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Western Mail August 5th 1935
No Forgiveness for the
“Rape” of Manchuria
By GARETH JONES.
“China is to us a question of and death. We must
help China along the lines of the awakening of Asia. Chiang Kai-shek,
the head of the Central Government is realising that to fight against
Japan is racial suicide and he and his party, the Kuomintang, are coming
back to the old principle of Sun Yat Sen, the principle of ‘Asia for the
Asiatics’.”
That statement was made to me by one of the most
influential Japanese in foreign affairs as he described to me Japan’s
need for co-operation with China. Japan needed to develop in peace
China’s vast market, he declared. But China must stop the boycott
against our goods.
The children are educated by the Government in
Nanking to boycott our products and to hate Japan. The Chinese
commercial guilds are boycotting Japanese goods. All that must cease if
we are really to co-operate with China.” The great questions in the Far
East today are:
Can Japan and China become friends?
Will China be dominated by Japanese influence?
Will China produce the raw materials for Japan’s
factories and receive textiles in return?
“Hate Japanese”
I called on an important Chinese resident in Japan.
Having read of the warm welcome given to the Japanese official visitors
to Nanking and having studied Gen. Chiang Kai-shek’s plea for
co-operation with Japan, I expected to find in my Chinese host a
supporter of a régime of friendship between the two Asiatic nations. It
was with surprise that I noticed the indignation of the Chinese at the
mention of co-operation.
“ How can there be co-operation?” he shouted angrily.
“We Chinese hate the Japanese more than ever. Do you think that we have
forgiven the Rape of Manchuria? As long as our territory remains
in the hands of our enemies no friendship with them can be sincere.”
“Perhaps the Japanese could help you to fight against
the Communist menace?” I suggested.
He replied: “They wanted to send their military
advisers to help us to fight against the Communists. We do not want
their military advisers. We know their plans. We realise that if the
Communists consolidate their position in Szechuan it will be very hard
to dislodge them, because the country is like Switzerland and is hard to
attack. Nevertheless, we refuse Japanese aid, because once we have
Japanese officers and men in the middle of China they will be as
difficult to dislodge as the communists in the north-west.
“What is the Japanese army’s policy? Are they really
behind the Foreign Minister, Hirota, wanting co-operation with.
China?” I asked.
The Chinese laughed. “The Japanese Army is
very pessimistic about co-operation with China. They are not really
behind Hirota. They think they will let him try out this co-operation
policy, and if that fails they’ll conquer North China.
“What the Army wants is to possess the areas north of
the Yangtse. They went Pu Yi or Emperor Kang Té as they call him, to go
to Peking which, being absolutely defenseless, could be taken one day.
The Japanese would: say that they were helping the Manchus to regain
their rightful empire.”
“That would be a costly policy,” I said. “Would it
be worth it? It would antagonise China, lead to further boycotts,
and there would be internal revolts in North China for the Japanese to
suppress. Surely the Japanese would be too wise for such a policy?”
United China
“Of course, it would be a foolish policy,”
replied the Chinese, “but the Japanese military are, in a mad mood.
They think they can do anything.”
“The Japanese have asked you to stop boycotting their
goods. Do you not think that reasonable?” was my next question.
“It is impudence on the part of the Japanese, a young
upstart nation, to command the Chinese with, our thousands of years of
history. We resent the Japanese saying: “You must stop the
boycott; you must do this, you must do that.” We have
quite as much right to say ‘Buy Chinese’ as you have to says ‘Buy
British.’ Moreover, we want to have our own industries and not have our
manufacturers crushed by Japanese competition.”
The Chinese calmed down and suddenly smiled. “We
have something to thank Japan for, and it is this. China is being
united by hatred of Japan. If Japan had not aroused our hatred and thus
moulded our country into one we would not have put aside internal
bickering and have conquered, the Communists in that important, province
of Kiangsi.”
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If the bitterness of the Chinese is so great against
the Japanese, the course of co-operation between the two nations will
not run smoothly, and “Asia for the Asiatics” will long remain empty
dream.
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