To the Editor of the "Mobrh-Chixn Dany News"
Sm,—"My country maybe right, my country maybe wrong; right or wrong, my country." We cannot expect anything other than what is based on the foregoing famous saying, coming from any Japanese, proud as they are of being Japanese. "A Japanese Surzey" published in to-days N.C.D.N. was no exception. But I, though a Chinese, admire his courage to voice his views, distorted though they may be, in face of unanimous condemnation of this ruthless slaughter of Chinese feople on Chinese soil, his militarists have been staging since the Lukochiao incident, "You can't fool all the people all the time." If what our worthy enemy said about us misrepresenting facts to the whole world was true, we Chi nese were certainly flattered for given the credit of succeeding in fooling everybody. On the other hand, that statement has discounted the mentality and intelligence of all the smart foreign correspondents and journalists stationed on our shores for having swallowed the entire book, line and sinker put out by us.
No Japanese opinion voiced at this time would be complete without making reference to the 1927 events, The history of our country is full of blunders, that we admit (fighting the Japanese militarists will never be a blunder), and waste no efforts to defend them. But, ten years is a long time; we can not be forever denied the right to change our point of view. Why didn't our worthy enemy go back to 1900 and cite the murder of the German Minister by the Boxers as a precedent to justify the tempt on the life of HBM's Ambassador? And why not cite the Boston mássacre to justify the wholesale slaughter of non-combatants at the South Station, Sunkiang, Nanking, Canton eic? Precedents are meaningless!
Further, did the Briton take advantage of the 1927 events to wield a big sword to slice off the Province of Kwangtung from us as Japan did to the Four Eastern Provinces in 1981? It would have been just as easy for the Britons to tear off a few feet on the Canton-Kowloon Railway as a pretext. And it would have been fast as easy for them to lose a lieutenant or two in the wildtéss of the interior of China to tell the world that their subsequent acts were only for "self defence." The laughter "Mobrh-Cuhg Dany NEWS"
Sm—The author of the book. "Love, the Law of Life" is a Japanese. Not all Japanese believe in ruthless bombing. This is quite obvious, But the better element of the Japanese people is not in power mow. They are victims of Japanese militarists. If they say something against the militarists, their lives will become as cheap as the Chinese lives. It is the result of the tyranny of a few cruel leaders in Japan now.
There are others who seem to have another reasoning process than the rest of the world. What is their reasoning?
One Japanese would tell you: "Don't get alarmed. We Japanese are the most humane people on earth. See what we have done. We have asked Dr. Junpei Shinobu, Japan's foremost exponent of international law to come to the Shanghai area advising the armed forces. including of course the air fortes, on the legitimacy of their objectives. After this legal sanction, there will be no mistake in Japanese bombing from now on. So be calm, trust the Japanese. There can be mo wrong with the Imperial Army, Navy. and Air Force." This is one kind of reasoning from the Japanese.
Then there is another kind. I think it is better for me to quote the entire telegram: Japanese Reply to Britain. Tokyo, Sept. 25. "In reply to the British' protest against the bombing of Nanking and Canton on Wednesday, the Japanese Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs is reported to have assured the British Ambassador that further precautions would be taken." See the "North-China Daily News," Sept, 26, 1937. Well, after this Japanese assurance, the Japanese aeroplanes can do what they please. This kind of reasoning is very cóm-mon with the Japanese military authority.
In brief, in these days of desperate struggle for supremacy in the Orient and consequently in the rest of the world, the Japanese militarists see only one objective, namely, to wipe out those who stand in ¢heir way.
Z. K.
Shanghai, Sept. 26.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.