Evening star., 1950-05-21
Priest Organizing
GuerriIIas in China
Against Communists
By Steffon Andrews

AK Ell, FUl lIlOod. - INCdIly d
million armed Chinese guerrillas
are. operating today behind Com
munist lines on the China main
land.
This figure comes from the man
who is arming and organizing
these bands into tight pockets of
resistance at scores Of points
throughout China.
Strangely, this guerrilla leader
is not Chinese. He is a Catholic
priest who went direct from
Yugoslavia to organize the Chi
nese peasant movement.
Known to the Formosans only
as Professor George" which is
not his real name. he is probably
the most fabulous character in all
the intrigue-ridden Orient.
Was Czech Prisoner.
Professor George is only A. but
he looks IS. His tanned face is
heavily scanned and his heavy
crop Of hair has turned prema-
turely white after six months of
torture in a Czechoslovak prison
camp.
He won't talk about his past,
but this much is known. He is
Croatian by birth. speaks 10 lang
uageS and has spent a year inside
Soviet Russia as a disguised Red
Partisan" fighter.
He is one of the few specially
selected underground priests who
wear no clerical robes, but pro-
vide the Vatican with probably
the best intelligence on Commu-
nism in the world today.
There is a price on his head,
which some Chinese whisper has
been fixed by the Kremlin at
$50, ,000-dead or alive-but he
seems not to be bothered by such
trifles.
Since his arrivel in Formosa
about year ago, he says he has
organized 100000 "elite" armed
guerrillas in China and estimates
there is a total of 100000 others
who are unorganized.
"Students" Work With Him.
Working with him are eight
Belgian, French and Czech
students" whom he has brought
with him from Eastern Europe.
Their job mainly is to man the
Free China Radio beamed to the
mainland.
Professor Georges mission is to
blow up bridges, tunnels and rail-
heads and to sabotage communi-
cations. His specific targets are
airports, ammunition dumps and
food stores.
Under cover of darkness, he
smuggleS small arms to the main
land on Misunderstanding motor
lied junks and arms thousands
Of Chinese peasants who strike
by night and return to their
farms by day.
The organized bands Of guerrilla
fighters operate mostly in the
costal areas. The most heavily
armed are those at points along
the China coast which are the
most likely springboard for the
Red invasion of Formosa.
Calls FOrmOSa Valuable.
Strategically, Formosa has great
value to Professor George right
now because it can be used as
base to mount guerrilla warfare
in an organized scale in China,
Indo-China and other parts of
Southeast Asia. +
So long as Formosa is held, it
has great psychological value to
anti i-Communists not only in
China, but in the Philippines,
Korea and even Japan, he says.
"Once Formosa is lost. there is
no chance whatever of holding
Indo-China and Burma, even
though America labors under the
Illusion it can still save Indo-
China after Formosa goes" he
says.
The Illusion which gravely
troubles Professor George is the
theory put forth by Owen Latti-
more and some American diplo-
mats that the Chinese, if let alone,
In fiVao will %,,rx,
Russians in Control.
believe me-" he says somberly,
There is not a ghost of chance
Of this ever happening. can tell
you from f1rst-hand experience
that the Russians are now firmly
in control of Communist China's
government"
But the most dangerous illu-
sion" is the widespread thinking
that. let strictly alone, China s
masses in time will absorb the
SovietS.
1T takes only 5 per cent in
China to maneuver the other 95
per cent to serve them and be
Subservient to them. And they
don't have to be Communists to
do it," Professor George COM
mentS.
The outlook in the Far East is
dark. he says. and it is idle to
think Of trying to save other parts
OF Southeast Asia once all NJ Eree