We learnt from the daily papers that the Vickers Company has granted a further loan of £500,000 Sterling to the Department for Aeronautics, for the purpose of developing air lines in China. (La Gazzetta dell’Aviazione) October 3rd., 1921. 1 DECEMBER 1921 THE LATEST AVIATION NEWS FROM CHINA “Rome was not built in a day” is a proverb which applies to China more than to any other nation: The Chinaman is ultra-conservative and averse to all innovations. The above proverb is fully borne out by the introduction of aircraft into China. As I stated in No. 39/40 of this paper, an air route was opened, under British Management, from Peking to Tsinanfu. Peitaih-o, the well known watering place of North China, was linked up with Peking by an air-way so as to facilitate the Sunday trips to the sea of visitors from the Capital. This service was run in order to enable members of the diplomatic corps to spend their usual summer holidays at Peitaiho, and to return twice a week to Peking for conferences and urgent business. According to the “Peking Leader”, both lines discontinued their services on 25th August, because the number of passengers being too small, the enterprise was run at a considerable loss. The passengers were mainly “guests” of the Government. Furthermore, the use of aircraft as a means of communication in China meets with passive resistance on the part of Chang Oso-lin, the Governor General at Mukden, and of his colleague Tsao Kun at Pao Tsing, in that they will not allow landing grounds within their provinces. A third obstructionist is the Governor of Nanking. He is said to fear that some fine day Government troops from Peking may land in his territory, and therefore refuses to permit the construction of an aerodrome in the neighbourhood of his provincial capital. There is a clause in the contracts concluded by the firms that supply material, that aeroplanes shall not be used for military purposes, but solely for the conveyance of mails and passengers. A certain General Ting scrupulously observed this point, greatly to the annoyance of the “militarists”, and, in consequence of intrigues, was obliged to resign his appointment in favour of General Pan. He is said to have declared through a newspaper announcement - which was emphatically repudiated by the aviation authorities - that he intended to use the aeroplanes which had been supplied chiefly for the army. In this connection, it is interesting to learn that two aeroplanes and a quantity of accessories have completely vanished from Nanyang, the air station near Peking. It is assumed that supervision has been relaxed owing to changes which have taken place at aviation headquarters and that it has therefore been possible for the said Chang to take possession of two machines. It is clear that the air service is in its infancy and more especially of course in China. The Chinese fiercely opposed all innovations such as railways; now the mileage of the latter grows
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzMjY3MA==