New Guinea’S Enriched Chinese

Another Problem for Australian Administration

CHINA, attacking treacherously and shouting arrogantly, has hurled huge forces into Korea and over whelmed our armies. In fact if not yet in law, we are at war with Com munist China, satellite of Moscow.

Chinese Reds have been attacking us through Malaya for a couple of years.

They are thrusting into Tibet and Indo-China. While our ultimate danger is Russia, the immediate threat to our security comes from these count less millions of Chinese.

The time has come to examine, rather sharply, the position of Chinese communities in British countries—in Malaya, Borneo, New Guinea and Solomons.

What, for example, is Australia go ing to do with the Chinese community in New Guinea? Are they to be regarded as loyal Britishers, or poten tial enemies?

The editor of the PIM spent some time in Rabaul in October, and ex amined the Chinese question there as closely as he could. His comments follow'. [F, in Rabaul, you see a huge, sleek, shiny American car rolling through the dust of the pot-holed roads of 'Jew Guinea’s eastern metropolis, the ;hances are about 6 to 1 that it is owned )y a Chinese. Class for class, the Chinese

today are easily the richest people in New Guinea. Four things have combined to make them rich: • After the war, the survivors of the New Guinea Chinese community were compensated at least as liberally as the Europeans for war damage. They got huge sums from the War Damage Com pensation Fund. • Very large sums (taken directly out of Australian taxpayers’ pockets) were distributed among the natives by the Ward-Murray regime as “war damage compensation.” Most of the natives did not know what to do with the cash and it trickled off through the trade stores to accumulate in Chinatown, Rabaul. • New Guinea is getting a high price for copra, a substantial price for gold and is enjoying the expenditure of five or six millions per annum of Administration and oil search money. Today, New Guinea is rolling in money—and natur ally a great deal is finding its way to the Chinese traders. • When the Reds over-ran China, hun dreds of millions of pounds of non- Communist money sought refuge outside of China. New Guinea, being only nom inally British (because it is legally a Trusteeship Territory) looked good to the harassed “capitalists”: so the Rabaul Chinese became caretakers of huge sums —no one knows how much.

In most places where they have settled,

the Chinese are the artisans, as well as the traders of the community. That used to be the case in Rabaul. It is not so today. Today, in Rabaul, the Chinese are so rich that they are not inclined to demean themselves much with hard work. The older Chinese are industrious in their shops; but, generally, the younger

brigade are as idle and as ornamental as butterflies.

AS Communists are unpleasant, thiev ing people, who do not recognise the law of meum and teum, and as most of the Rabaul Chinese seem to be definitely capitalists, it would appear to be silly to look for Reds in Rabaul.

Further, Chinese are by character in

dividualistic and opportunist. It should profit them greatly to be non-Commun ist in New Guinea.

I saw no single sign of Red or sub versive activities in or around Rabaul’s Chinatown. But the door between New Guinea and China is very wide open, and the path well travelled; and I should be surprised to learn that there

are no Red gentlemen of the Fifth Col umn in Rabaul. Rabaul’s c&re-free company of young and very ornamental Chinese should be watched, now that we are at war with China.

There were 1,400 Chinese there when we took over from Germany in 1914.

They had increased to 2,000 when the Japs invaded in 1942. About 1,700 Chinese and 200 part-Chinese, were re-established after the war. Today, there are prob ably 2,000, mostly in Rabaul, with communities in Kavieng, Lae and Madang.

There are none in Papua.

Before the war, Rabaul’s Chinatown was made up mostly of modest traders and artisans—good, quiet citizens who minded their own business. Today, as far as one can see, they are still good, quiet citi zens—but there is a big difference. Today, most definitely, they are rich, and they are reaching out eagerly after property and power, as is the way of the rich people the world over.

