CHINESE IN DOMINION

Evening Star, Issue 18336, 25 July 1923, Page 5

CHINESE IN DOMINION

WHY DO THEY COME HERE? CANTON PROFESSOR PUZZLED. Tho impressions of a Chinese professor on his visit to Now Zealand were given to an Auckland 1 Herald ’ reporter by Professor Pan Sicn Chung, M.Sc., wiio loft by the Niagara on Friday last. r ‘ What a pity,” said Professor Pan Sion Chung, “that tho sons of that vast, rich land of the East had to come here only to be hated, outcast, and prejudiced against! I trust, however, that such prejudice springs purely from economical questions. I have noticed how exceptionally well I have been treated by all classes, wherever I travelled in this country. I often wonder how tho Chinese could live here under existing conditions. While has seemed so attractive' to them puzzles me. I don’t believe that anything could attract them except your splendid Government. I may bo under a wrong impression travelling here Just when" your vegetable kingdom is in a dormant state. All I have seen along tho railroads was mountains and rolling lands, which are, at best, good for grazing and forage crops. It reminded me of my seven months’ sojourn in tho Vosges Valleys, fifteen miles from Switzerland, where dairying was also a principal industry. In China, however, there are hundreds of millions of acres of virgin land, perhaps ton times more fertile than what I have seen in the Vosges and hero, but, unfortunately, entirely forsaken. Instead of being a land of promise, many of her sons were compelled to leave her to seek thoi.r fortune abroad, simply on account of unsettled conditions. UNREST IN CHINA.

What couldn’t a. Chinese do at home with the £I.OO that lie had to pay on his landing in New Zealand, and the £SO in addition for his travelling expenses from China, if only his own Government could give him the protection! Your fear of this country being flooded by Chinese will inevitably cease as soon as a good Chinese Government is formed. Wo believe it will be, and all wo want for that is time. No complete transformation will take place without China going through every necessary stage of vicissitude. Several times the question of the “ Yellow Peril ” lias been brought to my notice. I have always considered it as a luxurious air castle of the white people. Having loss people in your whole nation than one of our largo cities you naturally think that it cannot Ire possible for a nation to have such a teeming population as 400,000,000. Don’t yon realise, too, that there are 4,200,000 square miles of land in China, thus making the population of China loss than. 100 per square mile? Not a single country in Europe, is not throe or four, or oven six times as crowded as China, considering its population per square mile. Once there is protection, transportation, and modern methods of farming, China is more than able to accommodate d her people. Like the French, the Chinese like to stay in their own country. Plenty of land is available. At present only a small portion of the land in China is ni'ider cultivation—ls percent. of the total area., according to the Ministry of Agriculture—which is far too low for maintaining her population. NO AGGRESSIVE AMBITION. The Chinese are a peace-loving people, rather building a wall than lighting to keep their enemies from invasion. Wherever Chinese are found it is admitted that they are law-abiding and honest. They mind only tiioir own business, and arc without the slightest degree of agressive ambition. Upwards of 3,000 Chinese in Tahiti have been successfully ruled by the French, who number 200, including men, women, and children.

Do not misinterpret my point, however, and think that the Chinese are not capable of ruling. In fact, the Chinese had been successful rulors like the'Homans in tbs past. What I try to point out is that they are nob a dangerous people in any sense. Discussing intermarriage between Chinese and European, Professor Pan Sion Chung said the question had been recently brought up by a certain bishop with whom he agreed. “ Love knows no geographical boundary. Marrying with a person of your own nationality gives no guarantee of happiness. I have seen in Europe many eases of unhappy marriages within the circle of my own acquaintances. Hundreds of thousands of divorce cases happen in the United States each year. More serious consideration should be given to a marriage between a Chinese and European, of course, because the society is more keen about such wedlock. Unhappy eases aro more conspicuous than happy ones, and they easily catch the attention of the public. Think seven times seven before such marriage is made is ray advice.”