"Nomni-Cunea Dany News"
Sin—On Oct, 21 Mr. T. V. Soong held a long conversation with foreign newspaper correspondents and, on the next day he broadcasted to the United States as reported in your Issue of October 23. Usually judicious and composed—Mr. Soong, an alleged disker of propaganda' has now come forth to express an opinion. which can only be considered as a bold front and a forlorn appeal. Does not this fact betray that the economic and military distress. of China has now Teached the worst point?
The four points which follow, will prove that the two speeches made by fe, Soong were mere pin" and 'First of all, Mr. Soong's statement! fo the effect' that it would not be much of 2 blow for China to abandon North China and Shanghai. "What did General Chiang Kai-Shek mean when made the following statement Ju July" at Loushan: "Peiping and Tientsin are the last barriers of China?" "To say nothing of the Abandonment of North China us a conciliatory mieasure—just what will {the abandonment of Shanghai mean to the politics, the military affairs Jand the economy of China? All those who are acquainted with the ceonomie conditions of China, "will readily Fecognize the fact that, by the abandonment of Shanghai China will Rose most of the bridges and brains Jor her finance, commerce, and Industry. Speaking Just (rom the military point of view-—If, as Mr. Soong says, JShanghat is but an insignificant spot why has the Nanking Government concentrated in this little path of territory (extremely small when com~ pared with North China) 500,000 Troops, of what are frequently called the cream and the pivot of the Central Army, to fight such unfavourable bathes? 'The words of ¥7. Soong are Indeed meant' to misled the for Jcigners. What is more, they will be words at which both' the Chinese officers and soldiers cannot help but foe! indignant.
Secondly, Mr. Soong has stated that, as much as China is capable of standing up to a longer fight than Japan, she will ultimately be victorious. This is, in all probability, fan enormous propaganda but, since It deceives the 400,000,000 people of [China and misleads the uninformed jand credulous foreigners the state~ iment is of an inexcusably false nature.
a fundamental principle that in modern wars where up-to-date important role, victory and defeat can be, and must be, decided in a brief period. That China has not even a 10 to 3 chance of winning this war has been most plainly and convincingly proved here fand on the northern fronts. To state, then, that' China will emerge! victorious in a long war is absolute false. Furthermore, it is nothing more than a trick by which to draw other powers Into the fray and to Jappease the conscience of the Chinese people. It can even be criticized as being a prelude to the consequent Jeontinuation of disturbance to the peace of the Far Bast through China's Fesumption of a long anti japanese polley even after her defeat in the [present Imbroglio, Tu hearing such personally os Mr. Soong. utter talements as though he, too, were Tearning the tactics of the Chinese Red Army, we can only consider it fag an act of something like madness. Tt may simply be due to the fact that both INF. Soong and Chiang Kal-shake have not only joined hands with the Red Army, but they are fse under the subjugation df the [Communist troops.
Thirdly, what we are expecting most of all in the foreigner is the careful observation of the question of Chinese military funds, or broadly speaking, the" war-time finance. Though the customs duty, the salt tax and the consolidated tox form the most Important items in the financial Income of China, the receipts {rom these taxes will hitherto decrease 10 less than one-third or one-fourth of the amount derived before the com-Imeneement of the conflict. Moreover, there remains no way by which China might increase her revenues from Taxation since her administration in such an infantile stage that it 10L even enforce is direct taxa tion system lo any degree of success. Be that as it may, as long as China {sin the midst of a conflict with man she cannot expect any loans orna foreign power. Even in the ease of internal Joans, one can only Took to the future with a pessimistic Jeye when one considers the extremely poor results shown in their present campaign for selling 500 million yuan Jonds, Even in times of peace, China must have 400,000,000 yuan as military funds; in war time she must therefore appropriate at least three times this chormous sum but, as T have stated above, there Is no means of appro-[priating- it. The issuing of paper cur-Feney for a.large amount is a suicidal and it must be avoided as much fas possible. In addition there is JChina, the necessity to import the major part of her arms and munitions
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.