They are buying and leasing planta tions, wherever they can find them. I have no complete list, but here are some items from my note-book. Wong You, of Rabaul and Buka, has leased Mabiro plantation from the Catholic Missioh, and Madehas Island plantation from Mr, W. Knox. August Chan has bought one of Rondahl’s plantations on the New Ireland coast: Akun is renting one of Bertie Heron’s places near Rabaul: Mary Chee has bought part of Wairiki planta tion, near Kokopo; Chinese have bought some of Miles Thompson’s land, for use as building blocks. Samo Plantation, in New Ireland, was bought by the Chinese some time ago at a high figure.

Many European owners have been approached and asked to sell their planta

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tions. One man said, jokingly, “Well, I might consider £60,000“ (a figure which he thought represented double the value of his property).

“You shall have the money tomorrow,” replied the Chinese merchant to whom he was talking.

Here is a list of the coastal vessels owned by Chinese in New Guinea; Vessel: Owner: Anna Wong You.

Calias Martin Chan.

Himau Bernard Chan & Chin Him.

Hap King Shipbuild ing Company.

Malvin E. Achok & J. Seeto Chee.

Niree August Chan Olobo Gabriel Chow Sing Yip and Bros Sarvil Cheong Fat & Seeto Yook Ling Ulagio Braun Chan All are registered in Rabaul, except Anna (Buka) and Sarvil and Ulagio (Kavieng).

WHILE in Rabaul, I was invited by a Chinese friend to a party, to meet some of the principal Chinese business men of Rabaul. I was hospitably entertained in a very friendly atmosphere.

We sat around, and talked frankly. I, myself, introduced the problem of race discrimination. The Europeians were planning a tennis tournament in Rabaul —for Europeans only. There are some pretty good Chinese players in Rabaul, and they did not at all relish the fact that they had not been invited to enter the tournament.

“It has nothing to do with tennis,” I said, trying to explain the thing as I saw it. “It is not racial discrimination.

Under the Trusteeship, you have the same rights here as the Europeans.

“It is more a matter of your loyalties.

To whom do you give your allegiance—to the British flag, which flies over this country, and whose hospitality and pro tection you enjoy, or to your mother country, now becoming so actively nationalistic? Until they are sure of where you are going, the Europeans nat urally preserve the community boundar ies.”

The older Chinese indicated that their sympathies and interests lay wholly with in New Guinea. The younger Chinese, smiling and courteous and speaking excellent English, left one to infer what one liked.

Those younger men talked eagerly of their plans for education. Many of their class already are undergoing education in Australia —others are going soon. They plan to become the professional men of New Guinea—doctors, dentists, lawyers and so on.

I suggested gently that New Guinea really needed good artisans, first-class technicians, useful boatmen. But at this the gleam went out of their eyes.

MUCH of the worth-while building in Rabaul has been done by the Chinese.

When they returned after the war, they established themselves on both sides of a long street in the southern area, out to wards Matupi. They built there the most unwholesome-looking double row of cor rugated iron shanties I have ever seen, and they have carried on there ever since

as „ tr nnvfff ’ lodgmghouses, South, and an unpleasant sight it is. nf g ?^ r firms

{JJJ® °l tho 9 n i;:

thems^lves^rdain bml i

b fih™ g °o?H okmg a t nd solid buildings of fibre and cement— mostly m use as well-stocked stores.

They partly fill two or three short, wide streets. The rest of Chinatown probably will follow them, to this more desirable location. Somehow, I cannot see these shrewd traders leaving the trading area around the port, and following the Ad-

ministration across Blanche Bay to the carefully planned town of Rapopo—which, so f ar> is still entirely a plan.

There are onl y a couple of thousand Chinese in this huge area, the home of over a million natives. But, because the natives are so very backward, the Chinese are a community of considerable import ance, in the peculiar circumstances of New Guinea. And they are here to stay, A wise and experienced Administrator probably could influence them a good deal, and make some real use of their qualities. But will New Guinea ever get a wise and experienced Administrator?