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2 The Columbus Citizen MONDAY, OCT. 25, 1943 'It's Spirit That Counts,' Says Flier Here From China to Help War Chest Speaks at Opening Drive Rally Tonight By BOB KENNEY A beautiful young Chinese flier used a familiar American adage to express her nation's thanks for America's help in the war. "It's not the gift. It's the spirit that counts," Miss Lee Ya Ching, China's foremost flier, said here today as she prepared to address a Franklin County War Chest rally at Memorial Hall tonight. "Just the thought that someone 10,000 miles away is thinking about us is a wonderful feeling," she said. "It makes us realize that we aren't fighting alone. "Many times the Chinese people have been downcast," she explained, speaking in precise, letter-perfect English. "The war takes a bad turn, many people are killed, many more are hungry and cold and they feel lost. Morale Builder "Then a lend-lease plane arrives with American medical supplies. Our morale goes up and we fight a little harder, a little better." Miss Lee, daughter of a Shanghai industrialist, is the first Chinese woman to obtain a pilot's license. She has flown for almost 10 years, in China and America and Canada and she'd like to be flying now—in China. "It's hard being so far away from my people " she says. "I'd like to be back home working, but they seem to think I can do more good here. I'm just a soldier, too, and I take orders." Miss Lee says China will never get enough relief, but that can't be helped. Supply Difficulties Closing of the Burma Road, the lifeline into China, has badly hampered delivery of supplies to beseiged [[besieged]] territory. Every ounce of supplies reaching there now must be flown in over a perilous route across the Himalaya Mountains. "Naturally, there isn't space on the planes for the food and clothing necessary for civilians," she says, "so all we can send are medical supplies and money. The medical supplies are distributed to the army and to civilians by the Red Cross and with the money, food can be bought from India. "We are doing the best we can with existing facilities." The most pitiful situation in China today is that of the children, the young flier feels. "There are about 2,000,000 orphans in China. Only 20 per cent [[percent]] of those are in orphanages, homes and institutions. The remaining 80 per cent [[percent]] are scattered, homeless, hungry, throughout the country, living a hand-to-mouth existence. Children Suffer "Children six years old and younger have never felt a moment of peace since they were born. They have become almost like animals, dodging bombs, fleeing Japanese troops, hiding in fields and mountains. It is horrible." She cited one example of the way in which young children have become war-conscious. "In one of the villages, a troop of Chinese guerillas were quartered. They dressed like farmers and townspeople so the Japanese cannot locate them. "The Japanese learned about their presence, sent soldiers to capture them. The Chinese villagers refused to reveal the guerillas among them. The Japanese officer had what he thought was a brilliant idea. Plan Failed to Work "He ordered all the children and all the men in the city to a square. Then he ordered each child to pick out the men of his immediate family. He thought the children would name their fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers and the remaining men would be the guerillas. "When the children were finished there wasn't a single man left who hadn't been picked by one of the children. The Japanese were unable to make further progress." Miss Lee, touring America and Canada for War Chest and Chinese Relief agencies all year, will go to Syracuse, N. Y., from here and then return to New York. "For the sake of our little children and for our adults, as well as for our fighting men, don't fail in your kindness this year," she pleads. [[image]] Miss Lee Ya Ching
