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13:
have faith and trust in ourselves and let others see that we
are self-confident and true to ourselves, that faith in our power
and in our good intentions will communicate itself to others. We
must begin with ourselves and mould a spirit of confidence and
strength and not hide our light under a basket. Our prestige
has suffered greatly in Asia; it must be restored. Now is the
time for tv preparation and for the lifting of our own hearts!
No need to make half-hearted or boastful pronouncements or
promises when our tides are low. Towards the conclusion of the
War in Asia we shall be powerful and our tides will be running
strongly, and none will observe this more acutely than the
Chinese. They will then be very conscious of their own
deficiencies and of their internal dissensions.
Responsible
Chinese will see clearly that they will be in desperate need of
the goodwill and friendship of the Empire if they are to sustain
the role of a first-class and stable world-power, which events
22
have thrust upon them. If we can then convince them of our
integrity, ability and resolution to help CHINA to stability and
strength, they will desire to see us remain strong and powerful
to help her. They will want friends on whom they can rely, and
it 'should not be too difficult to convince responsible Chinese
that any weakening in our position in Asia and in the Pacific
would be to her detriment, whetherin INDIA, MALAYA or HONG KONG,
and that a policy of pin-pricks would not be helpful to her true
interests. The new World future for CHINA must be guaranteed for
her, pending rehabilitation, by the British Empire, U.S.A. and
the U.S.S.R. The progress and end of the War against JAPAN, should
give her confidence in the good intentions and reliability of the
Empire and the U.S.A. Without our help the Kuomintang Government
could hardly hope to conserve itself, and a British base at
HONGKONG would enable us to aid CHINA and watch our own interests
most effectively.
Without HONGKONG we should be much less able,
and probably less willing, to support the Kuomintang in its enormous
task of rehabilitation.
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