SETBACK IN CHINA

Waikato Times, Volume 195, Issue 22461, 23 September 1944, Page 6

SETBACK IN CHINA

ALLIES LOSE AIR BASES NEW YORK, Sept. 22 The Tokio radio claims that the Japanese have reached Wuchow, a north-eastern suburb of Kweilin. The main force of the city’s defenders is retreating in disorder to the south-west after destroying military establishments. The Allies have lost their forward air bases in China from which they might have met Admiral Nimitz and given aerial protection to his amphibious forces on thif China coast, says the United Press correspondent at the headquarters of the American Air Force in China. The abandonment of the Kweilin aerodrome system has deprived General Chennault of his most forward springboard, the correspondent adds. After capturing Hengyang Japanese ground forces were expected to strike south along the railway toward Canton, but instead they pushed in a south-westerly direction toward Kweilin. Avoiding Future Wars The Chinese Minister of Information, Mr Liang Shan Chao, said that the presnt censorship in China was purely war-time and has now been liberalised. The Government believes that the free interchange of news among the nations will be an effective means of avoiding future wars and promoting a real international understanding after the war. General Stilwell’s communique reported widespread operations on September 19 and 20, in which Japanese supply lines, storage depots, shipping and airfields were bombed and strafed. Japanese Pushing On The Chinese spokesman said that after capturing Wuchow the Japanese are pushing on to Liuchow, the strategic junction of the Hunan, Kwangsi and Weichow railroads. The spokesman admitted that Wuchow had fallen without much opposition, but declared that Chinese resistance would stiffen as the enemy drove deeper into the Kwangsi province.

Other Japanese forces captured Jungyua, 60 miles south-west of Wuchrjw.