CHINA'S LEADERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 23, 28 January 1936, Page 14

CHINA'S LEADERS

A GROWING COHESION

IN FACE OF JAPAN'S ADVANCE

MINIMISING FRICTION

It is reported that at a recent interview General Chiang Kai-shek informed the Japanese Minister at Nanking of his Government's determine-

tion to resist the Japanese demands in i North China, says a writer in the "Manchester Guardian." Often described as tall, Chiang Kaishek is, in fact, under five foot nine. Slim, wiry, well knit, those adjectives are accurate, but become a little more j lifelike when understood in a sense that includes litheness. That quality, in turn, is the expression of more than bodily flexibility—of instant mental, moral, and physical co-ordination. Chiang's eyes, invariably remarked upon by anyone who describes him, bespeak not only quickness but resourcefulness and confidence too. If, as has been said to me, his way of concentrating his eyes suddenly upon you is a deliberate device, it is the only suggestion of pose in a demeanour otherwise unrehearsed and extremely simple. He wore, as one expected, khaki uniform and, a little unexpectedly, what appeared to be black leather slippers. The effect even of the uniform, however, seemed to be to emphasise the non-military as opposed to the military characteristics one had expected. Some of this emphasis no doubt sprang from the domesticity of our immediate environment, a small and cosy room of which the comfort and taste obviously owed much to the presence and personality of Mme. Chiang, an unusually pretty and very able woman. A DIFFERENT TERM. To the extent that these details detract from the picture of Chiang as a "war lord" they are important. The Chinese equivalent of "generalissimo" as applied to Chiang has been superseded by a term with a different but not less authoritative connotation, that of "chairman," the "chairmanship" being that of the Military Council. In that position what he says "goes" quite as much in virtue of the authority he derives from being one of a number of chairmen in a system conceived, and to a large extent managed, by civilians as by reason of his command of an army. China's domestic history has been stormy in proportion as military dictatorship has been sought or feared. What is now happening as the sixth conference of the Central Executive committee' of the Kuomintang illustrated, is the transfer of that fear to the quarter whence military dictatorship threatens—Japan. It is, in part, this change that brought to Nanking Yen Hsishan from Shansi Province, Feng Yuhsiang, the "Christian General," Chou Lu,' and other delegates from Canton, and that nearly brought Hu Han-min, who for years past has been an opponent of Chiang's, and Li Tsung-jen, of Kwangsi. There can be no doubt that Japan has long been aware of China's growing cohesion and that she is doing her best to impede it. For months past she has been trying to bring about *the establishment of a "Hua Pei Kuo," or Kingdom of North China. Some of the underlying motives of the project relate to Manchukuo, to which North China is now stated quite frankly, both in Tokio and Dairen, to be necessary for economic and strategic reasons. These reasons are largely expressions of disappointment at Manchuria's economic yields and of ambitions increased by the ease with which the Lytton Report was disregarded. These ambitions now undoubtedly include the acquisition of a general control" over China's affairs, the establishment of a North China Kingdom being regarded as a first step. UNIFYING EFFECT. Personal investigations in North China have led me to the belief that Japan's attempt to start a separatist movement has not merely proved disappointing but, in conjunction with another circumstance, has had the effect of uniting the North with Central and Southern China to an extent which most observers would have considered unlikely six months ago. The other circumstance is, of course, the non-specific and overriding nature of the agreement, or understanding, into which Japan wants China to enter. Japan's attitude to the Chinese Government's nationalisation of silver is an illustration of her attitude in other matters. Her opposition is based primarily upon the fact that the Chinese Government had the temerity to make an important decision without previous reference to Mr. Suma, the Japanese Consul-Gen-eral in Nanking, or General Doihara, the so-called "Lawrence of the Far East," or Colonel Tafcahashi, the Japanese military attache in Peking, or Mr. Hirota, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or any other of several persons who at any given moment may, rightly or wrongly, be held to represent the Japanese Government. Similarly, her ideas of economic co-opera-tion are much more accurately described as proposals for economic exploitation. The Chinese bankers and others with whom I have discussed the matter from one end of the country to the othtr all say the same thing— namely, that they would welcome cooperation, but that that is not what Japan is after. She wants this or that proposal signed "on the dotted line." THE BUILDERS. In these circumstances the relations between the two countries are not improving and cannot improve. The only hope of an improvement is a change in Japan's attitude. In so far as Japan has underestimated China's capacity for resistance and the risk of becoming at the same time involved in hostilities with Russia, and has ignored her own increasing financial difficulties, the hope is by no means a forlorn one, especially when it is remembered, as it should be, that influential persons and groups in Japan disapprove of the army's arrogant and bullying methods. Meanwhile China is trying in various ways to minimise points of friction and is proceeding with far-reachng schemes of construction and reconstruction. Agricultural, sericultural, fiscal, and other administrative reforms are being given progressive effect, flood prevention measures are being taken, road, railway, telephone, arid air communications are being increased, education is being simplified, made more practical, and extended, public-health work, backed by the "Hsin Huo," or New Life, movement, is raising social standards, and as a result of these various activities a new outlook and a new spirit are being created. There is not a word in this praise which cannot be substantiated, and it is praise that has been long overdue.