A STATESMAN'S SPEECH
Sir,-In your recent editorial portraying Mr. Attlee as a great statesman, you remark that "the alternative to understanding is the closed mind." But surely there is another alternative to understanding, viz., misunderstanding. And anyone who believes, as Mr. Attlee professes to believe, in the peaceful intentions of the Chinese Reds, misunderstands these men. Mao Tse Tung and
his associates are Communists, dedicated to the task of making the whole world Communist, and prepared to use any means, including lies and murder, which will help them to. achieve that end. Consequently, any statements they make about the achievements of their régime, or even about the population of China, should be taken with a grain of salt, Mt, Attlee retailed as plain statements of fact several items of information which he could only have learnt from the Chinese Reds and so made it plain that he did not understand the ideology of the men he was talking to. Similarly, if he really believes that the expulsion of Christian missionaries is due to nationalism and not to any detestation of Christianity as such, he does not understand Communism. You urge us to look at "such facts as the existence of 600 million Chinese under a form of government which happens to suit them at this stage of their history." This calls for several comments. First, is it a fact that there are 600 million Chinese? Second, if this form of government suits them, it is curious that so few of the Chinese prisoners of war in Korea were anxious to return home. Third, this cold-blooded detachment towards the Chinese victims of Communist tyranny is appalling. It recalls Mr. Attlee’s tribute to the Communist régime as "idealist, able and honest." That régime murdered several million Chinese in cold blood, but one can hardly expect a "realistic" politician to let that trouble him when it happens ten thousand miles from home. And now our great British statesman is proposing to hand over the inhabitants of Formosa to the tender mercies of Mao Tse Tung and the charming Chou En Lai. It’s a pity he doesn’t live in Formosa.
G.H.
D.
(Palmerston North).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 796, 22 October 1954, Page 5
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360A STATESMAN'S SPEECH New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 796, 22 October 1954, Page 5
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