June 20.
White ta distinctly encouraging to learn that foreigners may now live in Hankow and move -about in comparative safety, all reports from that city] indicate. a cessation of commercial and industrial activity that important trade centre. This is not only true of the Wuhi area, but also of the whole of the zo Valley. Tt wi quite gation was made into conditions at-Ichang with a view to re. establishing business relations, but. the situation was found to be's0 unfavourable, that the proposal has been abandoned for the time being. What the sit-nation is beyond Ichang is not, difficult to conjecture, for recent reports received. from—reliable sources reveal a state, of affairs that beggars description. It! maybe said in all truth that} trade and industry in this coun-par It is. not try-is suffering from creeping confined it Most of the provinces north of the Yangtze show unmistakable symptoms of this digense, and, it would appear that, at the present rate of expansion, it will not be long before the whole country is in its throes, During the first quarter of Iti this year the Customs returns 5,000,000.00, When this is expressed in terms of trade, it means that in this short period, there was a (oral loss in imports! and exports of approximately' Mex. $10,000,000. Conditions prevailing since the. end March, 1927, have certainly not} improved, and, it may be safely estimated that the deficit for the quarter ended June will be no less than of the previous, three mouthy, 'This is significant in' view of the fact] that since the institution, of Republic in China, the Custom' revenue, the barometer of her trade, has consistently shown! an upward tendency, notwithstanding the many disabilities under which business was conducted, as a result of civil war These features of the situation ave apparent to all those who. have business interests at stake, and, it is only natural that, in, view of the gravity of the economic situation, the question, should arise' as to the prospect of an improvement of conditions in the near future, The answer! to the question is to be found in the policies now being pursued by the leaders of the various political parties.
In. our issue of May 26 we reproduced a statement recently made by General Chiang Kai-when, in which he outlined the thirty-three objects of the Nationalist. movement. When this is examined in the light of the statement which he made at Nan-hang in November last, it will be found that it differs in none, of the essential details from the policy General Chiang followed in close cooperation with Borodin at Hankow. And if _his recent utterance is a true expression of the policy 6f. the Nanking Government, it leaves no zoom for illusions aa' to his attitude towards the Powers.
Insperialism, as he visualizes it, is. at the root of China's evils, It is the stranglehold upon the country that is throttling her economic development. He has} xe-affirmed his intention of aboli fishing the treaties and all that goes with them, and of conclud-ting new ones.on the basis of mutuality and reciprocity In other words, he aims at allow-jing foreigners to reside and trade in China on China's own terms. Even the Northern IMilitarists, against whom the [Nationalists are fighting, have expressed the same aims from ime to time, and, although they have not, so far, shown themselves so openly anti-foreign in their actions, they are, ently, united in the idea that the tres ithe country's development.
It is' not our intention in this article to discuss, in extense, the policies of the warring] parties, but to examine some of the obvious results. A review lof events in the Yangtze Valley, since the Nationalists assumed control, will prove conclusively, that their policy has been a conspicuous failure. It has succeeded insofar as it caused ithe evacuation of all foreigner: but it has strangled trade an shaken the confidence of the people to such an extent that a great number of the merchant class have found it expedient) ito remove their goods to Shanghai and take refuge in the. foreign settlement. It would be idle to pretend that such a po-hey is beneficial to the country. itt is not Nationalism, but Bolshevism of the Moscow variety. Under this regime the leaders have indulged in a veritable orgy of taxation regardless of jthe consequences The confistion of goods, the seizure of property, and looting on an ex-ale, have all been sanc-
JAdd to th of the imposition financial levies under thinly veiled threats, the flooding of alli markets with worthless paper notes, and the havoc wrought} by the contending armies in their locust-like migrations, and the picture of China, as it exists to-day, will be complete. And! Jwhen we pursue our investigation in the territory which is} under the domination of the Northern Militarist group,' we find that similar conditions pre-_ vail.
Even in the Three East-jem Provinces, one of the richest parts of China, economic devel lopment has been retarded, owing to the heavy financial burdens that have been imposed upon the people, to furnish the needs of fruitless military enterprises.
What is happening in the name of Nationalism or anti-Imperialism is merely the ruthless exploitation of the ignorant massjes by an articulate minority. (There are many Chinese of good standing and sober views who} fare disgusted with the insensate policies which have reduced the country to its present deplorable state. But their advice is not} heeded by noisy self styled riots whose sole aim is pei sonal aggrandizement, When the Communists dictated the fiolicy of Canton, and boycotts were the order of the day, the Kuangtung Government—found self in serious financial difficulties. An appeal was made ito Karakhan, who, in addition to} rendering financial _assistance, strongly urged them to keep the channels of trade open. He knew from Russia's own experi lence that trade and industry, the vital sources of every counjtry's existence, should not be} obstructed. Now, while ~'the Joutlook is' very "discouraging, hope is not dead. The leaders jof the-various parties may- yet ive forced to realize that trade' jand industry may not be impair led without serious reactions, dogs, the hireling assism of wat their present tactics are bringing them no nearer to the fulfilment of their avowed objects, and that they are not only! losing' the confidence of their lown people, but demonstrating, ito the civilized world their ina-
[bility to find a common policy to fill the needs of the country and bring to it the long wished for peace. When the leaders have lhe courage to face these facts Jand re-shape their policy on the lines of moderation and conjstructiveness to satisfy the most, urgent needs of the country, then, and then only, may wel expect a revival of trade.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.