Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1928. POSITION IN CHINA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 29 June 1928, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1928. POSITION IN CHINA.

The British and the Americans, as befits good democrats, have a soft spot in their hearts for movements of a popular character, and any bid for- freedom is sure of their support. But this predisposition not infrequently blinds them to actualities. This is apparent in the strictures directed against the British Government during the various Parliamentary debates on the Chinese situation. The Nationalists are described as disinterested patriots, who are

endeavouring to protect their land against foreign encroachment, while the British Government is doing its utmost to thwart this legitimate aspiration. Similar views are widely held in America, and are influential enough to have prevented America from co-oper-ating with Britain in China. But there is another side to the question, which is forcibly presented by Mr J. 0. P. Bland in an article in the “English Review.” No one will challenge Mr Bland’s qualifications to speak on this subject. He has spent the greater part of his life in China, and is a recognised authority on Chinese matters. And he insists that this flattering concept of Nationalism is utterly erroneous. He declares that there is no such thing as a conscious nationalist impulse. Russian aid gave Nationalism a certain artificial stimulus, but as soon as this was withdrawn the movement lost cohesion and driving power, disintegrating into rival groups of self-seeking politicians. The Nationalists mftst submit to be judged by their record. "What "have these disinterested patriots achieved f The Kuomintang Party has had a free hand in the south since 1916. Yet it has never made the slightest attempt to establish representative institutions or to reform the services, nor has it produced a single leader who has put the welfare of the country before his own. The net result of these years of travail has been that a number of political mercenaries have enriched themselves, inflicting untold misery upon their fellow-countflymen in the process.