To the Editor of the "Nonru-Cunwa Darcy News Sim—As_ one who always. reads your leading articles with interest and advantage, 1 feel some diffidence Jin venturing 10 express disagreement with the views put forward editorially this (Wednesday) morning on the Sino-Japanese crisis. The last thing. that I would wish to do would be to distort your meaning, and if T have unwittingly done so'no doubt you will correct me, You say:
ston may be resented WP can baad however bitterly Japanese nied that ta"'eSienston" would' be Spcouraged rather than' that_you ind condone Japanese aggression, whatever resent ment it may cause, because worse things might happen, The Japanese have openly stated that they intend to put Hopel and Charhar under a regime similar to that in East Hopel, {hat is independent of Nanking. Apparently you counsel China to agree {o this. The head of the Executive Yuan, a position in China equivalent to that of the Prime Minister in Great Britain, has enunciated four minimum requirements by China which render acceptance of such a proposal impossible without almost Inevitably causing civil dissension which would damage the country infinitely more than war with Japan. The Generalissimo is advised, in effect, to admit openly that he [spoke os a politician, not as a states-
Assume for a moment that China id agree to the, severance of the two more provinees from her jurisdictlon—and present Japan with the full right to. exploit the Iron and coat resources, build strategic oilways and eventually persuade the puppet administration to. recognize "Manehukuo." Would this be the end any more than Manchuria and Jehol were the end? The past is not an infallible guide to the future, but the assump= tion is fair that, before long, Shantung and Fukien, provinces in. which Jwpan possesses "Important, interests, would suddenly develop a "spontaneous" demand for "autonomy"—under Japan's benign guidance, Then China s-much weakened by the loss of Charhar and Hopei—would be counselled to let Shantung and Fukien 0, however resentful she might feel, Jest a worse thing befall her. And 30 on ad infinitum, or rather while anything of China remained.
There are great differences between Belgium and China, but it is not im~ pertinent to ask what would be the advice to Belgium if, under an implied threat of war, a more militarily powerful neighbour demanded that she. should surrender sovereignty over a portion of her territory containing resources which the neighbour coveted. Would she be advised to. comply with the demand on the ground that war would result in her complete destruc~ tion? The cases ore admittedly not
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.