 From San Francisco, the NISL Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations present the Pacific story. In observance of United Nations week, the Pacific story tonight comes to you from the city where the United Nations organization was born. San Francisco, with this honor, became the symbol of new hope. In keeping with this, tonight we present a story of another city, far across the Pacific, which is a symbol of another kind, and which one day may be affected by the far-reaching decisions of the United Nations. Canton, the symbol of new China. You can catch it or not. Choose my ticket. Mm-hmm. Kowloon to Canton. Yes. Sorry, please. I hope you know you're ready for trouble up there in Canton. Yes. The Japanese have been fostering a place with bombs. Yes, yes. Well, here's your ticket. Look, Anton, now. Thank you. As the train pulled out of the station in Kowloon and headed up the peninsula the last hundred miles to Canton, I looked back across the mile-wide straight to the islands of Hong Kong. There was the barren, picturesque rock of the city of Victoria perched on it, the beautiful harbor below. It called back the last time I had seen it when I left for the United States to go to school. And it called back the first time I had seen it when I came down the Pearl River from Canton and the junks with my grandfather. That is Hong Kong, Chidao. You see, the islands of Hong Kong are at the mouth of this river that brought us down from Canton. And Chidao, one-third of all the goods that come into China comes through Hong Kong here. That is important because Hong Kong is no longer in the hands of us Chinese. Hong Kong? Yes, British. I did not quite understand then what Hong Kong at the mouth of the Pearl River meant to Canton, 100 miles up the river. I remember the talk about it all the years of my childhood. Hong Kong is the counter over which most of China must buy. Yes, and the storekeeper is a foreigner. Canton can never be more than a distribution center for the goods that come in over the British counter. Why cannot Canton be a counter? The water in Hong Kong Harbor is deep. There are no facilities for great ships here in Canton. Only the smaller boats can come up here. Then why is not the river dredged here and facilities put in so we can accommodate the deep sea freight? They are talking of dredging the river 12 miles down the stream at Womball. Ah, they've been talking of that for years. Now it was 1938 and the dredging of the Womball was at last underway. But now it was late. My country had been at war for more than a year. And the Japanese had occupied all the ports down to Amoy. I looked out of the window and wondered how soon the Japanese would drive to take Canton. Nngi Tao. An old friend stopped at my seat. Nngi Tao, I have not seen you in five years. It was Wang Li. Did you finish your education in America? No. You have come back at a desperate time. The Japanese have been bombing Canton. I know. And all the approaches to Canton. They have bombed this Kowloon-Canton railroad out several times. I had to come back. Are you a doctor now? Not quite. But I can help. You will be badly needed. Yes. I wondered why he was not in uniform. We are expecting the Japanese any time. Wang Li told me what had happened in the other coastal and river cities when the Japanese moved in. There would be plenty for you to do, Nngi Tao. I wondered if I would have time to organize any kind of medical facilities before the enemy came. They will certainly use all the railways and waterways leading into Canton. The railways and waterways. We are blessed with many waterways, Nngi Tao. My grandfather used to talk as he's called up the rivers. Nearly all of our rivers are brothers. The pearl river here wanders inland and joins the Xi Yang, the river of the west. We could follow these rivers a thousand miles. Below us here, the big Yang from the north joins the pearl river. And we could follow this up to the great central basin of Hangzhou. So with all the rivers that join us here, Canton is the meeting point of the river trade of China with the sea trade of the world. I had gone up and down these waterways with my grandfather. They can be used for war as well as trade, Nngi Tao. No, Wang Li. The same thing with the railways. Yes. Canton was a railway center. The Japanese could come southward over Hangzhou, Canton Railway. They could come in over the network of other railroads in Kuantung Province, around Canton. And they might use the Gao Lun, Canton Railway, on which we were riding. Japanese bombers! Japanese bombers! Get down between the seats! Get down between the seats, Nngi Tao! Japanese bombers attacking the trains! Japanese bombers attacking the trains! Japanese bombers attacking the trains! Japanese bombers attacking the trains! Hang on! If only the train does not jump the tracks. The speeders are only hope to make them miss. What if they hit the tracks