Nov.
Taking the special series of articles, of which the presently final instalment appears els Where to-day, and also certain Yecent outport despatches Rich the situation has "been to obtain from them one nefly glanced at, it is possible general impressions of the con-|C ditions prevalent in China. Provinees or areas covered by the posium include Kiangsu, N. Kiangsi, Chekiang, Honan, Shan. tung, Anhui, and the Wuhas area, Fukien, Kuangtung, Kuei chow, Szechuen have received oblique notice, This implies the possession of information in regard to the greater portion of tral and Southern China. From the North and North-west scanty details have been available. It is hoped that this gap will be filled before long. In the meantime it is. useful consider the points which can be made on the basis of the data supplied. The picture seems to have a common denominator of Stabler conditions, to which less li-foreignism, "the marked falling off in the influence of the Tangpus, better discipline in the army and greater continuity in local administration have contributed. The shaded portions are provided by a marked increase in communism in several ar ud the—stubbornne: of financial corruption in hindrance of such developments 48 road-making and industrial enterprise, It is not too much to say that these evils are interdependent. Whether the communists are purely bandits or. the agents of a conscious organisation of revolutionary intent, they can advance only on the wave "of popular despair. Beneficent schemes, which are hampered at all turns by the grasping irresponsibility of the hangers on of a sorely-tried Political machine, are deprived of their power to bring prosperity to the people. Indeed one of the most depressing fei tures of life in China to-day is the incompatibility of thi corruption with the avowed aims of the Government. Rightly it that road-making plans for establishing and commercial enter-tend to promote con-by reason of the means of livelihood which they create. It is also agreed that foreign, as well as indigenous, capital can play a useful part. Yet, whether the scene be an urban area like Shanghai or some remote di trict in the interior where a motor-bus company desires to operate, a road-maker to plan or a mining company to get to work, the constant interference of the exploiter of financial advantages to be secured from obstruction is reported. Such undertakings, facing the facts, may seek tomake the best of things by providing for those propensities. Blackmail is ever insatiable; s0 is the parasite of industry. With the weakening of the influence of the Tangpus this condition might be remedied but it requires a stronger link of cooperation between the provinees and the Central Government than at present appears to hold.
The Lytton Report discussing the situation in China summed it up thus:
"Large parts of the provinces of Fulien trid Kiang" and pacts to. be completely sovietsedkuangtung are reliably report-
Communist zones of influence are far. more. extensive. They cover ge part of China south of the Yangtze, and_ parts of the provinces of Hupeh, Anhui, Kiangsu north of that river." ted out that the - pro-agenda of the Communist Party "met with considerable success notwithstanding the fact that comniunist theory conflicts with the Chinese social system: Exist ing "grievances resulting from usury lage by soldiery oF qpprehve taxation, Gorton, bandits, were fully "expioticd, Special' slogans were employed letuels, with variations especially adapted to women" Confirmation of this assessment comes from the despatches now published in these columns. In Justice to the Government it should be added that the Lytton Commission clearly considered that the campaigns undertaken by General Chiang Kai-shek in 1930 and 1931 were baulked of success by internal political disagreements amounting to War in the former year and to a passive civil war between Nanking and Canton in the latter. The Report notes that in July 1981 General Chiang Kai-shek was on the point of pressing his successes to a final conclusion. but the' rebellion of General Shih Vu-san, hostile Cantonese intervention in Hunan and the Manchurian outbreak complicated the situa 0
"Encouraged by these circumstances the Reds resumed the offend sive and before long the fruits of the victorious "cam were:
Almost completely lost"
It is carly yet to say whether the new policy of combining toler-nce of political contumacy with active military measures against the Communists will be more Successful. One thing seems clear: the attitude of the inhabitants of areas which have been recently reclaimed from the so-called "soviets" displays relief from communist. con-This applies expecially to districts which have been longer sovietised than others. So. Anhui, where enthusiasm for communism seems to be definitely advancing, a reaction may be. expected as experience shows the inherent sterility of the communist organisation. The Government's efforts to take the wind out of communist sails by setting at -the reclaimed agricultural economics are to be commended. If applied with determination and in sufficient volume, they may be the turning point in the situation.
Disorganisation, with chaos in the offing, may be' the recognised Inbel for China's state to-day. It is no new label. It can be too luridly affixed. It is just as easy for the observer, within the security of a Shanghai or a Foreign Office, to dwell on the incessant reports of advancing communist activities, of dissent sion, of banditry and of corrupt tion'as to turn a blind eye to it all and comfortably hang on to the belief that the solid fortitude of the Chinese masses will see the'thing through. These despatches, conveying, on the whole, a cheering comparison of 1932 with, say, 1927, should not be read' without reminder of the precautions which have gradual-_ ly come to be regarded as the normal feature of life in China. Ministers of the Government. have to take measures to protect. themselves against assassination with far greater care than was necessary to their predecessors of twenty years ago. The insecurity and uncertainty prevailing has greatly restricted the free movement of foreigners in the interior. Yet trains are running better, anti-foreignism, for the time being, is quiescent. It is a complex picture of which the interpretation can vary with the mentality of the interpreter. Perhaps the fairest conclusion is that the Central Government has managed to maintain a precarious hold. As the months pass, General Chiang Kai-shek and his colleagues can say that they have remained in office for a longer period than any set of administrators since the Revolimn. They have to face no openly hostile war-lord - in command of forces demanding.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.