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153
pre-
On arriving at the Institute of Pacific
Relations, ir. Vespa was shown into a room occupied
by Mr. Oakie (who turned out to be a Japanese;
sumably his real name is Oki), Mr. Bruno Lasker,
alleged by Mr. Vespa to have been known to him in
China as a paid Japanese propagandist, (Mr. Lasker
is now employed in the Department of the Pacific
Area at the Exposition; we have had some corres-
pondence with him), and by a Jewish journalist named
Jacobi, who is shortly going to China.
Mr. Oakie (ɔr Oki) told Mr. Vespa that he
wished to see him again and in private. This meet-
ing was arranged snd, after some benting about the
bush, Mr. Oakie enquired whether Mr. Vespa was in
need of money. On the assumption that this was the
cace, he had a proposal to make. He was aware, he
said, that Mr. Vespa was not the author of the book
"Secret Agent of Japan" published under his name;
similarly a hook dealing with the war in China
published under the name of Hr. H. W. Timperley,
"Manchester Guardian" correspondent at Shanghai,
was not the work of its alleged author. (It should
be explained here (1) that Mr. Timperley's book
incurred the disapproval of the Japanese army on
account of a description of Japanese atrocities at
Nanking and (2) that he wrote an introduction, vouch-
ing for the authenticity of Mr. Vespa's book).
Oakie then went on to auggest that Mr. Vespa should
sign a statement under oath to the effect that
neither of these books were the work of their re-
puted authors, but were actually written by members
Mr.
of the British Intelligence Service. Mr. Vespa stutes
that he declined to fall in win this suggestion.
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