WAR IN CHINA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22878, 5 November 1937, Page 15

WAR IN CHINA

RAIDS AT NANKING NEW ZEALANDER'S ACCOUNT VAST BRITISH INTERESTS The precarious position of British people and interests in the war zone in China, and the Japanese air raids on banking, arc referred to in a letter received liv a l'apatoetoo resident from a relative stationed at Hankow. The correspondent, a New Zealander, is an officer 011 one of the boats of the IndoChina Steam Navigation Company, which operates on the Yangtse River between Hankow and Shanghai, and his vessel, in common with many others, is held up behind the defencG boom and mines laid by the Chinese. Tho officer states that he was at Nanking removing part of tho company's property when 30 Japanese bombers made a raid. About two hours later another 32 machines bombed the town, and altogether there were five raids and over 200 bombs dropped that day. Ho saw three of the bombers como down in flamos, and two big fires started in tho town. In his absence from Hankow, raids had been made there, and at tho time of writing furthor bombings were anticipated. Tho opinion among Europeans in that district, states the officer, is that tllo Japanese do not appear to have been very successful in reaching their objectives, and "are not too clever in modern warfare." Many non-combatants have been killed, but military centres, arsenals and railway terminals in the town raided seem to have escaped. It was estimated that the Japanese had lost 100 aeroplanes in their raids. In advising his New Zealand relatives to send letters via Hongkong, the officer states that everything is very indefinite, and communication all adrift. Contact was being maintained by ipeans of air mail at the time of writing "The British liavo tremendous interests out hero, especially in Shanghai. In one area alone north of Soochow Creek the capital invested is estimated at £180,000,000," continued tho letter. One firm had big interests in banks, shipping, insurance, wharves, cotton mills and breweries, and had 130,000 people on its pay-roll. Whatever the outcome in China, it was predicted that a tremendous change would come over the whole country after hostilities ceased. There was a general feeling in that quarter that they would drag on for some considerable time-.