The need for a Chinese-speaking Rotary Club in Shanghai and other cities in China was stressed by Dr. Fong F. Sec, of the National Committee, Y.M.C.A. of China, speaking before the Shanghai Rotary Club at their weekly meeting held at the Metropole Hotel yesterday.
Dr. Fong said that a discussion on the subject of the formation of Chinese-speaking Rotary clubs had been held at the Nanking conference last year. The English language, he stated, was used exclusively at Rotary meetings at the present time, but with the development of rotary clubs in the interior of China, it was necessary for some clubs. to make use of Chinese.
In meetings of the Shanghai Rotary Club, there were many Chinese of influence ind position whom they would like to attend, but they would not come because the meetings were held in English and they did not get enough out of them. At the moment, said Dr. Fong, an attempt was being made to organize another club in Shanghai making use of the Chinese language in their meetings.—The hostilities had interfered with this plan, and it was being held up for the time being.
Dr. Fong also referred to the division of the 81st Rotary District into three or four districts. When he attended the International Conference in Europe, he reported the opinions of the various Rotary Clubs in China to the proposed division istrict. Four clubs voted in favour of the idea, while four opposed it. The International Board, judging that the majority would be in favour of the splitting up of the district, took the necessary action, and the 81st District was divided up into the North China, Central China and South China districts. The clubs in the Philippines were separated from those in China, but there were not enough of them to form their own District "When three or four more clubs had been formed in the Philippines, then a separate district would be formed.
The present system of administration of the Rotary Clubs in China was the best worked out so far, and the splitting up of the sist District had reduced the number of non-district clubs, Dr. Fong emphasized the international spirit of Rotary, and suggested that in conflicts such as the Sino-Japanese hostilities, members of Rotary on both sides should get together in a spirit of friendliness in an effort to settle the dispute
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.