FAR EAST POLICY
Sir,—My congratulations to " Everyman,” it is certainly time for a little realism to be infused into the many discussions on Korea and China. . The stated objectives of the United States and UN were “Back to the thirty-eighth parallel.” If the United States had acted in accordance with that much-publicised statement, the present war in Korea would now be finished. With the US forces in full cry towards the Manchurian border, is it really to be wondered at that the Chinese were a little sceptical of the assurances that the Manchurian border was the stopping place’/ Remember these same forces had already passed the thirty-eighth parallel in spite of earlier assurances. The Island of Formosa is an Integral part of China and it appears to the simple Chinese mind that it is the United States Fleet, not the Russian, that is keeping Formosa free —free from China. In the political sphere it Is quite useless preaching freedom of speech and the many advantages of our democracy to a starving and ill-clothed population if at the same time we are neglecting to offer those people a political machine that will guarantee their country freedom from want. Many fnillions in the East are faced with the very real and ever-present fear of starvation. These same millions are today turning to Communism, not because it is nearly as good as our democracy, but because it is offering to them some real hope in the future. The events of the East must be viewed in the lignt o^The 6 attitude of mind that excludes the possibility of the West being wrong In anything is one of the greatest banners on the road to peace for it precludes the possibility of a victory in the diplomatic field and so leads inevitably to a battle of Communism is an idea that at present appeals to a majority in China and millions in many other backward nations. We must prove to those people that we have a better idea and also we must prove to them that we are really interested in their personal welfare.—l am,
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 27567, 8 December 1950, Page 8
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351FAR EAST POLICY Otago Daily Times, Issue 27567, 8 December 1950, Page 8
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