REVOLUTIONARY WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23884, 11 August 1939, Page 10

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

CHINA’S RESISTANCE FIGHT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION COUNTRY GROWING IN UNITY “ China’s stubborn resistance has surprised the world, and specially Japan, who fully expected that the ‘ China incident’ would-be over in less than three months,” said the Consul-general for China, Mr Feng Wang, addressing the Palmerston North Rotary Club on China’s confidence in her final victory. Mr Wang was accompanied by thc speaker of the House of Representatives (Mr W. E. Barnard). China is now fighting for national liberation, said Mr Wang. It was a revolutionary war, and as such could never be restricted and handicapped by time or space, by finance, economics or communications, by poison gas or high-powered explosives, by inferiority of weapons or heavy sacrifices. The histories of America. France, Soviet Russia and Turkey proved that any revolutionary war would succeed in the end. Growing Daily in Strength From a military point of view China was growing daily in strength and determination to continue the bitter struggle. The replenishment of China’s manpower, armaments and food supply presented no problem. With the improvement of the conscription system the question of manpower did not worry China, Before the war Chinese troops directly controlled by the Central Government numbered only 100 divisions, but now China had 240, or a total of about 3,000,000 troops, and they were greatly improved in quality as well. That did not include guerrilla troops, totalling another 3.000,000. Of her fighting forces China had used only about 10 per cent., and the other 90 per cent, were waiting impatiently for the opportunity to serve their fatherland. , . ~ At first Japan, thinking that the war would be over in a short period, sent only 10,000 to 20,000 troops to North China, but with the spread of the war to Shanghai she was compelled to send more detachments. Altogether the numbers did not exceed 300,000, but now she had at least 1,500,000 troops in China. Up to the present Japan had suffered at least 800,000 casualties. A Strongly United Nation

After outlining what China had done to combat the Japanese with economic weapons, Mr Wang said Japan's attack had had the result of making China from a political viewpoint a strongly united nation. Northerners, Southerners, and Communists were fighting side by side against a common foe. Chinese political influence in the occupied areas had not been in the least impaired. _ In the provinces of Kaingsu, Chekiang, Kiangsi, Anhwei, Shantung, Honan, Shansi, Hupeh and Hopei the districts totalled 789, of which 489 were completely under Chinese control. 248 under partial control. and not more than 59 under Japanese control. In those occupied areas the Chinese Government still appointed the governor, commissioner and magThe' longer the war continued the more acute would the problem of refugees and children become. It was now more urgent than <-.ver for a concerted international effort to carry on relief work, and the people of New Zealand could show their goodwill for China in no better way than by responding to the appeal for the " adoption ” of China’s young children and bringing them up as citizens of that country.