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defence.
6.
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND and CANADA may well be
among the first great industrialized British countries in
a position to develop trade on a large scale with CHINA
as they will not be themselves devastated. How the problem
of the future of HONG KONG will be dealt with will concern
them greatly. What will be the future obligations of the
Empire in maintaining World Peace, with particular reference
to the Pacific? Who will be our partners in this obligation?
What military bases particularly naval and air bases will be
Sand
available? Should HONG KONG be one of them? If so, what
contributions will other Powers make, and what conditions will
be propounded for them? How would the Dominions support
the Empire's obligations if we had no bases? All these and
many other questions affecting the future of the Pacific
will have to be examined in the light of British Imperial
Then there is the problem of CHINA herself!
interests.
CHINA is only potentially a great Power. She
may improve and maintain her position and develop into a
First-Class Power after the war, but she might also fall
into civil war and decay. Are her promises and record such
that we can afford to give up the substantial base of HONGKONG
in exchange for shadowy promises?
The Chinese have an anti-foreign complex. They
have established a reputation for being a peace-loving and
peaceable people. History, however, shows a long record of
intrigue, wars and treachery among their leaders and
politicians. In the intervals between civil wars and discord
CHINA under strong rulers has expanded her frontiers greatly
through the centuries, mostly by military conquests, and
when weak has often been invaded. The invaders have been
either assimilated or ejected by uprisings secretly organized.
There is in CHINA a great tradition of Nationalism and Secret
The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Parties
carry on those traditions, which have their good and bad points.
Societies.
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