CHINESE TROUBLE

Hokitika Guardian, 14 January 1927, Page 4

CHINESE TROUBLE

NO NEED FOR PESSIMISM

I) IT NET) IN'. .lan. 12. “J do not think there is any need for pessimism, though a good deal of discomfort, may he experienced during the next eighteen months,” said Major MacGregor Knox, the representative of the British Rubber Growers’ Associa;imi. who is at present on 'a business visit to New Zealand, when speaking to an “Evening Star” reporter this morning on the present situation in China. Major Knox is a widely-travel-ed man with a very close knowledge of conditions in the Epst, as he was con-, nectod with the rubber planting in-' dustrv in the Federated Malay States for some years, and was in China as recently as eighteen months ago. He is now-stationed in London. His observations, therefore, should bo of considerable interest. “The most notable feature.” he said, “is the change that has come over the. people of China. Eighteen months ago the risings were sporadic affairs, and it Wis often difficult to know why the various forces were fighting. Gradually, however, these had been concentrated into one concerted movement, controlled from Canton, and it distinct Minwin"' ol'tin. Chinese national spirit.” E ASY MARKS FOB AGITATORS. Only eighteen months ago there was little 'anti-loreign feeling shown at all, and Major Knox accounts tor the change by the propaganda that has been''circulated, particularly regarding the aims of Great Britain in the Last. The British are represented as men with the aims of subjecting the East, and as Do per cent of the Chinese arc utterly uninformed outside their own little sphere, they are easy marks fot agitators. The success met with by I ho Southern movement has encouraged lh>- belief that the Western Bowers ere afraid to act together. Major Ktmx expressed the opinioi that Great Britain was in an extreme Iv difficult position, as she was standiii; alone and was not receiving the snp port of the other concessionary Powers Me thought that ultimately then

would luivo to bo somo concerted action on th«' part of these Powers, ami in the meantime Great Britniu was kept well informed of the position, the Consular service in China* being the finest in the world. It was policy for Britain to stay her hand until the world knew the justice of her cause, hut there was no question that Britain would eventually take the lead in the matter. She was prepared to reconsider the treaties with China once there was a thoroughly stable and representative Chinese Government. nothing to prevent FRTEXDLY RELATIONS. “There is nothing to prevent friendly relations between the British -and Chinese,” said Major Knox, and he l instanced the relations existing in the I Straits Settlement and Federated MaI lay States between the British and | the Chinese, who are mostly of soutliI era Chinese origin, though many of ; them had never been in ( hina. In the Straits Settlement, and Malay States i there was a large and prosperous C'lliI ncso community, drawn principally

from Canton. Amoy ami Swatow, ami in a great number of cases they had done extraordinarily well. Many distributing and trulmg concerns weie controlled by Cliincse. and the majoiily of the retails shops were in the hands of Chinese, also some of the richest and many of the smaller concerns in the tin-mining industry wore owned and controlled hv Chinese. Most nf them were loyal citizens of the British Empire, and served to illustrate just witit a. Chinaman was capahi'e of under stable government. AN INFLUENCE FOR PEACE. “Do thev take anv active part in the public life of the community?” This was a (juestion that was put to Major Knox-, uul he said that there wore Chinese on the federated Council who sat side by side with the British officials, while Chinese also occupied scats on various sports bodies. That the Chinese holding big interests in the Malay States and Straits Settlement, would he a big influence ami a very useful medium for peace was the view expressed by Major Knox. Many of tlie.se Chinese bad been horn among Englishmen, and yet their clan was in China, and mlurallv their irr'nations were for peace. In the Federated Malay States the hulk of the coolie labour on the rubber plantot ions was provided by lamil Inborn, who found conditions hotter than was the case in India. Tamil labourers got the equivalent of Is Ad a day. There was also a good deal of Cliincse labour employed in clearing the jungi'e and on the tin mines, hut ii was more expensive than (lie Indian, though the t mlieso were better workers, l nually the | Chinese preferred to work .utra. t. CHINESE VIEWS.

