The anti-foreign and particularly anti-British agitation in China has led
to no new "incidents," but on the other hand it has not disappeared or even, we are told, diminished. This sustained exhibition of national feeling is very significant. As the Times remarked in an im- portant leading article on Saturday last, the present agitation may possibly die out, certainly specific strikes may be broken by hunger, but it is becoming obvious that new forces are at work in the Far East. Beyond doubt, the student movement in China, however mis- directed and crude, has behind it a widespread and deeply felt patriotic sentiment. This view was upheld by Major-General Manifold in an interesting letter to the Times. The question seems to be whether this feeling should be directed into constructive or destructive channels. At present there is no doubt that the Bol- shevists are making every use of it for their own ends. They believe, rightly or wrongly, that the present British Government is hostile and even aggressive towards Russia, and they consider that their best tactics are to act first, and to act in their customary manner ; that is by anti-British propaganda in the East. We believe that by far the best way of countering such propaganda is to cut the ground from under it by removing, the grievances, real or imaginary, of the Chinese, which make them susceptible to Russian influence.
Previous page
