MR. CHU OF CHINA.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 103, 4 May 1925, Page 12

MR. CHU OF CHINA.

'•LIKES ENGLAND VERY." IMPORTANCE MOST GREAT. COPYING THE SYSTEMS.

Interviewing a Chinese of high caste, and of eminence in the world of eom.nieree is no child's play, especially' when it is undertaken in the waitingroom of a huge London railway terminus. Yet I emerged quite triumphantly from a long hearing of Mr. P. Y. Chu, Adviser to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and Chief Mining Engineer to the Chung Using Colliery of Shantung, China, who has just leit London on his journey to Xew York (a 'London "Evening News" representative writes).

-Mr. Ciiu's knowledge of English is quite remarkable, but his pronunciation of it pave one the impression—which one gets witli other Chinese—that his tongue, somehow, was tipped with teak. However, between the clicking he gave mc some interesting information.

"I like the English very," lie said. "All China like Englishmen; bis character is so strong. tie determines quickly. And because all over the world English language ,is spoken, his importance is most great. We try to copy the systems of the Englishmen in our mines iv China—though I don't think it. always is best for one country to copy another country. Put for China to copy the Englishman's ways -yes, I think it is good."

Mr. Chu is very tall for a Chinese— five feet five at least. It struck mc he might, he an athlete, for the ffrey hairs, which add so much dignity to a Chinese, are only just peeping through his ample supply of blue-black locks. "How about English sports) Do you practise them in China now: 1 asked him. "Xol. in the coal mine areas, of course," lie replied. Boxing and Football. "We try in China to maintain East anil West sports together. We cannot quite copy all your sports. The ohl Chinese sport of fencing with swords we continue, and we have started to occupy our youths with boxing and football. "

"It is very interesting. We in China are an old people. You Knglish are quite young, and America is very young also: but yet your coal mines, which 1 have with great, pleasure visited, through the kindness of t lie Federation of British Industries, in Durham. Nottingham. Newcastle. and Cumberland, and other places, are vrry old—very old. indeed: and most of them require a journey of 1)00 yards to reach tliom. "While in China, which is old. our mines are very young, and we can reach them in about :)00 yards. "Also, we have great advantages in our mines through the dcvelopings which you have accomplished in yours. "Wo have not been going through long years of slow improvement in equipping our mines: our mines have been only quite newly exploited, wliereiis yours have been better equipped each year. Electricity. "Now old China conies along with new and undeveloped mines, and installs at once all your new technical machinery- compressed air, electricity, steam cranes and other things.

'•It is a groat advantage. But although we adopt all these things, I believe China must work out her own developments in the future. She must not rely entirely on the West for ideas."

Mr. Chll is obviously trying hard to spur his ancient country out of that stagnation into which she settled without struggle some thousand years ago. With this idea in his mind he has been visiting Hclgium. France. Australia, and is shortly proceeding to America —anywhere where there are coal mines.

'•What strikes mc most about the working of your mines in Kngland is that you concentrate almost entirely on producing your coal as economically as possible. That practice shows the great merits of your K.urlish systems. and T think it is such things as that which have caused the Chinese to have so great a confidence iv the Kuglisli business man. English Ideas. "China is not yet quite undisturbed internally, but thinp:s are rapidly becoming better, and 1 think before long China will he very glad to have En.-r----lisli assistance in carrying out- some of tlie schemes which ii have iv my mind. 1 shall be in America about three weeks. and then will j;o on by tlie Pacific to China. "The ways anil maimers of people in London 1 iind very interesting, but all are not entirely new to mc, because for a long time —twenty years -I have boon working with Japanese, with Englishmen, and other foreign nations. "But T like London so much that T hope very much to return here shorthand see all my London friends once again. "[ wns very glad of the chance which my Government gave mc fo come to England and other 'Western eoiitineni.il countries, and see for myself the exact conditions they work and play under."