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Bay: these settlements were to be 'foci',
whither, in case of impending attack, up to
100,000 dispersees (if I may coin that word)
would be induced to go. There were to be
food stores on an adequate scale and so for th.
The further idea was that the dispersees on
Lan Tao would be taken by junks to the mainland
in due course.
To me the scheme as proposed appeared to
be chimerical, partly because agricultural
settlements cannot be 'vamped up' in a moment
and those contemplated would not be in a
condition to serve their dispersal purpose
for at least two years, assuming that they
were successful which is very doubtful.
Incidentally, the estimated cost for one year
of settling 2,000 persons agricultura lly is
put at $350,000 oda! Another weak point in
the scheme was that supposing time allowed
storage of food for 50,000 people at these
two places which is very doubtful it
would be impossible to safeguard it from
looting by the piratical junk folk and
islanders.
Ka
But the fear that shook me most
about the Lan Tao proposal was that the junk
folk can not be relied upon to transport the se
dispersees to the mainland, in which case
many thousands of women and children would
before long starve on Lan Tao, that being an
island which imports its rice foods.