Hankow, May 13.
Chungking, which was made the capital of China last year, is steadily losing its political importance as war progresses.
The Chinese Foreign Office, which originally proposed to move to Chun; king in the event of Japanese troop approaching Hankow, still remains here, and, even if the Japanese should threaten Hankow, would not move to Chungking, but almost certainly to Kunming (Yunnanfu), capital Yunnan.
Although the military situation is uncertain, the belief is gaining ground in many circles that it may not be necessary to move the de facto seat of the National, Government from Hankow for some considerable time to come.
The offices of the Chinese National Aeronautical Affairs Commission. which were moved from Nanking to Hengyang, in south Hunan, and then to Chungking, are now in Hankow.
The original plan of the Ministry f Economic Affairs to move the machinery of factories in the war areas to Szechuen province has also undergone a change. Factories whose machinery has already been shipped up-river will be re-established. in Szechuen in accordance with the original programme; but shipment of the machinery of other factories has been postponed, and it is now proposed to re-establish these factories elsewhere.
Kunming Less Vulnerable If there should be any change in the de facto seat of the Chinese Government, Kunming (Yunnanfu) is mest likely to be selected.
Kunming (Yunnanfu) has many advantages over Chungking. In the first place. it is far less vulnerable to possible attack by the Japanese than Chungking, which can not only be easily bombed by Japanese aircraft but can also be reached by the Japanese army via Shensi province.
On the other hand, the Japanese would have to conquer virtually the whole of China before they could reach Kunming.
Kunming has better communication facilities than Chungking; it is connected by air lines with Hanoi, Can-iron, Hongkong, Chungking, Hankow and Sinn; and newly-constructed railways and highways connect it with Fiench Indo-China, Parma, Kwangsi, Kweichow and Hunan.
Furthermore, Kunming is preferred to Chungking by the foreign diplomatic representatives in Chinf.
Some time ago, it is learned, the Diplomatic Corps unofficially made known their hope that the Foreign Office, if it should move from Hankow at all, would move: to Kunming, not Chungking-—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.