"Chosen People with a Mission"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

"Chosen People with a Mission"

ing the Northern Chinese but leaving the Cantonese in peace. It had been by taking advantage of these sectional differences that Japan had been able to encroach on China so successfully. With China united under one leader this would no longer he possiblo. Even the reactionary war lords who had held aloof from Chiang Kai-Shek would now bo compelled by public opinion to ally themselves with him. There could be no doubt about it: China was rapidly building up her defensive military machine. War Materials

MR. CARL CROW, who has already written two remarkably interesting books about China, "Four Hundred Million Customers," and "Master Kung," now turns his attention to the present Far Eastern turmoil. In "I Speak for the Chinese," published by Hamish Hamilton, lie reviews the Sino-Japanese conflict from its earliest beginnings and answers those urgent questions everyone is asking: What exactly is happening in China J Who provoked the present-day slaughter 1 ? What can be said in justification of the Japanese ?,What will '•the end bgy? Mr. Crow knows the Oriental people as few Westerners do. In 1915, when Japan presented its 21 demands to China—a foretaste of a more ambitious programme—he was living in Tokio, as business manager of the Japan Advertiser. When the United States entered the Great War ho was sent by the American Government to China as Far Eastern representative of the Committee on Public Information. € First-hand Knowledge For over 25 years he has been the head of an advertising and merchandising agency with headquarters in Shanghai. He seems well qualified, by his experience and first-hand knowledge, to present the case for China before the world. Of outstanding interest In "I Speak for the Chinese" is Mr. Crow's story of what led Japan to accelerate her aggression last year and his opinion of what will be the outcome of it all. Mr. Crow sa3*s: — In December of 1936 there occurred that strange and unexplained incident, the kidnapping at Sianfu of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek by "Young Marshal" Chang Hsueh-Liang. For sevoral days .the Chinese people did not know whether their loader was alive or dead, ,*ttd when it was learned that he was i alive but a captive, an anxious fortnight was to pass before his safety was assured. V; This was during tho Christmas and New Year holiday season and my wife a hd 1 were spending ten days on a house-boat anchored near the beautiful Nine Arch Bridge near Mutu. One

night we were awakened by tho sound of millions of firecrackers being exploded in Soochow, four miles away. It was about midnight, an hour at which all of China can usually be depended upon to be in bed and long asleep. Consequently, we were puzzled until a countryman who was out late on some errand came by and shouted to our servants that the Generalissimo had been released and was then safe on his way to Nanking. Flair for the Dramatic Throughout the Yangtsze Valley there were celebrations that night similar to the one we heard. Their importance and the quality of the joy to which they gave expression can only be appreciated by those who know the Chinese predilection for going to bed early and staying there until dawn. The Chinese have a flair for the dramatic and an old-fashioned faith in the triumph of right over might. Tho threat to their leader and his eventual escape from danger appealed to them as being one of those providential happenings by which the forces of evil are thwarted and virtue allowed to triumph. There followed the publication of the diary which Chiang Kai-Shek had kept during the period of his captivity. It was the simple, soldierly narrative of an honest man, which convinced his bitterest enemies of his patriotism, unselfishness, and sincerity of purpose. After a quarter of a century of search which had often appeared futile and hopeless, China had at last found a leader sho could trust and follow. South and North This was a development which the Japanese militarists had feared but had not foreseen. Their programme in China depended on disunity, on their ability to lop off some portion of Chinese territory without arousing the serious resentment of other parts of tho country. It has been said, and probably with some truth, that during the war between China and Japan, Japanese warships called at Canton and received a friendly welcome. The Cantonese could see no reason for hostility toward a nation which was fight-

Although munitions and other war material imported for the Chinese Government were not listed on the customs returns, the Japanese Secret Service knew that for several years no less than one-fifth of China's total imports fell under that category. They knew that millions of gallons of aviation gasolene and millions of dollars' worth of munitions had been stored in that vast natural fortress, tho province of Szechuen.

It did not require the technical knowledge of a trained military observer to see that the old undisciplined rabble which had constituted the Chinese armies had disappeared and that the modern Chinese soldier was as well equipped and apparently as well trained and disciplined as any soldier in the world. It was obvious that tho longer the conquest of North China was delayed the tnoro difficult and costly it would be. Just when the Japanese war lords decided on early action is known only to themselves, but it was probably in tho early part of 1937—and they waited only for a suitable opportunity.

How Japan Attempts to Justify Her Aggression in China

IS WORLD DOMINATION TOKIO'S AMBITION?

This soon presented itself in the European crisis, which developed as a result of the interference of outsiders in the Spanish revolution, and the mysterious submarine attacks in the Mediterranean.

With a war in Europe so imminent and with most of the European statesmen at loggerheads over troubles which threatened at their own doorsteps, a Japanese invasion into North China was sure to attract a minimum of attention and interest. So they hoped a brief coup would be successful; they might have the thing over with and some kind of semi-legal rights established in North China before the European nations realised what was going on.

Soviet border and the failure of the Russians to reply with their usual vigour convinced the Japanese that they might proceed 'with their North China venture.