WELI.I NCTOX. Jan nary 12. Th" " Eos! ” vestenlav published an interview w’itli a young Chinese of tic \i:w that the southern Chinese arc goi’‘g to will. He remarked that the ( ldtiese vere going to kick till the foreigner, out. He referred to the ~.,11 tax and the tariffs, indicating that '.!, Chinese would make the llritish ],.,y to cuter China, lie said the ( hinese only want: d. however, to net cu f 1:■. great, principle of being lair, h'lvd ■ would be on equal terms. The interview lies eaused seme cori". spoiuleiiee. The English secretary of the ( hinese M:’.so"ie Society says the society, u hose member.* e-moose one-third of the ('hinese population of the Dumini,in. desire emphatically to protest against the mis-statement. The anti-Rritish section, he says, arc members ef a society calling themselves the ('hinese "Nationalist League, who are the agitators or llolsheviks of China, and lie asserts that this society ; net only subsidised but controlled from Russia. The Masons, all ol wiior] are Cantonese, whilst acknowledging the allegiance they owe to the authorities in Pekin, are loyal to th.: (ottnirv of ill. if adoption, and quite a number of New Zealand-born Chinese fought with the Dominion troops. The (hinese are particularly proud that though they themselves cannot. become naturalised. their children horn in this Dominion are members of! ill- great Ibitisti Kinpire. They lieny that the New Zealand (iovcrnniont I discriminates against them through ('ustoiiis duties, many products, siteii as rice, being duty free.

CHINESE CONSUL’S! RERUKIv AY ELL INO TON. .laimary 12. Li Kwang l.feng. Consul in New Zealand for the Republic of China, writes: —•' Last evening T was constantly (ailed to the ’phone by countrymen, who are indignant at the bombast of| the young Chinese, who ventured :o express his op,in.ion. and. said lie. that of (hinese residents in Wellington. relation to foreigners in China, parti- | eiilarly the English. The true Chinese i is a man of pence. He sees no wisdom in war. His principle is that disputes should he settled by payment | of compensation to the injured party—| the spirit which moves him in national, j ethic or filial duty, and which calls] upon him to pay scareful attention to! every want of his parents. It is oh-1 vious that lie cannot do this if he goes, into battle and gets killed. The young. Chinese who lias not yet strayed from; the moral code-of his forefathers is j taught that the nobler sort of mnuj emphasises the good qualities in others j and does nor accentuate the had: the, inferior sort does the reverse. Also in j private life he is taught to show re-j «nort in the management of affairs, to 1.0 attentive ami thorough in his deal-, ings with others, to he honest and conscientious. ami never to abandon those, principles even among savages. Your, young Chinese informant has evidently, forgotten the. teachings of his fathers, and the best that -an he said of him is that his silly statements must have been provoked by the equally silly statements of the few New Zealanders who call themselves 1 The White New Zealand Party.’ ”

AUCKLAND CHINESE. AUCKLAND, January 12. The Chinese population of New Zealand is over 3000, of which some OOP arc in Auckland. The feeling among Auckland Chinese, as far as can he gathered ill conversation with representative men. is that the situation in China, is not as bad as some of the cable messages would lead one to believe. and that a settlement will bo readied without resort to war. “We are friends of the British,” said a Chinaman in Auckland yesterday. “ We do not want to sec war, and our people in China-do not want war. They will do everything to avoid it.” Another prominent naturalised Chinaman gave the opinion that the Chinese themselves believed the English were anxious to avoid trouble. This man’s personal opinion is that there would not he war. He was emphatic that there would not he war with the British as long as the British did not start it. China did not uant to* go to war with any othci nation and the Powers, in his opinion, would see that there was no \yar between the Chinese and a white nation. The ' Chinese themselves had been fighting j each other for the past two years. ! The Cantonese aim, it was stated, was to form one central Goveinment and unite China, and not to argue the point with Great Britain, or any otheer nation. The concession the British held in Hankow was under the Pekin Government, but although the Cantonese had taken it. it- was not their desire to ask Britain to give it Up. Had this been the Cantonese policy the Govrument would have asked the British to give up Sharneen, a British island concession at Canton. '1 wo years ago, when shooting took place, it, seemed evident that the Bolshevik agitation was to get the British to do the wrong thing, which would make an excuse for a clash.