in front of us? They are getting closer. A whole squadron must be after us. Yes. They must be using dive bombers. Stay down! They blasted the ditches beside us, smashed the right away behind us. Besides them, some of the cars were shattered. I did all I could to be injured. The road into Canton was 32 dead. This was my homecoming. I knew it was only a foretaste. All the old ceilings of my childhood came back. The waterfront where I had gone so many times with my grandfather. Both 20 deep tied up at the dock. The murky stream of the Pearl River with small crafts, old roads, skulls propelled, sailed in all directions. The junks and ocean steamers rising above them like giants. The city. The streets still narrow and dirty as they have been a thousand years. The shops jumbled together along them. The smells and the color. The babbling. The five-sheep city they called Ichidau, or the city of Wren. My grandfather knew the lore of Canton. It was here that the first foreigners came, Chidau. The first foreigners came here to trade a thousand years ago. And the Hindu and Parsi merchants came. And many centuries later the Europeans came. The Spaniards, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British, the Americans. Your ancestors, Chidau and my ancestors, met these people and talked to them and to them. This is one piece in Ichidau that Canton has become a center of enlightenment. And that is why they say everything new originates in Canton. The streets still narrow, but rising out of them, wide streets, like breathing spaces, cutting through the congested areas. A spacious boond along the waterfront. Public parks. Modern concrete buildings downtown and factories on the outskirts. Hurry! Hurry! I looked up into the sky. Chidau, run for shelter. We cannot permit you to be killed. We need you. Hurry now. Come this way. Many still stood and looked up at the approaching bombers, shading their eyes with their hands. Down. Throw yourself down, Chidau. Throw yourself down into the gutter. We'll have to clear a space to get in between those others. This one is very bad. I will be there in a minute as soon as I finish with this one. Yes. See now. See when you put him down. Just a minute, Chens. He will be over here to help you. He put you there. Yes, Chens. It's still there. It's my friend. It's my friend. Oh, here he is now. Have a look at you now. That's it. Get this man into the surgery room as fast as you can. Yes, sir. All right, up there? They carried him into a storeroom in the basement. That suddenly had become a hospital. You were lucky, Chens. What are you going to do? This is anesthetics, but it is very little. Are you going to operate something? I'm going to remove your hand, Chens. Your foot, we can save. On that day on, I worked there in that basement. Dressing wounds, setting bones, operating, amputating. There you are, Chens. How do you feel? All right. Dr. Ming, will you come over here, please? They called me, doctor. Can you take care of this one now, Dr. Ming? Dr. Ming. Dr. Ming. Dr. Ming. Dr. Ming. The bombers came back again and again. The Japanese will start their drive on the city any time now. Yes. Are you going to stay, Chidao? Are you? I do not know. I wondered why. It would hesitate. I do not think we can hold Canton. Our troops will need you in the field. Can I go and leave all these people here? Which is more important? Dr. Ming, you are needed over here. Yes. When there was a moment's reflect, I looked over the people in that basement. The women, the children, the old people, the men. These were my people, the Cantonese. There is no people in the world like us Cantonese. Chidao, that is what my grandfather used to say. You see, we are short and our complexions are darker than those of the people of the north. We are quick to take up new ideas and to accept changes. But you must always be on guard against yourself, Chidao. For we are excitable and adventurous, and those who do not like us call us quick-tempered and strong-willed. I looked over the people on their carts and straw matting there in the basement. They were so quiet, but we Cantonese are enlightened, Chidao. And that is a great virtue. Enlightened. Here, Sun Yat-sen spawned the revolution against the Manchu dynasty. When he was a young doctor, he smuggled in arms to capture the provincial capital here, and when he was discovered, he escaped in the last moment. He returned and again made a lucky escape. And here, many years later in 1921, he returned as the head of the government. I saw him then, and I remember what he said. To elevate China to a position of freedom and equality among nations, we must bring about an awakening of our own people. We must allow our common struggle both of the world. Most of the Chinese that immigrated to America, to Europe and to all the other places of the world came from Canton. The Chinese that were brought to California at the time of the