As for America, they relied on the peace-at-any-price Americans who virtuously side-step present problems for future generations to settle. Russia's Position

On the night of July 7 Japanese troops engaged in night manoeuvres near the famous Marco Polo Bridge, a few miles from Peiping. In the middle of the night the local citizens were awakened by the marching of troops. According to Japanese reports, which no one was ever given an opportunity of verifying, a revolver shot was heard from the walled town, and on roll-call it was found that one soldier was missing. | Horrified the World It was this comparatively trivial incident which set Japan's war machine in operation, with results which have horrified the world. In the course of their encroachments on China, extending over a long period of years, Japanese statesmen, diplomats, generals, admirals, foreign apologists, and propagandists have from time to time issued a great many statements explaining and justifying their actions. A comparison of these statements will reveal numerous curious contrasts and contradictions —for a half-dozen reasons and justifications will be given for tho same action or policy—but through them all there runs a strain of consistency and sincerity which even the most sceptical must recognise. Tho Japanese arc sincere in their aims. They sincerely believe that they have a mission to perform on this earth, which is the remodelling of the world's civilisation along superior Japanese lines. They believe that they are fully justified in such violent action as may

There remained only Russia to consider, and danger did not appear to threaten from this quarter. According to newspaper reports, which were doubtless confirmed and supplemented by highly-efficient Japanese Secret Service, a widespread network of espionago and sabotage had been uncovered in Siberia, and Soviet Russia was going through another of her bloody purges in which a number of high military officials were convicted of treason and shot.

These trials and executions indicated quite conclusively that there existed among the military forces in Siberia a lack of unity which would make opposition to Japan's plans highly improbable—if Japan acted quickly. To test the matter Japan created a number of incidents on tho Manchukuo-

bo necessary in order to destroy the existing civilisation of China and replace it with Japanese culture. It was neither by accident nor as a part of their military programme of frightfulness that the Japanese destroyed so many of the universities and publishing-houses of China, but a deliberate attempt to wipe out Chinese culture so as to make it easier to establish the Japanese brand. Fanatical Belief This attitude of mind presupposes a fanatical belief in the superiority oi the Japanese peoples over all others, and they actually do believe in that superiority. To those who have been accustomed to look upon them as a very clever but curious little people, this concept appears impertinent to the point of absurdity. But the Japanese have a good deal of justification for that high appraisal of themselves. Look, for a moment, at the overseas and domestic progress they have made.

Less than a century ago Japan was a country completely isolated from the rest of the world, knowing nothing of modern science, industrial or business organisation. No other civilised country had been less affected by modern progress. Within the lifetime of some living Japanese such marvellous progress has been made that the Japanese themselves can account for it only by the miraculous influence of the emperor, who, it must be remembered, is a divinity. The strength of its army and its navy, both constructed in their entirety during this period, has made Japan one of the great Powers of the world. Starting with nothing more than a hazy idea of what a steamship looked like, the Japanese have built up a mercantile marine which covers the world with a network of lines, providing both freight and passenger services unexcelled by any other nation. Manufacturers Helpless By producing cheaper goods, especially cotton textiles, they have terrorised manufacturers of other countries who are helpless against such competition. in their social organisation they also have good reason to assume their own superiority. T

American rackets and gang murders would bo impossible in Japan, as would the labour upheavals of England. Furthermore, they can justify their consciousness of superiority by the fact that Japan has led the world in the manufacture and sale of narcotics, but the Japanese themselves have never become addicts. As a result of all this the Japanese believo that they are the chosen people, that the world would be a bettor place if ifc were a world ruled by Japan. Let there bo no mistake about it. Fantastical as this idea may sound, it is the dream which inspires the Japanese militarists and moves them to such superhuman efforts and sacrifices. I Oft-Repeated Statements The conquest of China constitutes a very important chapter in the programme. With Chinese resources developed by Japan and Chinese manpower augmenting the armies of Japan, sho would create an Oriental power greater than any present combination of Western powers, and would be in reasonable distance of her goal of world domination. According to her oft-repeated statements, Japan's conquests have always

been in self-defence, and from hei; point of view this is truthful.

H BHi

Korea was conquered and made a part of the empire of Japan because of the fear that if this were not done some other Power would seize the helpless country and thus menace Japan. Interesting Conclusions Korea and Manchuria were neighbours with a long boundary line and so Manchuria was conquered because, among other reasons, its close proxim- • lty constituted a menace to Korea. ; Jehol was taken as a safeguard to Manchuria and encroachments were m«ido oil Inner Mongolia for the same reason* Chinese troops in North China threatened these new possessions, therefore a war of self-defence is necessary ■ : in order to bring North China under Japanese control and remove this menace. This line of reasoning, if followed further, as the Japanese have obviously followed ij, leads to some very inter* i esting conclusions. There can be no doubt" but that, if Japan does not take possession of North China, the presence of Chinese troops 1 in the Yangtsze Valley will make it necessary to fight another war of selfdefence, for Chinese troops will,, men- I ace their position north of the Yellovc ! River. J After China What? Having conquered the Yangtsze g Valley, still another war will be neoes- S sary in South China.. Suppose that | Japan wins this war of conquest. She ?] will then have possession of all of | China, but will she be secureJ That she will be is not a reasonable | assumption, for her southern outposta | would be seriously menaced by the f Heavily fortified British Colony of § Hongkong. From here the British $ could at any time dispossess her of | the rich and populous city of Canton f and control the trade and shipping of ' f South China. , ' | By the time she was confronted with i( this problem Japan, in of China, would control about one-third of |j the population of the world. . Hongkong could not be securely held without possession of Singapore, the f Dutch East Indies, and the Philip- Si pines—and so, if. we follow the Japan- jgl ese justification., for conquest and ex- ;jjjy pansion, we find ourselves in a serie* jig of vicious consequenoes fo lfhich £bier§ ijjj can be no logical end. . if After Chin**, jrhslfi ' . ~_ J|