WANGANUI GIRL IN CHINA SAYS BRITAIN WELL REGARDED THERE

Wanganui Chronicle, 3 October 1947, Page 4

WANGANUI GIRL IN CHINA SAYS BRITAIN WELL REGARDED THERE

Among the New Zealanders working for U.N.R.R.A. in Shanghai fe Miss Louise Tomsett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. I. Tomsett, Wilson Street, Wanganui.

Miss Tomsett. was educated at Convent school’s and i s an old girl of the Sacred Heart Convent, Wanganui. She was employed by Messrs Holland and Brown, accountants, and on obtaining her accountancy exams she later took a position with Messrs Carlton and Carruthers, Wellington, which she held until accepting a position with U.N.R.R.A., where she still is acting as finance officer for the China U.N.R.R.A. office in Shanghai. She was in Taiwan during the revolution and later transferred to Shanghai, IMPRESSIONS OF FORMOSA Giving her impressions of the island of Formosa, where she stayed for some time. Miss Tomsett wrote: “After waiting three hours after landing at Keeling, we piled into jeeps and cam e about 20 miles to Taipeh, through very pretty country—this place is very like New Zealand. It is far more Japanese than Chinese. The Japanese have built the island up during the past ten years. Roads are excellent and there is a splendid hydro system—-tunnels through most of the hills and railroads all through th e Island. Now the place is handed to the Chinese and i s already being exploited to the last degree, so Taiwan can expect a rough spin over the next few years. “We travelled along a beautiful road with ric e fields on both sides, and many streams apparently full of fish from the amount of craft and fishing rods out. We also saw peasants panning for gold. The oeople are better looking than the Chinese and th e children look well fed. “I was taken to Sinko—my new home. We are nine miles from Taipeh and the office, and we have Japanese summer houses in the hills. Each place consists of a main house and several little cottages. I have a cottage to myself, and it is definitely Japanese style. FAMOUS HEALTH RESORT “The bathroom i s a joy. All tiles and bath sunk right into the floor about two feet deep and has constant running water through it straight down from the sulphur springs up the hill a little. This place was a famous health resort. The island is a magnificent place for food, and everywhere you go there are stalls just laden down and coolies carrying great baskets heaped with all kinds of fruit. Flowers are prolific; the roads are lined with hibiscu s blooms and the ponds hav e gorgeous lotus. Our driveway is an absolute, picture with one side lined with blossom trees and the other which ha s pools and rockeries along it just alive with azaleas climbing over the rocks and almost running wild. They are the most highly coloured and biggest azaleas I have ever seen, with tree after tree of blossom, peach, almond and cherry. Freesias are very good here, too. Funnily -enough, there is an almost complete lack of bird life on this island, and the only ones that abound mostly do not sing. Although we live in deep bush there is none of the early morning chorus you get in our bush at home.” A RICH PLUM Tn a later letter Miss Tomsett writes: “This island seems to be rich and a plum for anyone—the Taiwanese are already fed up with Chinese administration and there is a movement afoot to ask United Nations for a mandate for five years and then allow them to proclaim independence. The population is over six million, so it seems they are entitled to do their own governing.”

Then came the revolution. “Shooting was pretty well all over the town, with a concentration in the. main streets and down the famous Banka area,” writes Miss Tomsett. “Troops were moved in and made a clean sweep of everything—in other words, the Chinese had instituted a reign of terror and were repaying the Taiwanese, almost defenceless, for their outrages and criminal assaults over the past week. It was wholesale slaughter. with no one being spared at all. They were seen shooting down young boys and unarmed persons like mad dogs, and what was worse, went right through their pockets, like*, common thieves, and lifted everything worth taking. It x was sickening. The white population did not get off scot free, either. (The writer mentions that several members of the U.N.R R.A. team had narrow escapes.’) As it became a trifle too hot for us here a request, was sent out from the Consulate for a naval vessel to come from Hongkong to take us out. “Anyway, I was never so glad as I was today to say I am British and proud of it, and thank God that is the Union Jack flying there. Ther e is no doubt about it, the British flag and nationality still carries a tremendous amount of weight here, even more than the American, despite the last few years. I’m exceedingly glad I carry a British passport with me.’ “My friend the missionary! who is a very nice person, was also fired on when they were moving some Taiwanese wounded into her hospital. It was decided to pack our trunks and get permission to take them to the British Consulate at Tansui.”