THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1950. FORMOSAN PROBLEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27450, 25 July 1950, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1950. FORMOSAN PROBLEM

If the reports that the Chinese Communist forces have shelled the Kinmen Islands, the defence outposts of Formosa, are correct and these attacks are continued and developed, an important new element will have been introduced into the Korean war. An invasion of Formosa—if it is attempted—would on first thoughts appear to be simply a matter of the last phase of the struggle between Mao Tsetung and Chiang Kai-shek, but such a view cannot be sustained. It would amount to intervention in the Korean war since it could not be ignored by the American fleet patrolling those waters, and it would also be open to challenge by the United Nations on legal grounds. It is an open secret that ever since the Chinese Communist Government established itself, it has intended to complete the defeat of the Nationalists by attacking their island strongholds. They succeeded in over-running Hainan some time ago and preparations for the more ambitious seaborne invasion of Formosa have been reported. The outbreak of hostilities in Korea, however, and the intervention of the United Nations, has completely changed the situation. A second Communist offensive in the area could not be dissociated from the Russian-inspired attack on South Korea and would have to be most gravely considered as an indication that Moscow had determined to risk everything on war now and that Asia was the chosen battlefield.

The position of Formosa is a peculiarly involved one, for not even the Chinese Nationalists / have a clear legal right to be there. Korea was ceded by China to Japan in 1895 and, under Japanese rule, it was intensively developed, all attempts by the Formosans to assert themselves being ruthlessly suppressed. In 1945, at the end of the Pacific war, the United States installed .Chinese forces on the island, with unhappy results. The Nationalist regime was corrupt and provoked a rebellion in 1947 which was violently put down. Then, last year, the remaining Nationalist armies from the mainland retired to Formosa —a repetition of the invasion three centuries before by Chinese refugees from the Manchus. By the Cairo Agreement, Formosa is to be handed back to China, but this cannot be done until the peace treaty is concluded. The Communist claim that Formosa is a Chinese State is dubious because that Government has not been recognised by all the parties who will be interested in the treaty, and it has, moreover, repudiated all foreign agreements made by Chiang Kai-shek. The present protection of Formosa by the American fleet safeguards the Nationalists, but this action does not necessarily countenance the occupation. A possible solution might be for the United Nations to take charge of the island as a trusteeship in the interests of the Formosans themselves, but obviously this would not be a simple matter to arrange. The results of an attempt, particularly at this time, to force a decision would be incalculable.

THE GOLDEN FLEECE

The most important animal in New Zealand today is the sheep. Never before has our economic prosperity been so dependent on the price of mutton and wool, and—except for a short period in the war years—never before have so many sheep been supported on the Dominion’s farmlands. Their grazing range varies from the upland pastures to fertile smallholdings on the lower levels where dairy farming has traditionally been the accepted method of earning a living on expensive land. There can be no doubt that the increase in the national flock of more than 1,500,000 sheep in the past decade has created problems of farming procedures that many experienced farmers regard with disquiet, problems that are inextricably linked with the economic and political controls to which primary industry in general has been subjected in recent years. Broad plains once productive of thousands of bushels of wheat, and smaller farms which regularly supplied milk for the towns or cream for the export butter trade, are alike given over to fat lamb and wool production. Wool prices, unencumbered by controls, have soared to fabulous heights, and by forcing attention on the value of the sheep, have led to the neglect by many farmers of those principles of good husbandry—correct stocking, the maintenance of cattle, etc.— which are concerned with the continued fertility of the soil. Mutton is valuable, but wool is the real inspiration of the present intense interest in sheep farming. Last year the New Zealand clip realised the record total return of more than £47,000,000, 53 per cent, greater than the sum realised last year. The average price a pound was nearly 3s 2d, approximately Is more than the price received last season. Wool prices have been climbing steadily since -the end of the war, but until last season the values for crossbred wools, which comprise the greater part of the national clip, were substantially below those placed on the finer qualities. Keen competition from America, where domestic supplies are dwindling, stimulated the bidding for coarse crossbreds in the last season, and this demand was principally responsible for the marked increase in the average price. The future at present appears bright. The world demand for wool is not likely to be satisfied for several years, though some resistance to mounting prices must be expected as - accumulated needs are filled and utilisation is brought more closely in line with current production. The American market, in particular, offers New Zealand sheep farmers the prospect of a permanent source of income provided wool can continue to resist the competition of synthetic fibres.

The quotation of Messrs British Thomson-Houston, Ltd., for the supply and delivery of remote-control metering equipment for the four stations at Waipori, in the sum of £8915 ss, was accepted by the City Council at its meeting last night.