CASE FOR CHINA

Evening Post, Issue 122, 26 May 1933, Page 5

CASE FOR CHINA

BASIS OF EQUALITY

WILL NEVER SURRENDER

JAPANESE MILITARISM

The case for China was presented b, Mr. Chunhow H. Pao (Chinese Consul during the courso of an address at ; V.M.C.A. luncheon yesterday. It was, said the Consul, a great pica sure to him to bo provided with such ai opportunity of presenting his viewpoin on the present conditions of China, aii< the aspirations ,of her people. Tin present Government of China was i Nationalist regime, which portrayei China's now desire for nationalisin.Thi mass opinion in China today demanded that China's international relation; should'be placed upon a basis of equal ity, and mutual respect f6r her sovereigi rights. The policy of his Governinew was to attain, notmerely in name, bm in fact, to the; status of absolute in dependence and equality in the familj of nations. ' JAPANESE INVASION. "At present,^' ho said, "of Interest to the whole world is the Japanese invasion of China. ,Wo Chinese as a nation bear no ill-will towards the Japanese people as a whole. When Japan in 1923 was visited by a_ great natural calamity which resulted in the destruction of her leading cities, China was one of the first countries to extend 1o her tho warmest sympathy and every material help. Great and profound, indeed, was, therefore, her surprise and indignation when, following the Communists ravages and one of the most terrible floods known in Chinese, history, affecting some hundred million people, , Japan, suddenly, and without provocation, launched an attack on the night of September 18, 1931, on Muk- ■*■ tlejij and has since extended her control over practically the wholo of Manchuria ond- Jeholby armed force, and to ...this very day that force remains there. This has- served only to further intensify Chinese feeling against Japan. While Japan ignored the repealed attempts of the League of Nations .to effect an - aniicable settlement of the dispute, and persistently refused to withdraw her troops and ceaso military operations, tho Chinese people resorted to patriotic Movements, and sought to retaliate- by pacific resistance. « "The Japanese, however, instead of feeling a sense of repentance, became more bellicose. The Japanese Government, on the plea of affording protection to its nationals and their property in Manchuria, decided to dispatch a strong force to occupy Chinese territory. If wo wcro to admit the right ■ of any Power to send troops .to protect its nationals wherever they may happen to be in China, then China would KOon be overrun by alien armies and ; the independence and territorial sovereignty of China would become a mere farce. If Japan-, on the pretext of protecting its nationals, resident in in-land-China,, can send numerous troops . there regardless of China's rights, what is there to prpvent another Power from sending troops into tho interior to afford protection to its'nationals? "JAPAN HAS TOLD THE WORLD." "Japan, ignoring the entreaties for peace of all the nations of tho world, and defying the League of Nations, and disregarding her obligations assumed • tinder solemn international treaties, has fold the world in effect that sho has the right to invade the territory of China, to scizo the thrco Eastern Provinces or Manchuria, to set up a ptijipct govornnient, and call iir an::independent State as the so called Maiichukno,: and finally to shape and to control its destiny ; until Japan and. her puppet State become one political entity in name as well as in fact. "The wrongs perpetrated upon us by the Japanese havo been numerous, of which the most notorious were the forcible imposition of the Twenty-one Demands in 1915, and the demand to concsdo Shantung to Japan, which caused the relations between the two countries to be severely strained. Shortly aftevwards, in 1928, thero was the Japanese outrage at Tsinau (the capital of Shantung Province) in which Japan relied upon her military forces to infringe upon China's sovereign rights. These outrages undoubtedly aroused the indignation of the whole Chinese nation, and the people themselves began the anti-Japanese boycott in China as an economic weapon against the aggression of the Japanese. "I'want to take this opportunity of ■emphasising a few important points in tho policy of the Chinese Government in respect of the present situation:— "(1) Neither the Chinese Govern-, went nor they Chinese people entertain any ariti-foffign feelings. However, in view of the present state of affairs ■ produced by Japanese military aggression, it would be absolutely impossible for the Chinese people to express the most cordial and friendly sentiments to the Japanese people. It entirely rests with Japan herself to improve and restore the ' relations between the Chinese and the Japanese people. CHINA WILL NEVER SURRENDER. "2. China will never surrender one inch of her territory, n^fS? any of her sovereign rights under stress of military force which she condemns, and is '''determined to resist to the best 6f: her ability. "3. China will never agree to any solution of. the present situation which takes .into account the puppet orgauisatinn in the three Eastern Provinces established, maintained, and controlled by the Japanese military forces. "4. China is confident that any reasonable proposal for the settlement of the present situation will be necessarily compatible with tho letter and tho spirit of the Covenant of the League ■of Nations, the Anti-War Pact, and the Nine-Power Treaty, as well as with China's sovereign power, and will also effectively secure everlasting peace in the Far East. A GREAT CHANGE COMING. "At the present day, tho nations of the world are watching* with interest the various developments taking plaeo in China, a land of wide dimensions and great resources, and having a popula- - tipn r>£ 435,000,000 people whose out-, standing characteristics are industviousness, thrif tineas, and kind-heart-edness. I have faith in . the • ability of the Chinese people to work out their own salvation, and to gradually establish law and order. I have faith also in the ability of the Chinese to take from the West that which will be helpful to their larger economic developments. Furthermore, I believe we shall witness, in the near future, some tremendous changes.in tho Chinese economic structure which will result in tho opening up of the country to tho mar: kets of the world. The Chinese people will welcome the development of their country's resources, which will be of ' great benefit not only to China herself, but also to the countries co-operating with her. We sincerely hope that tho relations between China and all othfcr nations will bo one of ever-increasing friendship and goodwill, a state which the Chinose people havo been eagerly anticipating."

A contract has been let by the Government for £5680 for tho erection of a new villa for women at the Stoke Mental Hospital, Nelson. The villa will be a single storey wooden building with accommodation for 50 patients. The successful tender was C. S. Luncy, of Christchurch. '