Evening star., 1937-04-08
CHINESE TEXTILE
ENVOY PROTESTS
Tells Conference Foreign
Governments Have Caused
Evasion of Law.

China's protest at the strength Of
foreign governments in the domestic
operation of her own economy was
expressed today in a speech by a
representative of War Lord Chang
Kai Shek before the representatives
Of ~ countries attending the World
Textile Conference at the Depart
mental Auditorium.
Certain INSCRIPTIONS foreign ma
tionalities," remarked Zaung-Teh Ing,
In explaining difficulties facing any
attempt by the Chinese to enforce
minimum wage and maximum hour
standards for her textile industry,
"have even gone so far as to smuggle
their goods into China under the
protection of armed force, at the
connivance of their own governmental
authorities, and in such enormous
quantities that China has been losing
In the amount of uncollected duties
at rate of more than S1,OO0,OOO a
week"
Ing's speech was the third in
two days directed at the problem of
trying to cope with the unregulated
competition of foreign textile pro-
duction and foreign management of
textile factories on Chinese soil, 40
per cent of which are run by japanese
and per cent by the British.
:. Override Chinese Law.
Z am sorry to say" Ing declared
Of this foreign factory ownership,
that there are still nationals of
several countries who enjoy the princi-
pals of eXtraterritoriality in China
and have caused the authorities in the
settlements and concessions to evade
and override the Chinese laws, pre-
venting them from being enforced
and thereby creating an unfortunate
basis of competition"
To meet the labor problems at
tending the rapid growth of textile
factories in China, which spread
from an industry of fewer than l,000,-
900 spindles in 1915 to one of more
than 5,500,000 spindles in 1896. the
Nationalist government in 1929 en-
acted f1ve-point law for the protec-
tion Of workers. Ing said but the
foreign influence renders it's enforce
ment not only "imWacticable but
impossible"
This law provided the exclusion of
women and children from dangerous
work, for compensation and pensions
In the case of accident or death on
the job, for the installation of sani-
tary and safety equipment in fac
tories, for the prohibition of the labor
OF children under IA years of age and
for an eight-hour day and a six-day
week.
11-Hour Day Common.
Despite this law. Chu Hsueh-fan,
Chinese workers delegate to the con-
ference, pointed out yesterday, "an
11-hour day is common and 1l-hour
day workers get only so cents, Chinese
currency, or 18 American cents" Fan,
who expanded an earlier protest by
Chinese Employers Delegate Kanyo
Mich, added:
"Seventy-f1ve per cent of the work.
ers In the textile industry in China
are women and children. That means
that the future mothers of the Chi
nese race are working an l1-hour day
and 60-hour week. That is the intol-
cradle condition of work in the textile
factories in China today. But the
vital point is that practically 46 per
cent OF the workers are working in
Foreign factories owned mostly by the
japanese. What does this mean? It
means that this unfair practice of for
eign factory owners In China prevents
any amelioration of the working con-
dit;ons for the Chinese workers"