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ANNEX.
Letter addressed to all diplomatic representatives in Nanking and to the International Red Cross Committee.
NANKING,
September 18, 1937.
Your Excellency,
On behalf of the People of China and of the Chinese National Red Cross Society, I have the honour to draw your attention to the need which now exists in this country for medical supplies of all kinds, for use among the refugees and the wounded and sick soldiers, and to request that you be so kind as to make a formal appeal to your Government and to the charitable organisations in your country, such as your National Red Cross Society, to send a donation of such supplies to China.
Further, in consequence of the war, it has been found that there are not sufficient skilled surgeons for the treatment of the wounded, and the despatch of fully-equipped medical missions to China, composed of such surgeons, would be very highly appreciated.
Practically all the available reserve stock of medical supplies on the market has been exhausted, and the need is now a pressing one. As you know, epidemics of cholera, dysentery and typhoid have broken out among the refugees, while plague is spreading in Fukien, threatening the adjoining provinces. Wounded and sick civilians and soldiers are pour- ing into our hospitals and there the serious shortage of medical supplies is felt.
I can personally assure Your Excellency that any help, in money, in the despatch of medical missions, or in supplies, which the Government or the charitable institu- tions of your country may care to grant to our Red Cross work in the name of humanity, will be most gratefully welcomed, and in view of the urgency of the matter I take the liberty of suggesting that you might wish to telegraph this appeal to your Government. In particular, in the way of supplies, China is in great need of anaesthetics, antiseptics, anodynes, suturing materials and surgical instruments, including stan- dard army sets.
In view of the blockade now existing on China's coast, it is recommended that any donations should be addressed to :
The Bureau of the Chinese National Red Cross Society,
Hong Kong,
from whence they will be distributed to the proper quarters.
In the hope that you will accord favourable con-
sideration to this appeal,
I have the honour to be
Your Excellency,
Your Excellency's obedient Servant,
J. HENG LIU
Director General of the National Health
Administration.