Evening star., 1942-01-25

extensively in the Far East knows that
prestige is the foundation Of the empires
which the white man has established
there. And it Is this fact which makes
the series Of Japanese successes . much
more significant matter than the loss Of
territory involved.
Territory that is conquered can be re-
conquered. But when prestige is lost 1t
is at least fundamentally impaired. This
is particularly true when prestige has
come to be associated primarily with mil
itary, government and commercial su-
periority. These characteristics, rather
than his attempts in moral and ethical
leadership. have unfortunately tended to
characterize the dominance of the white
man around the fringe Of Asia.
So implications Of the rapid Japanese
conquest Of Hong Kong, most of the
Philippines, the Malay Peninsula and
several outposts of the Netherlands In
dies cannot be assessed merely in strate-
gic and economic terms. These are i'm
portant. But more important is the
present evaporation Of that legend Of
has enabled relative handful Of alien
omcials. traders and soldiers to rule the
teeming millions of the East. 1t Is a
legend which will not be easily restored.
Nor Is the problem made easier by evi-
dence that the Chinese armies alone Of
those resisting Japanese aggression,
have so far been able to throw the in
vaders back. It does not help white
prestige to have it whispered throughout
Asia that it takes one yellow race to
check the conquest of another.
Power in Japan's SLOGAN.
Japan may not definitely hold Hong
Kong. But 1t is doubtful that any re-
sponsible Chinese could today be found
to predict the eventual return of this
former Crown Colony to British rule.
There is revolutionary power in the Jap
anese slogan Of Asia for the Asiatics, not
less so because it does not specify which
Asiatics
1nconscipuously tucked away amid
news Of more dramatic events there have
lately been numerous items tending to
confirm the opinion that movements of
. most far-reaching character are be-
coming operative in the Far East. And
since some Of these trends were pro-
nounced even before the war, 1t is not
surprising that they should be accent
uated by the present upheaval.
An incident thi6. 1dhptly nads hs
front page this week was the arrest of
the Prime Minister Of Burma, who re-
Gently vainly endeavored to persuade
Winston ChhrShi11 to frxnt dominion
status to this important outpost of
British India. The place OF Premier u
saws arrest has not been made public.
But the reason, as announced from Lon
don. is that "he has been In contact with
japanese authorities since the outbreak
Of war with Japan"
This particular Burmese leader NAV
be, as alleged, a bad egg. The British
refusal to let him return home may be
wholly justified as q defensive measure,
But If this is accepted, the incident
still remains disquieting And it is DIM
cult Tor one imperialism to write of as
Quisling the spokesman of q subject
people who shows himself willing to
listen to the Establishments of a rival
imperial power.
Statement Is Not Alone,
Equally disconcerting was the almost
simultaneous statement from Chungking
OF DR.. Sun Fo, chairman of the Legisla-
tive Assembly Of Nationalist China and
son Of the revered Sun Yat-sen. If the
United States and Great Britain are
content with waging defensive war in
the Far East, said DR.. Sun, there will
be grave doubt in Chungking as to the
wisdom Of China continuing to fight"
DR.. Sun is not the head Of the Chinese
government. He owes his position in
part to his fathers reputation. What
he says is subject to discount. But this
remark from DR.. Sun Is not the only
one Of its kind
There have been other recent indi-
cations that not inconsiderable element
IN China would be willing to consider a
reasonable peace with Japan, If that
were offered. Such an attitude cannot
be called surprising, considering that
this Is now the 55th month in which