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2 Contemporary China; A Reference Digest  [i] (1942-1943)

handle is hein.cow/cchinred0002 and id is 1 raw text is: Sec. 562 P. L. & R. U. S. POSTAGE PAID NEW YORK, N. Y. PERMIT NO. 8383 CONTEMPORARY CHINA A Reference Digest Published Fortnightly by Chinese News Service, Inc., Rockefeller Center, New York Vol. II, No. 1 June 1, 1942 Knock Japan Out of the War! It appears that the Japanese have decided to start a major offensive on the Asiatic mainland with a view to knocking --China out of the war in the next six months or so. Appar- ently they think that, while the American and British forces in Australia and India are on the defensive, it is a golden opportunity to liquidate the five-year-old China incident. As it looks to China, the immediate future is very grave, says the Chinese spokesman, Dr. T. F. Tsiang. This is not an alarmist warning, but an impassioned ap- praisal of the military situation in China. Japan may never have a more appropriate season to launch an all-out attack on China than the present when the Allies are not yet fully prepared for a major offensive in the Far East. If China is not to be knocked out first, she will become a springboard, for the final onslaught against Japan. From China's point of view the next few months are the most critical period in the five-year-old war. The situation is so very grave that some people fear that the very existence of China as a fighting ally and the entire position of the United Nations in the Pacific are at stake. Offensive Thinking vs. Defensive Thinking We are strongly of the opinion, however, that the mili- tary situation in China, which is admittedly very grave, may be transformed into one that will turn the tide of the war in favor of the Allies and spell the beginning of the fall of the Japanese Empire. So very long have we been accustomed to defensive thinking that we often fail to exploit the offensive poten- tialities in most military situations. The present situation in China is one of those critical situations in history in which sound strategies often turn possible disasters into great victories. The situation is both ominous and propitious; it simul- taneously portends an imminent danger and promises a great relief. To China, this is indeed the worst of times and the best of times. The course of current thinking about the military situ- ation in the Far East runs something as follows. The major premise: The Japanese are superior both in air and in naval power in the Western Pacific. The minor premise: The Allies are inferior both in air and in naval power. The conclusion: Therefore, the Allies cannot defeat the Japa- nese now-but must wait till 1943, or 1944, or 1945, or 1946, or even 1950. It is this defensive thinking-not the objective situation - that is dangerous! Defensive thinking is defeatist thinking and retreatist thinking and leads only to dis- astrous consequencesl We think that the Allies can launch a counter-offensive against Japan right now, by first defeating and annihilating the Japanese armies in China and then carrying the war to the Japanese archipelago itself--and this can be done with only a very small percentage of the present aviation and ammunition output of the United States. Planes, Planes, Planes China is sounding an urgent cry for help! It must be remembered that Chungking is never an alarmist news center. Throughout the five years of war the Chinese Government has never sent a single S.O.S. The Chinese have suffered millions of casualties and lost many cities and towns, but they have never raised any hue or cry. They have always been optimistic and confident even in situations that look absolutely hopeless to the outside world. This is the first time when a Chinese spokesman warns that the immediate situation is very grave and demands prompt assistance. Questioned as to what China needs most, the spokesman answers: First, bombers and pursuit planes; second, bomb- ers and pursuit planes; third, bombers and pursuit planes! The reiteration emphasizes the urgency of the need. Man to man the Chinese soldiers have no fear of the Japa- nese; they can fight as hard and as skillfully as the Japa- nese. But without planes they cannot hope to conquer the invading armies. Does China need many planes? No. China needs only 1,000 bombers and pursuit planes - a fraction of the monthly production in the United States-to deliver a severe blow to the invading armies and thereby to turn the tide of the war in the Far East. Reproduction by Permnmission of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Buffalo, NY

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