CHINESE FLAGS

Evening Star, Issue 22442, 12 September 1936, Page 9

CHINESE FLAGS

A GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY The business of manufacturing national and Kuomintang flags is now a Government monoipoly in China. _ On Nanking road in the International Settlement as it somewhat ironically happens, is now located a party and national flag manufacturing and sales bureau operated by a group of Chinese merchants who recently obtained an exclusive franchise from the central publicity committee of _ the Cen tral Kuomintang and the Ministry of Interior of the National Government. Although the plant thus far operates at but 25 per cent, of capacity, it is capable of turning out from 30.000. to 50,000 flags a day, according to size and other factors. All materials _ used are domestic products, produced in 10 sizes with a uniform three-to-two proportion of length to width, and priced at from about two cents to three dolEven the largest flag, the bureau emphasises, is being manufactured from a single piece of cloth, instead of being sewed together, and this is cited as a symbol of China’s efforts towards unification Efforts are being made to push the sale of the flags to overseas Chinese, and branches are being opened in each province. The Chinese national flag has a tricoloured scheme with blue sky, a white sun and red land, while_ the blue skywhite sun combination is the pattern of the Kuomintang flag. The party emblem occupies exactly a fourth of the total dimension of the national flag. Twelve white triangles around the white sun suggest the old Chinese system of dividing times of day into a dozen periods. The total space of the 12 triangles equals the total space of the white sun. Special regulations minutely prescribing manufacture and display of the flag have been issued from Nanking, and the Government has also fixed 12 days of the year on which the national and party flags are to he hoisted throughout the nation, and nine days on which they are to he shown at half-mast. The anniversaries include such events as the first of the year, anniversary of establishment of the Republic; August 27, birthday of Confucius; September 9, anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s first attempt at revolution; October 10, National Day, and November 12. Dr Sun’s birthday. Flag raisings may also he ordered for special occasions by due notice from Nanking.