Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-24
WI TING FANG ON BOYCOTT
Former Minister to United States Says
Country is Approaching Crisis,
FOREIGN HELP NEEDED, But NOT DESIRED
Docs Not Denounce Boycott. hut says
No Feeling Exists in Govern
ment Circles Against
Foreigners.

PEKING, Feb. 23.--wu Ting Fang
former Chinese minister to the United
States. when Interviewed for the first time
today on the existing situation in China.
spoke in support Of the boycott
WI Ting Fang is now Twins quietly I'm
Picking, devoting his time to codifylng the
laws of China, one of the numerous re-
forms under way. He suffered for long
time from deafness from the effects OF the
explosion OF the bomb near him at the
railway station last September, but has
now recovered. Speaking of present con
dtions Wa Ting Fang said;
China is at n crisis and is passing
through a transition stage its statesmen
and people feel that China needs reform.
but there are great differences of opinion
regarding the means. 4bereFaFe several
classes of reformers There are those who
speak foreign languages and who have
been abroad aud who have had experience
on b9tl sides of the question They favor
sensible and useful reforms, but not too
radical so as to make China FIRST able
to stand upon It's owr feet. The number
of the sensible reformers are few l am
one of them.
The enlightened eass know that some
thing should be done but they are at
their wits end TO know what to do.
The third class SIS composed Of youns
students, who arc. too rash. They need
training and finishing
Financial reforms should be carried out
in the first place. but without foreign ad-
vice and capital It would he impossible to
do so under present conditions. was
working out a scheme which had to be
abandoned, because II was necessary to
m ion I'D. &
a stop gap.
Complaint of Discrimination.
"One thing upon which the majority of
Chinese are agreed is that China has been
deprived of many rights by concessions
and territorial grants and by the way it's
people have been treated by foreigners in
China and foreign countries.
Many Chinese who have gone abroad
to America, Australia and the Philippines,
write home complaining of arbitrary dis
ordinations made against the Chinese
which dare not be attempted against other
foreigners. Therefore everyone is angry,
and hence the boycott of American goods.
illustrating the feeling against the unjust
exclusion laws 1t has spread over all China
and rs solely in retaliation against unjust
Determinations. AMI is not anti-foreign.
The Chinese people and officials are on
good terms with all foreigners and have
no hostile feelings toward them. The
Chinese merchants have the best feeling
toward foreign merchants
The majority OF the people in the in
terror are Indifferent to all foreigners trav-
cling In the interior, who write that they
are well treated. with no signs of hostility
against them. These rumors of anti-for-
al fnnlf r,ar
men advise boycotters and agitators 10 be
reasonable and only to boycott goods and
not to treat persons unkindly, hut to con-
tinue their friendship as before. I'm
fortunately disturbances in several places
are now arising from the boycott. but
this is no sign Of an outbreak against
foreigners" ESs'