracies, of technique and capital, which we have proved we deserve, we have no doubt we can solve our problems.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The second impression of my trip is that America is not only the cauldron of democracy but the incubator of democratic principles. At some of the places I visited, I met the crews of your air bases. There, I found first generation Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, Poles, Czechoslovakians, and other nationals. Some of them had accents so thick, that if such a thing were possible, one could not cut them with a butter knife. But there they were, all Americans, all devoted to the same ideals, all working for the same cause, and united by the same high purpose. No suspicion or rivalry existed between them. This increased my belief and faith that devotion to common principles eliminates differences in race and that identity of ideals is the strongest possible solvent of racial dissimilarities.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have chosen the path that we shall tread in the future. We are determined that there shall be no more exploitation of China. I have no wish to harp on old grievances, but realism demands that I should mention the ruthless and shameless exploitation of our country by the West in the past and hard-dying illusion that the best way to win our hearts was to kick us in the ribs. Such asinine stupidities must never be repeated, as much for your own sake as for ours. America and Britain have already shown their consciousness of error by voluntarily offering to abrogate the iniquitous system of extraterritoriality that denied China her inherent right to equality with other nations.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have already referred to Chinese socialism, for our political compass shows our ship of state ploughing in that direction. Nevertheless, some people are alarmed at the very word ‘socialism,’ much as a timid horse shies away from its own shadow. Actually, though not called by that name, socialism has influenced national thought in China for decades, even amid the confusion caused by civil unrest and the present war. But it does not have any affiliation with communism. The Chinese do not accept the much-mooted theory of enriching the poor by dispossessing present owners of their wealth, nor do they believe such a step would give any prospect of an enduring alleviation of poverty and human misery.”
Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source