gold rush and then the years after to build the railroads came from Canton. They went abroad to work and to live to earn money and to send some of it back and perhaps to come back themselves. And when they came back, they brought ideas with them. These ideas made Canton the most modern Chinese city. Ideas blossomed out for a new China, and the new China followed Sun Yat-sen. I remember that year that Sun Yat-sen came back. The old city burned down. I stood there and looked at it with my grandfather. It is the old part of the city. It's the old, perhaps heavenly, and favoring part. And as the burned-out parts were rebuilt, the talk about Hong Kong went on. Canton can never be great until Hong Kong is Chinese. It stands at our gateway and collects on goods, moving in and good, moving out. If Canton is to compete with Hong Kong, we must dredge the river and make Canton a big people. Instead, why do we not make Hong Kong Chinese? If we make Canton a big people, perhaps it would not be necessary for Hong Kong to be Chinese. They are talking about dredging a slum ball. Yes, talking. I remember when the talk crystallized into action in 1923. Do not trade with Hong Kong! Do not trade with Hong Kong! Do not buy goods that came through Hong Kong! Why can't you trade Chinese? Why can't you trade with Hong Kong? These were the same people, many of them, who now lay on their cots in the straw mattings on the floor of the basement. Hot tempered, strong willed, purposeful. But now wounded and fighting for their lives. Do not know, Chen. It's time to get well enough. Just lie down there, Chen. I would hear. You are not yet well enough to be out. Do you expect an air raid from here again? You are safer here in this basement than anywhere else, Chen. Lie down on your mat now, Chen. He's out. He's out. Can I speak with you? What is it, Wong Lee? Intelligence has just informed us. The Japanese have started their drive on the city. When will they be here? In a matter of days. Cheetah, you must leave. Leave all these people? They're helpless. Your skill is needed by our troops. Are you going to leave, Wong Lee? I am to stay. I will stay too. The Japanese bombings increased. Great buildings were smashed. The wide roads were blasted. Still, Canton did not appear as city besieged. The bridges still stood. The government offices, the factories, the public buildings still stood. The bombers came back again and again. The Japanese think by taking Canton they can stop or import the munitions. At midnight on October 21, 1938, Wong slipped through the shadows down into the basement. Orders have been received from a high command to blow up the bridges, the government offices, the factories. Everything that could be of value to the enemy. The Japanese must be very close. They will occupy the city tomorrow. And the city is to be evacuated? Yes. And if you do not go, Heaven knows what they will do to you and your patients. The modern buildings shut. By dawn the blasting was done. The buildings still standing were inflamed. All sections of the city were ablaze. Nothing was left for the enemy. The armed forces had moved out during the night. And as light broke, the few roads still open were crowded with refugees streaming out of the city. I stood at the side of the road and watched them. People in carts, on trucks, and thousands on foot. Old women, old men, young women, children, triples, half grown girls and boys. A doleful mass of humanity moving out of the city. When I got back to the basement, Chen was gone. You must have got up in the dark and flipped out. But how could he walk on only one foot and with his right hand amputated? I did not see him go. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese entered Canton. They found it in flaming ruins. Your name? Ming Chidao. You are in charge of this place? I'm helping these patients. Are you a doctor? Not yet. I have not completed my work. Who is the owner of this property? I do not know. You will inform the owner that Chinese properties are not on the spot to lay claim to it. We'll be confiscated. Whoever the owner of the building was, he was gone. If they confiscated the building, what would happen to the injured people I had been helping? My patients. Japanese guards patrol the streets. Japanese squads comb the city for those they considered dangerous. Who could that be? The Japanese would not knock like that. Who is it? It is Wong Lee. Open quickly. They have found out that I am in the intelligence. You must hide me here for a few days, Chidao. The Japanese will be back here at any time, Wong Lee. They have demanded the owner of this building or they will confiscate it. If they come here, they will find you. I cannot go out now. I must wait until dark. You, Wong Lee, get up on the table. You can crawl out the low window. Give me a minute before you open the door. Hurry. Tell Wong Lee to leave. What are you doing? Japanese squads