The Undeclared War The full measure of Japan's criminality will
only be appre- ciated when it is realised that she is carrying out her expressed determination to destroy the capital of China without so much as declaring war on China. With the paltry aerodrome episode at Shanghai as excuse, the greatest trade centre in China has been made a battle-ground, and the second largest city, Canton, and the capital, are being made the targets of con- tinuous air-raids, which are to be continued till the magnitude of the destruction has forced China to adopt an attitude of what Japan is pleased to term " sincerity " and other people describe as submission. That moment is still distant. The Chinese, hopelessly inferior in equipment, are resisting with astonishing resolution and courage in the face of immense losses, and—for what that may be worth—they have the sympathy of the whole world with them. They have pre- vented any Japanese advance at Shanghai, and have even recaptured lost ground, and if Nanking is destroyed they seem prepared to move the seat of administration as far west as Changtu. In the north they are inevitably losing ground ; the key town of Paotingfu is on the point of falling ; unpro- tected infantry cannot stand indefinitely against heavy artillery, tanks and aeroplanes. But the Chinese armies are neither destroyed nor demoralised. The so-called Red troops have disbanded their organisation and incorporated themselves in the national forces. Japan may advance further—and find it no easy matter either to extricate herself or to exploit the territory she has captured.
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