FAR EAST FUTURE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21979, 25 March 1946, Page 2

FAR EAST FUTURE

NEED FOR VIGILANCE NEW ZEALAND’S INTEREST The importance of active interest and vigilance on the part of Australia and New Zealand in Far Eastern developments and in the 'control of Japan was emphasised by Mr. J. M. Bertram, a former Auckland Rhodes Scholar, addressing a large audience in Auckland under the auspices of the New Zealand Society for Closer Relations with the U.S.S.R, Mr. Bertram served with the British Embassy at Chungking- before the Japanese entry into the war. Subsequently, after spending three and a-half years as a prisoner of war in Japanese hands, he revisited Japan and China as a member of the New Zealand section of the Far Eastern Control Commission. Danger of Feudal Groups Mr. Bertram said the ordinary workers and peasants constituted good material from which to build a new Japan, but the danger of a re-emerg-ence of the powerful family feudal groups persisted. Five of the biggest holding companies were to be broken up on General MacArthur’s orders, but other large groups are still untouched. If Japanese industry revived —and he thought there would be an attempt at revival —it would be within the framework of the same family combines. Although nominally liberal, the present Japanese Government was essentially reactionary. However, there was hope of a more representative Government emerging from the coming elections. Much depended upon the ability of the Communists and Social Democrat groups to establish a united front. Dominion’s Responsibility

“In the past New Zealanders have not thought of having a major policy in the Far East and have been content to tag along behind Britain,” Mr. Bertram stated: “However, we now have a say in the Control Commission, and on many points our specialised Australian and New Zealand angle is somewhat different from that of Britain. We have a vivid and immediate concern in Far Eastern developments that demands constant vigilance.” Mr. Bertram added that it would be an immediate and overwhelming disaster for Australia and New Zealand if Japan were again to pass under its old reactionary control. The responsibility must be accepted seriously. There was representation in Far Eastern Affairs comparable to New Zealand’s participation in the United Nations, and the Dominion should not hesitate to have a policy of its own.