[Editor: This article refers to Australia’s relationship with China regarding trade and education, and calls for changes in the areas of customs and immigration (the latter likely being a reference to the White Australia Policy). Published in The Canberra Times (Ainslie, Canberra, ACT), 24 June 1932.]
Australia’s chance
Trade with the East
Influence through education
Interview with Mr. Liu
An interesting visitor to Canberra yesterday was Mr. W. J. L. Liu, a well-known Sydney merchant, who has just returned after a six months’ visit to China, during which time he visited Hong Kong, Canton and Shanghai.
During Mr. Liu’s stay in Shanghai, the city was under bombardment by the Japanese forces for a month.
Mr. Liu said it had been interesting to revisit China after an absence of 10 years. He found the people in the larger cities taking a deeper interest in politics. Education was being developed along Western lines.
So far as business was concerned, Mr. Liu said he found that the difficult conditions arising from the Japanese military operations at Shanghai and in Manchuria were having a very serious effect for the time being, but he considered that when those were cleared up there would be splendid prospects for expansion of trade, particularly with Australia and other countries that are close to China.
Mr. Liu admitted that the purchasing power of the great majority of the Chinese people, was very small at the present time, but merchants and dwellers in the large cities, including all classes of employees, were in a position to spend money in purchasing imported goods of a relatively high value of which Australia was capable of contributing a substantial part. It should be comparatively easy to develop export trade from Australia in primary products, but the utmost discrimination must be used in the selection of the quality of goods if Australia hoped to develop trade which was now in the hands of America and other countries.
Mr. Liu considered that the Australian authorities would do well to give close attention to customs and immigration hardships affecting trade with China.
The United States had obtained overwhelming advantages through her action in applying the Boxer indemnity which had been granted to the United States by the Chinese Government towards the education in the United States of Chinese students of higher status. At the present time a system existed under which the Australian authorities admitted Chinese youths for education in Australia, and he hoped that this system would be extended.
Mr. Liu added: “There is a great opportunity to extend the influence which might operate in China to the advantage of Australia by a judicious extension of this system of Chinese student education”.
Continuing, he said that at the present time the Australian authorities gave certain concessions to the local Chinese merchants, but in this connection he also considered that the possibilities should be examined by the authorities with a view to seeing what further concessions could be granted to assist local Chinese to successfully extend their operations overseas with a view to capturing a reasonable proportion of the Chinese market.
Mr. Liu, in conjunction with Sir Colin Mackenzie, was one of those who took a primary interest in the establishment by the Chinese community in Australia of a lectureship to commemorate the life work of the late Dr. George Ernest Morrison. He brought it under the notice of some of the most prominent political, commercial and educational authorities in China, who, he said, all regarded it as a step likely to prove of the utmost value in promoting the cultural and commercial relations between the two countries.
Mr. Liu said that these gentlemen, some of whom were already well acquainted with the work of Sir Colin Mackenzie, highly appreciated the efforts that he had put forward to make this lectureship an accomplished fact, and Mr. Liu’s visit to Canberra was primarily for the purpose of delivering to Sir Colin Mackenzie, as Director, Chinese scrolls from Dr. Wu Lienteh, Director of the National Quarantine Service of China; Mr. W. Cockson, general manager of Wing On Textile Manufacturing company Ltd., of Shanghai, and one of the leading Chinese industrialists; and Mr. Choy Chong, general manager of the Sun Company Ltd., of Hong Kong and Canton, with large emporium interests.
Sir Colin Mackenzie has accepted those scrolls on behalf of the lectureship.
Source:
The Canberra Times (Ainslie, Canberra, ACT), 24 June 1932, p. 2
[Editor: Changed “caable of contributing” to “capable of contributing”, “the Australians authorities” to “the Australian authorities”, “as Director” to “as Director,” (added a comma).]
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