ADVANTAGE DOUBTFUL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26416, 21 March 1947, Page 5

ADVANTAGE DOUBTFUL

COMMUNISTS PLANNED EXODUS Rec. 10 p.m. NEW YORK, Mar. 19. Reports of what the Chinese Government forces found in Yenan when they entered it are lacking in Nanking, but it is certain they occupied an almost empty town, says the New York Times correspondent in Nanking, who says that when he visited Yenan early in March, it was already half deserted. All official personnel and establishments had been moved away except what was needed for the bare essentials of military and political headQuarters. The Communists, the correspondent adds, evidently staged no concerted opposition to the Kuomintang drive, and. in keeping with statements of Communist leaders two weeks ago, made no determined defence of the capital. The capture of Yenan will not prove of much military advantage to the Nationalists. Indeed, it may be a serious liability. Yenan is in the centre of a sparsely inhabited and relatively poor area, continues the despatch, and the Communists carefully denuded the countryside of food to intensify the Nationalists’ supply problems. The capture, however, is a psychological gain for the Government. The Communists’ administrative difficulties will be increased and their contact with the outside world, which is so necessary for propaganda, will be hampered.