The International Development of China — John Shaqi
The International Development of ChinaSun, Yat-sen
History
The International Development of China
Sun, Yat-sen
China -- Economic conditions -- 1912-1949; Railroads -- China
The land should be bought up by the state in order to prevent the
speculators from creating the dog-in-the-manger system, to the
detriment of the public. The land should be prepared and divided into
farmsteads, then leased to colonists on perpetual term. The initial
capital, seeds, implements and houses should be furnished by the state
at cost price on cash or on the instalment plan. For these services,
big organizations should be formed and war work measures should be
adopted in order to transport, to feed, to clothe and to house every
colonist on credit in his first year.
As soon as a sufficient number of colonists is settled in a district,
franchise should be given for self-government and the colonists should
be trained to manage their own local affairs with perfect democratic
spirit.
If within ten years we can transport, let us say, ten millions of the
people, from the congested provinces of China, to the Northwestern
territory to develop its natural resources, the benefit to the
commercial world at large will be enormous. No matter how big a capital
that shall have been invested in the project it could be repaid within
a very short time. So in regard to its bearing to "the principle of
remuneration" there is no question about it.
Regarded from "the principle of the need of the Nation" colonization
is the most urgent need of the first magnitude. At present China
has more than a million soldiers to be disbanded. Besides, the dense
population will need elbow room to move in. This Colonization project
is the best thing for both purposes. The soldiers have to be disbanded
at great expense and hundreds of millions of dollars may be needed
for disbandment alone, in paying them off with a few months' pay. If
nothing more could be done for these soldiers' welfare, they will
either be left to starve or to rob for a living. Then the consequences
will be unimaginable. This calamity must be prevented and prevented
effectively. The best way for this is the colonization scheme. I hope
that the friendly foreign financiers, who have the welfare of China at
heart, when requested to float a reorganization loan for the Chinese
Government in the future, will persist on the point--that the money
furnished must first be used to carry out the colonization scheme for
the disbanded soldiers. Otherwise, their money will only work disasters
to China.
For the million or more of the soldiers to be disbanded, the district
between our projected port and Dolon Nor is quite enough to accommodate
them. This district is quite rich in mineral resources and is very
sparsely settled. If a railway is to start at once from the projected
port to Dolon Nor these soldiers could be utilized as a pioneer party
for the work of the port, of the railway, of the developing of the
adjacent land beyond the Great Wall, and of preparing Dolon Nor as
a jumping ground for further colonization development of the great
northern plain.
PART IV
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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