Identity, Organizational And Political :1938-1958, Soong Ching Ling And Paul Au - Luck Club,

China Defense League was a national salvation organization,which was foundedby Soong Ching-ling in Hong Kong in 1938.It launched fund-raising at home andabroad,by means of organizing charity performance and sale of work,conductingindustrial cooperatives activities.It provided a large number of medical and materialassistance for the CCP and its army.It published"China Defense League Newsletter"and"Commerce Newspaper"to propagandize to the world the outstandingachievement of Chinese Communist Party's in the Anti-Japanese War.The League moved to Chongqing when Hong Kong was occupied by Japanesearmy in 1941,continued to raise money to support anti-Japanese base areas,andrelieved the sufferer of natural disaster.After we won the war in 1945,the League wasreorganized to China Welfare Found,and then moved to Shanghai.It had evolved as asocial relief agency.In addition to continue to provide assistance to the liberated areas,the major mission was to relieve the refugees and orphans,the impoverished culturalworker.After the PRC was founded,Soong Ching-ling restructured China Welfare Fund tothe China Welfare Institute in 1950.It was dually leaded by the central governmentand the Shanghai Municipal Government.It mainly engaged in women and children'swelfare work,to make up the social welfare work which the new regime couldn't takeinto account.It issued an English language publication named"China Reconstruction",on behalf of welfare research agency,which broke the embargo of a few countries tothe new China,by promoting the new regime to the international community.With the progress of a series of political movements and administrative personnelchanges during the beginning period,the CCP organizations at all levels weregradually established and perfected in China Welfare Institute as well as itssubordinate units.In 1958,the China Welfare Institute became a public institutionunder the leadership of the CCP,which owned eight institutions about maternal andchild health,children's culture,out-of-school education,international promotion.The institute could go through three different historical periods,i.e.theAnti-Japanese War,the liberation war and the PRC,experienced two differentpolitical and social systems,existed to nowadays and made its own uniquecontributions to modern China's social relief and welfare services.Not only becausethe special nature of the organization itself,but also Soong Ching-ling's special status and the power influence of the social relation network that it had weaved.Of thesefactors,whether the ruling Party was the KMT or the CCP,they all showed a certaindegree of tolerance to the existence of Soong Ching-ling and her institute.Theycreated a delicate political atmosphere virtually.For this reason,the institute couldsupport the CCP at the same time of carrying out social relief and welfare,and itcould avoid the fate of the banned and continue to serve in the national system afterthe CCP got the power,and in this process,Soong Ching-ling's social thinking andpractice was reflected.