Evening star., 1936-08-09
CENSORSHIP ROBS
JAPAN OF FACTS
Army Moves in China Are
Not Reported-Tactlcs
Bar Friendship.
BY FRANK II. HEDGES.

BY FRANK H. HEDGES.
TOXIC. August 8 Cen
sorship is playing an important part
in preventing improvement in the re-
lations OF Japan and China.
Japan's protestations that 1t de-
sires the friendship and cooperation
of China and of the Chinese people
are so frequent that it is impossible
to keep track of them. Almost every
news dispatch from China tells of
some Japanese action in that country
the effect of which cannot help alien
ating the friendship and sympathy of
the Chinese people. Seldom have an
nounced aims and the actual methods
employed to achieve them been in
such direct conflict.
1t is surprising that Japan cannot
see and realize this very palpable
truth, but it does not. Perhaps the
government In Toxic, and certainly
the more clear sighted members Of
that government, do perceive this, but
they are not strong enough to alter
Japan's applied policy in China to ac-
cord with JapanS avoWed objective OF
promoting friendship and co-opera-
ton. So far as the general public in
Japan is concerned, it is not to be
blamed, for it has no conception Of
what is taking place on the neighbor-
ing continent.
Japanese News Censored.
There is a rigorous censorship on
news from China reaching the jap
anese public. 1t is applied princi
pally at the source of origin, Japanese
correspondents in China being told
newspapers and to the sole surviving
news agency in this empire, and how
to color their reports. If a CORE
spondent departs too greatly from
these bureaucratic instructions, he
finds himself deported from China by
his own embassy. more often than
not on some trumped-up charge.
The second point where the CEN
sorship operates is the place of pub
lication, principally Toxic and Osaka.
Here again the Domei News Agency
Is carefully watched, and frequently
news that it receives never leaves its
office, so that the papers do not even
know that something has been sup
pressed. If paper does publish some
thing Objectionable to the authorities,
whether it be dispatch from its own
staff correspondents or from some
other source, that issue of the paper
Is Immediately suppressed and its sales
banned. The fear of this naturally
leads japanese editors to exercise
considerable caution in what they
print about China and, quite as much,
about Soviet Russia.
The net result is that the public
in this empire is in complete ignorance
of what Japan is doing in China. 1t
knows nothing of the very active
smuggling campaign being carried on
there by Japanese and Koreans. 1t
knows nothing of how these smug-
glers forcibly occupy railway cars with
their illicit goods and are protected
by Japanese rowdies in unloading
and disposing of them. 1t knows
nothing of how Japanese subjects,
principally Koreans, simply march
into any vacant house they may find
In Peiping and occupy it for months
without paying cent of rent. 1t
knows nothing of hundred and one
cases OF insolence and intolerable per-
sonal conduct by Japanese individuals
In China and toward Chinese.
II it did know all this and realized
Its full significance, there is every
reason to believe that the japanese
public would not tolerate such ac-
tions and that a wave of indignation
would arise so great as to force an
alteration in Japanese methods of
applying its China policy.
Other Side Always Wrong.
In every report reaching the jap
Anese public of any trouble in China,
Japan is always in the right. There
are never two sides to the question.
If a Japanese is murdered because
Of some personal love affair or other
private feud, the japanese public
hears that it is violent demonstra-
tion OF the anti-Japanese campaign
in China and the full force of the
Japanese Navy is potentially used for
the righting of this grave wrong"
and this insult" to Japan.
When, short time ago, Japan
had to apologize for the action of its
soldiers in Peiping in forcing an Army
officer off the sidewalk. the japanese
public went about bliSsfully ignorant
of the whole case Likewise, in the
recent trials in the United States of
Americans for selling secret naval in
formation to Japanese officers, not a
single newspaper in the whole en-
pire published the fact that Japa-
nese were concerned in the cases.
The foreign Office spokesman here,
who Is more fond of making wise
cracks than Of answering direct ques-
tions put to him by foreign corre-
spondents. recently stated that one
could not change human nature by
government policy. Nevertheless, this
Is just what Toxic is demanding that
Marking do. Japanese methods in
China are such that human nature
cannot help making the Chinese anti
Japanese. Then Japan demands that
anti-Japanism be cured by the Nam
king government.
tCopyright. 1885, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc)