Regarding the blockade of Kulang-ssu, a correspondent asked whether this was being maintained in order io prevent food from reaching the island or so as to prevent undesirables from entering the International Settlement there, to which the spokesman replied that the mainland was in the hands of Chinese forces and that the present measures are being enforced in order to prevent the infiltration of undesirable elements into the Settlement.
In passing to the Tientsin problem, a correspondent asked whether the United States were involved in the affair, "The reply to this question," the spokesman said, "can be found in Mr. Cordell Hull's recent statement when he said that his country was not directly interested in the handing over to the Japanese of the four Chinese suspects but that other aspects of the case were of interest to the United States' and," he continued, "as this statement was made by the American Secretary of State, we have to take his word for it."
On dwelling further on the Tientsin affair, the spokesman said that incident started over the refusal on the part of the British authorities there, to hand over the four suspects and that British propaganda then began to make it appear as though all third party interests in China were being involved.
In referring to the Japanese land-Ing at Swatow, the spokesman said that the population was rapidly returning to the city after the Japanese occupation at 2.20 p.m. on Wednesday. Asked whether foreign shipping would be permitted to call at that port, once peaceful conditions have been restored, the naval spokesman said that this question will be discussed when the time comes.
Admitting that only small Chinese forces were stationed North and South of the city, the spokesman said that minor skirmishes have occurred but that no more than ten mines were discovered in the har-hour.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.