chinesE Communities in Pacific

Islands: Are They Now Dangerous?

ro international development is of I more vital concern to dwellers the Pacific Islands than the re it seizure of China by the Reds, i the rapid growth there of an p-essive and nationalistic spirit, fhere are in China about ),000,000 people—one quarter of population of the earth. If the inese wish to conquer or destroy Tianity, and find leadership and lipment, they can do it. fo-day, in cold fact, the non mmunist world is at war with ina. Most of the Western ions are represented in the >ged-down struggle in Korea, ere the real enemy is not the rth Koreans, but the Communist inese. The French, in Indo ina, and the British, in Malaya, heavily engaged against rebel ces which are directed, supplied 1 actively supported by Red ina. Hostile Chinese forces are the borders of Burma and India, lehind Red China, of course, is ssia. While we are fighting the inese Communists, we know that threat to Western Civilisation ties from the Muscovite.

Ve are beginning to appreciate diabolical cleverness of the iscow conspirators. They have pped us into wasting our military I economic strength against the atics, while they prepare for the rld-wide ideological struggle.

IN all the continents washed by the Pacific, and in every Pacific Islands group, there are Chinese, usually settled in communities. For the most part, they are good citizens, scrupulously observing the laws of the country where they are settled.

But they have one common characteristic: they never forget their homeland. They are Chinese first, even while they are loyal citizens of Britain or France, United States or Holland or Indonesia.

The economy of all the non- Chinese countries of South-east Asia is dominated by Chinese. Large communities of Chinese traders, artisans, planters, now have a strong influence in Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, Solomons, New Hebrides, Fiji, French Oceania, Hawaii.

While the old China remained— huge, amiable, tolerant and tm aggressive—we did not worry about our Chinese communities. For more than one hundred years, these industrious and generally inoffensive people have been an acceptable part of our Pacific Islands set-up.

But if China, under Russian direction, is to become a part of the Communist conspiracy which threatens to destroy our Western civilisation, and us, the Chinese communities of South-west Asia and the Pacific Islands become an urgent social and political problem. If

even a section of them are loyal to the Red regime in China, they will provide, throughout the Pacific, an underground organisation through which we can be attacked, weakened and overthrown.

THIS is no imaginary danger. The Chinese, by nature, is well equipped for espionage and • under ground activity. He is inscrutable, intelligent, and brave. He could, if he wished, do irreparable harm to our defences and our internal strength before we even suspected him. There literally is nothing to prevent the emissaries of Red China doing, in the Pacific Islands, what they are doing now in Malaya, Indo- China, Burma, Siam and India.

There is much communication be tween China and the Chinese of New Guinea, for example, or Tahiti, or Fiji. What guarantee have we got that there is nothing subversive in this?

Generally, we trust the Chinese, and leave them alone. But ihere are some among us, who know something of the monstrous plans of the Muscovite plotters, who are very uneasy over the Chinese net work in the Pacific. They think we are too trusting.

If the Chinese wish to undermine us, so as to open the way to Communism, there is not much we can do, to check them. Many know history put their faith in the Chinese character. The Chinese, they say, is born an individualist, and will never permit the Com munist yoke to remain permanently

on his neck- They expect the Chinese in -China (o rebel against Mpscow long before Moscow tries to turn the regimented Red Chinese loose upon the lands of the Pacific.

We can only hope they are right.

If they are wrong—well, there then will be far too many Chinese established in the Pacific Islands for the comfort of either Westerners or Islanders.