coming here. They know he's here. They know he's a spy. How do they know you? I know. Tell him. He's already gone. Oh, come on, Shin. You should be in bed here. You should be lying down. Come over here and on. Open up. Open up. It's the Japanese. Slide down over there and pull that blanket over you. Where is Wong Lee? Wong Lee? Search, search, search, search. Yes, sir. Everyone in every corner. And the guards stood over me as they searched every inch of the basement, every side room. Suddenly the Japanese captain came back. Wong Lee was here. Was he not? There are so many coming going here that I don't know. I found the open window in that storeroom. You are under arrest. But that window was already open. Look. You know this one? Ah. The lame one with one hand. The informer. Yes. He was on the floor with a blanket over him like a patient. Oh, no. I am only one... Take him along, Sergeant. We will go. They took us both to a prison camp. What they did to Chan in the next few days to try information out of him, I do not know. I did not see him again until I saw him tied to a post with a firing squad before him. Two years I spent there in that prison camp. Then they released me to work among the people of Canton. Have you seen Wong Lee since that last day? No. We have word that he went up to Cukong. Cukong was the wartime capital of the province of Guangdong. If he came back, maybe he could tell us how we could get some rice. He said he would come back. Hunger had turned to starvation. The puppet bureau's made rules against hoarding, but there was no rice to hoard. Rice was selling $4,000 in puppet money for a peak pool of rice, 110 tons. And even those who somehow could pay this price could not get rice without paying bribes called activity fees. The month stretched into years. Death brought relief to the suffering of many. Then by the early part of 1944, hope came on the wings of more destruction. Those... Those are American planes. American planes. We kept track of the raids as they blasted Canton. They averaged ten a month. Ha! They have forced a high-ranking Japanese and puppet officials to leave Canton every morning and not return until dark. Good. By the spring of 1945, we knew that the war was going against the Japanese. Dr. Ming, I think I saw Wong Lee. Yeah? I think so. He must have slipped back into the city. I kept watch for him. Then one day he was brought in. The last thing I saw was him kneeling with a sergeant standing over him with a raised samurai sword. I looked away. The tension grew in those last days of the war. We knew the end was near. The war is over. No one said anything. I looked at the wreckage around me. The blasted, burned, blackened city. The buildings, the bridges and ruins. I recall what Canton had looked like. I wondered if in all my lifetime it would ever look like that again. This had been the cradle of China's revolution. The Japanese were not segregated into the seven concentration camps but put to work cleaning up the streets. By the end of 1945, some of the communications were back in service. The repair work will be done in stages. First we must resume construction on the southwest steel bridge. Then we must build up the lower harbor facilities. Clear and build up the roads so we can get around, dredge and widen the rivers and undertake construction of residential areas. It's nice to be of Canton. Slowly one stone upon another, Canton is rising out of the blackness of her destruction. After again coming up the Pearl River from the sea and again the Cantonese are looking down the river to Hong Kong. I can hear my grandfather saying, Canton is China's gateway to the world. She doubts? Someday when the question of Hong Kong is settled, Canton will prosper to its fullest and all the world will know that Canton is the symbol of new China. I've been listening to the Pacific story presented this evening from San Francisco, the birthplace of the United Nations in observance of United Nations Week. This has been one of a series of programs by the National Broadcasting Company and a affiliated independent station dedicated to the United Nations objective of lasting peace built on justice and understanding among nations. For a reprint of this Pacific story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coins to the University of California Press, Berkeley, California. To repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coins to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific story is written and produced by Arnold Marcus. The music was under the direction of Carl Kallish. The principal voice was that of Tal Ware Avery. These programs in this series of particular interest to servicemen and women are broadcast overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This program came to you from San Francisco and is heard in Canada over the facilities of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.