CHINA AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2298, 31 October 1914, Page 8

CHINA AND THE WAR

IcGERMAN INFLUENCE AT WORK AN EVIL CAMPAIGN ■e , . iv — d il The Peking correspondent of tho y "North Chiua Daily News" writes as i' follows:— . The action of the Chinese Government in announcing to the various Legations on September 3 that it cannot ' ' hold itself responsible for the obligations : of strict neutrality at such points with- . in Lung-kow, Lai-chow, and the neighbourhood of Eaio-chau Bay as aro abs'o- • '"tf 1 ? necessary for the passage and use of belligerent troops operating in connecn tion with tlie defence and attack of ii Ismg-tao, occasions relief in foreign ■ e circles in particular and Chinese circles in general. Among the representatives or belligerent nations it was expected that China would follow the' precedent she created at the time of tho RussoJapanese War when she made the tcrri- i tory east of the Liao free .for the niovet ment of .troops, and .that she has done l B so removes tho possibility of any ill- 1 aavised resistance being olfered to Jap- < ' ar.ese forces in their operations. Some ' Chineso describing themselves as pat- , riots have advocated armed opposition s of the Japanese, but their endeavour to i arouse public sentiment along these l lines fortunately failed to materialise, j fhey were inspired, however, not by ] - patriotic motives, so much as bv Gor- •] f, man influence, and their patriotism is 1 limited, no doubt, by pecuniary considerations. • ] Teuton Inventions, ] s Certain myopic Germans have been ( . employing every means available to in- t fluence tho Chinese Government and ] people against Britain, France, Russia, 1 Belgium, and Japan. Anonymous art tides of a scurrilous nature have been ■ r launched against tho British in particn- J lar, and evidence of German inspire.- l tion can bo detected in various Chinese ' papers'. It is.truo that some members J of the present Cabinet are pro-German, ' : and a wide circle of officers in tho army J make no effort to conceal that they- 'j hope to see German arms triumph. This [ is due to a large extent to the fact that j many' high military officers' have re- j. - ceived their training in Germany, and \ l upon this foundation German agents i l have endeavoured to create a belief in ] l tho Chinese mind that the Teuton arm -\ 3 is" 'strong i enough to smite a world of <: i foes hip and thigh, and save China from ■ i an alleged menace in tho shape of a / > scheming coteries known as the allied j . nations. No objection can betaken, of c > course, to a people developing in their j > own mind a point of view with regard to j, the war, but when deliberate clfort is j s being'made by tho-subjects of one of j [ tho belligerents to foster by calumny a .' spirit of hatred in the Chineso against [ subjects.of other belligerents, it is time » i that attention was called to it in the n j sharpest terms. Tho Germans engaged in . this reprehensible enterprise cut sticks wherewith they themselves may ho beat- j [ on, and German Legation and Consular officials in China are short-sighted iF t they do not • counsel their nationals to n „ restrain themselves in this direction. If "'. anti-foreignism develops in China at this juncture, the genesis of it will be, • | found in' the campaign now being car- ,' ried on by Gertnans in various parts of the country. a An attempt was mado a few days ago a i to call-a meeting of Chinese near the _ Kettler 'Monument, to pass resolutions urging tho Government to fight Japan, . ' but happily tho madness was confined £ ' to tho 'agitators. Behind this reck- \ less movement was, it is said, German • ! influence; and that statement is-to be J, [ credited when the bitterness being ex- i hibited on account of the entry of tho ; Japanese : forces into the conflict is,re- A membered. Pro-German though som& . of the Cabinet may be, they aro not i'{ yet entirely bereft of their senses, ajid ■' the "advice" to assail Japanese invaders .has, so far as they aro concerned, fallen upon deaf ears. Instead, tho Government has* widened the area wliereih operations may'be undertaken, and by'doing so has now incurred the wrath of the Germans. The Chinese are charged.in certain German quarters with conniving at their own downfall by isubmitting to the pressure of Britain and Japan to permit acts hi violence of neutrality. Cerman Coose and Japanese Candor, This afternooa (September 4) the German Charge d'Atfaires announced '■ to tho Foreign Office that a protest would be..lodged against the declaration of yesterday. ■ During the evening he took the steps necessary to record the disapproval of Germany. What the Chinese will reply, if they do 'eply, is obvious. The Germans have mado the fullest use of China's' railways and means of transportation since iho outbreak of the war to convoy men and munitions and food to Tsing-tao, and they- are stated to have "pressed" Chinese coolies into their service at Tsingtao_ in the making of defences. The recital of these facts constitutes sufficient answer to the German official protest against China's acceptance of the inevitable in permitting the troops of Japan to land at certain places; and, in addition, the retort is available that Germany invited the trouble she is about to find herself in by fortifying Tsing-taq and garrisoning it with all available reserves' immediately upon the declaration of wai. What is sauce for the German goose is likewise sauce for the Japanese gander. The leisurely manner-in. which the besieging force is going about its business is worrying the Germans considerably, particularly those unhappy wights within the death trap. ."• They had a considerable length of sodden' country to traverse before they will settle down to an investment, and the opinion held here is that they will- take their time about developing the land campaign.;. Artillery duols will be the order of many days after the_ Japanese have their siege guns in position, and the hope is that tho garrison will capitulate before desperate bloodshed is called i for. The Defence of Tslng-tao. While tho Germans imagine that their action in defending Tsing-tao will inspire the Chinese ! with high respect for them, it is • having an effect upon the Chinese mind quite tho reverse. High officials have spoken to me in tones of utmost astonishment of the folly of tho Germans in throwing away lives when Gorman men will be so badly needed in tho future The Chinese lcok ' upon tho action at Tsing-tao as ono of gross stupidity on the part of j Germany, and leave discussion of tho n. subject with a shrug of the-shoulders j{ wbioh indicates that in their opinion g the Germans have lost their reason, jr "Why," said an official to me the 4,' other day, "did the Kaiser not say to p. the _Germans in the East, stick to your /—' ousiness and bo live Germans, n-i rather than pass a sentence of death % upon them? What have they dono, c„, these merchants, to be ordered to pen \ themselves in Tsing-tao to be shot at „il and killed for no good purpose?" S And, this is tho general sentiment \m throughout tho city; and no doubt f throughout tho country, for tho Ger- 1. nan aetkm finds no sympathy in tho \t minds of the Chinese. Their process r « of thought is such that what tho Occi- V dental regards as tho acmo of heroism f is accepted by them as the quintessence r of foolishuo3o. " l I Jo

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