FO371-23515 — Page 244

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11

VIII-EDUCATION.

(1) Ideology.

61. By the term education is to be understood, not the narrow interpreta- tion of the schooling of the young, but the training of the 30 odd million that comprise the population of Manchukuo. One is justified in speaking of educa- tion because the Government is now straining every nerve to arouse a national consciousness among the people.

62. The tenets of the new State might be summarised somewhat on the following lines:-

One great principle-that Japan and Manchukuo are so united in heart and mind as to be one and indivisible;

One great duty of the citizen-service to the State above all else; and One deadly sin-communism.

63. One might almost add one temptation to be avoided at all costs-- trafficking with the ideas of western democratic States. The oriental theory of government abhors any system based on the rights of the individual and stresses instead his duties. The State is not the aggregate of the individuals composing it the person is merely a cog in the wheel, a rivet in the machine, an essential part demanding constant care and attention, because if it drops out, the machine comes to a standstill, but enjoying no separate existence. The idea has always been implicit in oriental Governments, but war conditions have emphasised it. The citizen is now told that his duty to the State is a privilege, for in his humble capacity he shares in the glorious mission of his country.

64. The press is a loyal servant of the Government. There is an English edition published in Dairen for foreign consumption, and in Manchukuo itself there are newspapers published in Chinese, Japanese and Russian. One and all display a pathetic unanimity. One might look in vain for even constructive criticism. At most there is a hint here and a suggestion there, but no discordant note arises. Government measures are explained and related to the great principles which are repeated in season and out of season. As a sop to the desire of the public for sensationalism, the wrongdoings of social butterflies and the harpies that trade on their love of frivolous entertainment are castigated.

65. Propaganda is constant. Patriotic associations arrange sports and other meetings whenever occasion offers, at which loyal speeches are made. Films are sponsored, which regale the fans with touching stories of the nobility of the soldier, the happiness of the farmer, the conversion and repentance of the bandit, the stern punishment of the evil-doer who persists in his refusal to see the light. The press play up similar stories, each with its moral carefully under- lined. Even if they involve a tragedy, it is treated in the Greek manner; selfish feelings of sorrow are transmitted into the purer joy of sacrifice that others may benefit.

66. It is difficult for an outsider to estimate the value of all this propaganda. A westerner would be nauseated, but similar methods work in Japan where the bulk of the people cheerfully swallow the gilded pill. One might expect them to do the same here if it were not that the patient knows it is an alien doctor pre- scribing. On the other hand, he possibly does not reason too much about the matter, and as the carefully conditioned dog waters at the mouth at the sound. of a bell, so it is possible, though not probable, that in course of time the response to the Government call may become almost automatic.

(2) Anglophobia.

67. The local press is uniformly unsympathetic and unfriendly to Great Britain. Her diplomats are past masters in Machiavellian tactics and the British Ambassador in China is the arch-schemer. Too cunning to burn her own fingers, Great Britain uses Chiang Kai-shek as her cat's-paw and leaves no stone unturned to foil Japan's efforts to stabilise the Far East. There are occasional outbursts against the United States and France, but, whenever the press can find time from its attacks on the U.S.S.R., Great Britain is the main target.

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