EVENTFUL JOURNEY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1939, Page 7

EVENTFUL JOURNEY

DR. WATSON’S EXPERIENCE IN CHINA PASSAGE THROUGH JAPANESE LINES. HELD UD AT BAYONET POINT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The difficulties of travel in China, particularly in areas occupied by Japanese troops, are outlined by Dr T. A Watson. Masterton, formerly of the Napier hospital, in a report to the Joint Council of the Order of St John and New Zealand Red Cross Society Far East Relief Committee received in Wellington by the secretary of the committee, Mr C. Meachen. Dr- Watson describes a trip from Cheng Chow to Hong Kong and tells how he had a pull-over “ruined by a Japanese bayonet.” The letter, which was written from Hong Kong on December 20, is as follows: —

“I left Cheng Chow a month ago today, experiencing some difficulty in getting out from China. It was impossible for me to reach Chungking, as the only route was through Sian and the railway line between Cheng Chow and Sian had been cut by Japanese artillery. Therefore I had to go through the Japanese lines and reach Hong Kong via Japanese territory. I saw the Chinese general in Cheng Chow and managed to obtain a pass from him to go through the Chinese lines.

“Chinese territory extends to the bank of the Yellow River, which has now changed its course, flowing beCheng Chow and Kaifeng, and so into the Yangtse. This change was brought about by the Chinese bursting the dykes of the Yellow River, thus stemming the Japanese advance. “I reached the river in one day, walking most of the way (about 25 miles). The next morning, after a great deal of argument, I managed to get a boat to take me to the other side. The crossing took about four hours. On the way several shots were fired at us by Chinese guerrillas on the other side. 1 think they must have been aiming at us as they missed us by several yards—it would have been dangerous if they had not been aiming at us.

“Once we reached the other side it took me two days and a lot of trouble to reach Kaifeng, a town in Japanese hands. In Kaifeng, an Australian missionary, Mr Kennedy, procured a pass for me to travel on the Japanese-con-trolled railway to Tientsin. This train, taking three days, travelled only in the daytime, as at night they were afraid of the Chinese irregulars. As I was by myself I had great difficulty in making myself understood, especially at night, when the train stopped and we had to obtain accommodation.

“I had an unpleasant experience at Soochow, where a curfew is enforced every night, at 8 o’clock. The train was late, arriving about 11 p.m. While proceeding through the dark, unlighted streets in a rickshaw, I had a pullover I was wearing ruined by a Japanese bayonet. I discovered that it is most unpleasant talking to someone who understands neither Chinese nor English and who is holding a fixed bayonet in such a position that it pricks your stomach when you move. On further investigation, however, I discovered he was not made of stone. After the exhibition of 20 dollars he softened a little, and, after I produced 50 dollars, let me pass on. It Was well worth 50 dollars.

“Before we reached Tientsin our train was waylaid by Chinese guerrillas, who had torn up the line. On reaching Tientsin, I found that there were several days to wait before I could reach Shanghai. After an uneventful journey I reached Hong Kong and joined Dr Maaka in the new territory, where we are at present attending to refugees, and also a hospital of about 50 beds containing refugees.”