No
constitutional government can be formed except through the
establishment of a monarchy. The constitutional form of government
has a set of fixed laws, and the monarchy has a definite head who
cannot be changed, in which matters lies the source of national
strength and wealth.
Mr. Ko: What you have said in regard to the adoption of the
constitutional monarchy as a means of saving the country from
dismemberment is quite true, but I would like to have your opinion
on the relative advantages and disadvantages of a republic and a
monarchy, assuming that China adopts the scheme of a monarchy.
Mr. Hu: I am only too glad to give you my humble opinion on this
momentous question.
Mr. Ko: You have said that China would be devastated by contending
armies of rival leaders trying to capture the presidency. At what
precise moment will that occur?
Mr. Hu: The four hundred million people of China now rely upon the
President alone for the protection of their lives and property.
Upon him likewise falls the burden of preserving both peace and
the balance of power in the Far East. There is no time in the
history of China that the Head of the State has had to assume such
a heavy responsibility for the protection of life and property and
for the preservation of peace in Asia; and at no time in our
history has the country been in greater danger than at the present
moment. China can enjoy peace so long as His Excellency Yuan Shih-
kai remains the President, and no longer.
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