Case For China’s Admission To U.N. Argued At Convention

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27750, 30 August 1955, Page 13

Case For China’s Admission To U.N. Argued At Convention

Communist China should be admitted to membership of the United Nations, said Dr. H. O. Pappe in an address to the convention on international relations yesterday. Dr. Pappe was replying to a question by Mr w. .R. Lascelles, who had asked whether, as China had been declared an aggressor in the Korean war, the country was competent to be a member. Dr. Pappe said that the United Nations Charter provided that all nations which applied to become members and would comply with the conditions of the charter would be admitted. If the matter was considered formally, China would be debarred, but other countries in the league were in a state of war. Egypt had declared itself in a state of war. but no-one thought of excluding it from the United Nations for that reason. “Very Strong Case” “China has a very strong case for admission.’’ he said. “New China is the government of one of the biggest nations of the world. She must be given a chance to co-operate. If we leave them outside they may feel we will use stricter standards in judging them in other cases. “We cannot afford to leave China outside,” he said. “Until they are in we cannot say they will not play—you may well be right that they will not play. If you leave them out of the organisation we cannot complain about their actions.” “Can any country honestly claim to be peace loving while insisting on maintaining means of waging war in its own power and not delegating them to the United Nations?” asked a World Federalist delegate. Miss H. Callbeck “The difficulty is not the charter of the United Nations,” replied Dr. Pappe. “The difficulty lies in human nature.” Mr G. C- Titman (World Federalist), asked whether Dr. Pappe thought the United Nations would work as well as the League of Nations or any of the 200 other confederations in history. “I hope it will work better,’ said Dr. Pappe. U.N. Intervention Mr L. C. Southon asked how deleeates could be sure that North Korea started an attack in the Korean war and not South Korea, and, if South Korea had attacked first, that the United Nations would have gone to the assistance of North Korea. Dr. Pappe said he thought that North Korea had attacked first. Had it been South Korea he thought the United Nations would have stepped m just the same. Mr Southon said he wished to dissociate himself from remarks attri-

buted to him in “The Press” yesterday. He had been reported as making an interjection “Lying newspapers!” and saying that imperialism was the cause of war.

[The remarks were made by Mr M. B. Mitchell, who was sitting in front of Mr Southon at the convention on Saturday evening.] “I may believe that, but I do not want the reporter to quote me till I say it,” Mr Southon said. Mr A. Ostler (Comrrtunist Party) said -it was well known that the main questions in the world concerned communism, and any genuine desire to overcome tension had to include the views of Communist representatives. For that reason he wished to thank the organising committee of the convention for an invitation to be present. “Ten years of talk is better to reach an agreement than 10 minutes of war with the weapons of today,” he said amid applause. Mr J. Willetts said he represented the Riverside Community, which was an attempt by Christians to share, not only worship, but the whole of their lives together. Solutions for international tensions had to begin on a. personal level before national and international levels eould be reached, he said. His community advocated Christ’s policies as the best solution. Revision of Charter Mr Titmah said that an article by Bertrand Russell in “The Press” on Saturday had explained the need for the revision of the United Nations Charter. He agreed with the article. The United Nations organisation should be improved. The organisation was an effective basis for a world organisation, and the greatest point in favour of it was the fact that it was. in existence. ■ ,* .. “When the charter was originally drafted it was not what the people of the world felt was necessary at the time,” Mr Titman said. . The “back -room boys” at Dumbarton Oaks had had “a lot of clues.” but they had no right to speak for the people of the world. The people had not been asked. He had not been asked. , „ Mr Titman said that the Government had been asked to set up a com mission to consider the revision o. the United Nations Charter. Request; had come from the convention ir Auckland last year, the Students Association at Auckland University Coliege, and the Auckland Branch of the United Nations Association. A similar petition had be . en J el 2t by the World Federalists to Mr R. M. Algie, M.P.