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of China is the enthusiastic support for the Chinese resistance to Japanese aggression, though it is probable that, owing to the great distance of Sinkiang from any front of Japanese attack, this support does not and cannot take any very practical form beyond the help that can be rendered by the continued economic development of the province.
139. The province is very sparsely populated, being nearly twice the size of Germany but with only 4 million people. A great deal of it is desert or practically so, and it suffers from the extremes of great heat and intense cold. The problem of economic development is very difficult, both owing to the poverty of the province and the lack of available labour in any very large quantity. The Governor, owing to his intense anti-Imperialist feelings, does not believe in borrowing money from outside for provincial development or in permitting outside capitalists, even from China, to come into the province to exploit its resources. The Anti-Imperialist Association is the most active political organisation in the province, and it has a great number of branches and offices with a membership that is increasing annually in all parts. From the general attitude towards Russian assistance I gathered the impression that the Governor does not fear imperialistic expansion by Russia into Sinkiang.
140. Apart from his suspicions and autocratic methods, which are not so much out of place in Central Asia as in Europe, the Governor is spoken of highly as an intelligent and progressive administrator. His own method of coming to power and the fact that he is himself an outsider from Manchuria no doubt make him extremely nervous lest he should himself be displaced by some other person in a similar way. This I imagine to be the reason why he does not allow any foreigners or Chinese from other provinces to visit Sinkiang, unless they are in transit to Russia, and in such cases he takes the greatest care to guard them from seeing too much or getting into any close contact with the Sinkiangese. For instance, while Mr. Hsia was waiting for us for some fourteen days in Urumchi, he was unable to have any interview with the local personalities except in the presence of one of the special police officials. These officials were the most charming and admirable hosts, but their continual presence was no doubt very embarrassing to the Sinkiangese.
141. The one apparent exception to this rule is in connexion with civil and military aviation. The Central Government Minister of Communications has his representative in Urumchi as a director of the Sino-Russian air line, there is a military aviation school of the Central Government at Ili, and a Central Government Sino-Russian aviation factory is being erected. We met the Minister's representative. Mr. Liu, a good deal in Urumchi, and eventually, under cloak of making arrangements for us and coming to see us about them, he was able to have a frank talk with Hsia for reports to the Minister of Communications. Apart from this contact there is practically no relationship between the Provincial and Central Government other than a formalistic one, .e., the Provincial Govern- ment acts exactly like any other Provincial Government in sending forward recommendations for appointments, &c., but these are in the case of Sinkiang automatically endorsed by the Central Government. So long as the present régime exists, and so long as the present war is being carried on. I do not think that the Central Government will take any steps to increase their control in Sinkiang. There are, however, two factors working in that direction. The first is the financial grants made by the Central Government, which are, no doubt, most welcome in Sinkiang. These have been in regard to transport facilities, &c. The very complimentary attitude of the Provincial Government to Dr. Kung and the expressions of their gratitude to and admiration for him, together with the elaborate presents which the Governor gave us to take back to him, demonstrate their anxiety for further financial help from the Central Government. The second is the fact that the Central Government currency is now widely circulated in Sinkiang and is, in fact, more popular than local currency-this despite the fact that the local currency is in different denominations, e.g., 30 cents, 3 dollars, &c., to which the local prices are adjusted, which makes the use of Central Government money less convenient. Both currencies are now officially accepted, and there is a working arrangement between the local bank and the Central Bank of China. though this is not as close as the Central Bank would wish. Hsia, who is the secretary of the Central Bank, was investigating the possibilities of a closer association.
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142. This degree of autarchy in Sinkiang might be surprising and might also be misunderstood if the historical and geographical associations of the province were not realised. It is only in the last two or three years that there has been any access to Urumchi from the east, other than by caravan track which was a matter of months for the travellers. Dr. Sven Hedin's book. The Silk Road, written in 1935, fully explains the situation at that date. Even now the road is very long, difficult, and, with the existing shortage of petrol, prohibitively expensive for motor cars or lorries. The air service, which is the only practicable means of approach, is at some seasons most uncertain, as we found to our cost, and is also extremely expensive and costly in petrol. So far as China is concerned. Lanchow is itself almost an outpost of the north-west. being remote from Chung- king by any means of transport other than air. Between Lanchow and Urumchi are 1,200 miles of desert and mountain. In winter the conditions are bad because of the snow and bitter cold, in summer because of the intense heat (even the camel caravans stop in May because of the heat), and in the intermediate seasons the thaw and rains and the sandstorms from the Gobi make conditions often very bad for transport. We were able to enjoy one of the early spring sandstorms at Hami where visibility was so low as to make any form of transport difficult, and we were told that the storms increased in frequency and intensity to the end of May.
143. On the other hand, the approach to Sinkiang from Russia is comparatively easy. It is only about 200 miles from the railway at Alma Ata where plentiful supplies of petrol are available and of many other things, either manufactured locally or imported by rail across Kazakistan. From Ili to Urumchi there is a good road with only one comparatively low mountain range to cross about 70 miles from Ili. Flying conditions equally are more favourable in this area. as there is comparatively less high ground and consequently it is easier to avoid dangerous cloud and mountain combinations. The distance from Ili to Urumchi is about 420 miles, which can be covered easily by motor lorries in forty-eight to sixty hours. Even in the very bad conditions of snow and thaw in which we drove along this road, it was passable to traffic. On the climb from Ili to the summit of the pass we met ice conditions on the road which made it difficult, but not impassable. while on the descent we encountered a blizzard which piled up high drifts of snow along the road, but we managed to push. lift or drag the car out of them during the night without being held up for any great length of time. We joined up with a lorry during this period which eased our task, but on several occasions we had to dig it out of the drifts before we could proceed. Only once did we get so struck that we could not ourselves extricate our car, and then with the help of the lorry we were able to get out. As these were probably as bad conditions as are likely to exist on the road it is safe to say that it can at all times be traversed without very great difficulty, and the ample supplies of petrol at Alma Ata make it possible to use motor transport to bring up machinery or other heavy loads which could not possibly be brought up from China. The geographical situation therefore favours a close economic association with Russia rather than with the rest of China, the determining factor being the railway at Alma Ata and the terrain between that town and Urumchi. The divorce of Sinkiang from the rest of China was, of course, much more complete in the days when the Central Government was at Nanking and there was no air service at all, or even any highway.
144. Since what is called in Sinkiang the "April Revolution of 1933- that is, the Mahometan rising which then took place and the quelling of which resulted in the present Governor coming to power I should personally estimate that the relationship with Central China has become closer, though still the Governor is very nervous of any such association as he desires to maintain his autocratic control of Sinkiang as intact as possible.
145.
As a natural result of the closeness of Russia and the Russian development of Kazakistan, of which Alma Ata is the capital, the Governor looks to Russia primarily, and at present exclusively, for all technical assistance, and the technical advisers who are in many Government Departments are all Russians. As far as I could ascertain, and judging by the general feeling and observations I was able to make, there are no Russians taking part in the general or political administration as distinct from the technical administration. In Urumchi one meets a good number of Russians and the Russian Consul-General is obviously a person of first importance and influence as in former years the British
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