CHINA’S DEMANDS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 September 1929, Page 7

CHINA’S DEMANDS

NOTE TO AUSTRALIA

CONSUL’S ATTACKS ON POLICY

SYDNEY, August 29

A mild sensation was caused, especially in Canberra., when it became known that the ConsulGeneral for China (Mr F. T. .'Sung) had forwarded to the Commonwealth Government a Note making certain demands in regard to Australian national policy. The exact nature of the letter’s contents has no.t been revealed, but it is known thai it does not contain such a far-reach-ing demand as for the. abolition 01 the White Australia policy. It was at first supposed that it did, and it was imagined that that policy had all of a sudden been flung into the' vortex of international affairs.

When interviewed the Consul-Gen-eral said that the document could not be regarded as being in the nature of an ultimatum. “It is simply a memorandum.” he said, “dealing with the restrictions on Chinese resident nationals in Australia. I have asked the Ministry to modify these restrictions. My chief mission to Australia is to create better trade relations between China and- Australia. We want to get our old trade back again. Years ago that trade was large, but since then it has dwindeld. There is no chance of our doing business under the present facilities.” Discussing the suggestion that the Chinese who had come to Australia since Federation were disappointed because they were barred from obtaining naturalisation papers, Air Sung said: “Our Government docs not cneouiage Chinese in Australia to become naturalised. We believe that it would only lower the nationality of onr rhee. The matter is not mentioned in the memorandum;” Asked whether the granting of the facilities asked for would increase the number of Chinese in Australia, Mi Sung said “No. It will not mean any inflow of Chinese into this country.” It is interesting to recall that since his arrival in Australia Mr Sung has expressed himself strongly on the subject of Australia’s immigration laws. On one occasion .he said, complaining of the treatment meted out by Customs officials to some Chinese: “They are not hogs and cattle to be kicked about.’-’ On the same occasion he said: “Australia is a very great country—but it is very thinly populated There are only a little more than G,C00,000 .people here. It should have a population many times greater. You have high wages. How are you going to solve your problems? It seems to me that this country is not well populated. There are not enough men to compete. The man who does not have to •compete docn not jwork hard enough. He knows lie ,is protected by trade unions.”

This Mr Sung is essentially a modern Chinese—-a product of the University (American) dapper, and obviously not afraid to speak his mind. He has said things about Australians that would not be tolerated if they were said by Australians. Still, he has given utterance, to so many home truths that there has not been a voice in protest. It is not surprising therefore that he should go further. He has insisted that the Chinese are peace lovers and not law-breakers. He has instanced the case of a Chinese who has lived in Brisbane for 23 years, and who had three children in .China. He could hot under the existing laws bring those children to Australia, and he had appealed to the Consul to use his influence with the Australian Government to' permit him to do so. ‘lt seems strange to me,” said the Con-sul-Ceneral, commenting on the case “that this man is not permitted to enjoy family life. He is .not an animal. I could not stand being separated from my family even for a short period when I' was a political refugee. I know that you people here stand for justice. I don’t blame your Government. Ido blame my own former Government, who paid no attention to our Chinese in foreign countries. That is the result of our corrupt, rotten Government in the past. So I hope that some of these little things will be adjusted. ‘.‘Many things ip the past have caused unpleasant misunderstandings. China has great man-power—power that cannot ho manufactured by any machinery in world. If you ship your unfinished goods to China the Chinese could do much for you. You can ship wool and hides to China, where we can provide you with manpower—and the result will be of advantage to both sides.”