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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 9, No. 5. May 7, 1946

China Today

China Today

Edgar Snow, Agnes Smedley, Stuart Gelder, three war correspondents who have had special assignments in China and have each come out with the same story, that the Kuomintung is corrupt, from top to bottom, anti-democratic and semi-fascist. Gelder's book is the sequel to those of the other two correspondents. As special correspondent for the "News Chronicie" in China, India and Burma, 1943-45, he spent two different periods in China, and made a trip through the Communist controlled areas. The censorship imposed by Chiang Kai-Shek was so complete that no correspondent was able to get his own story of what he saw in those areas out of China. "Where ever a correspondent moved he was watched by the Kuomintang secret police."

The book consists of Chinese Communist documents smuggled out of China by Gelder, comment by Europeans reporting and working in the country, and a criticism of Chiang's book. "China's Destiny." There is a very important introduction by Gelder himself, who, it is worthy of not?, is not himself a Communist. It is difftcult to choose material Which is specially interesting, as it, is all intensely so, from the Japanese newspapers which state in no uncertain terms that the major enemy of the Japanese forces in China was the Communist armies, to Gelder's comments on the reactionary rale American troops are playing in the Chinese political struggle; from Madame Sun Yat Sen's "There is only one hope for China, and that is a Coalition Government on a democratic basis. This is not a government. If is a dictatorial tyranny"—to Gelder's comment: "I do not believe that the Americans would be sympathetic to Chinese Fascism if they could see it in action. Millions are deluded, as millions of Britons were [unclear: dided] during the Spanish struggle."

"The Chinese Communists." by Stuart Gelder [unclear: (Gottanez)].

Correspondents please note.—In future. "Salient" will not publish letters unless signature is attached. It nom-de-plume is used, the name will be confidential to the Editor.