The China Campaign Committee： 1937—1945

The China Campaign Committee rallied the British people in solidarity with China’s struggle Against Japanese aggression throughout the years of 1937-1945. Set up in the autumn of 1937， its chair was Victor Gollancz， with Dorothy Woodman as secretary， and the Labour politician， Lord Listowel， as President. My father， a recent graduate of the London School of Economics， who had been following developments in China since the age of 16， swiftly joined. In early 1938 became National Organiser. With the esteemed academic and Quaker， Margery Fry， serving as vice-Chair， the CCC took shape.

The CCC was formed amidst a wave of public outrage as newsreels of the horrific bombing and destruction of the Japanese caused great humanitarian concern throughout Britain. Labour MP， Philip Noel-Baker described the atmosphere during four nights of open air meetings on the streets of Derby in September 1937： “I found that the Chinese war was the only subject that reduced a street full of people， from children to grey beards， to a silence in which you could have heard a pin drop”.

There were a number of groups involved in calling for relief of distress in China and for the government to take action to deter Japan from continuing its aggression. Within the CCC， those who had stood up for China’s independence， namely， the Friends of the Chinese People （FOCP）， joined with those who had been organising in the defence of peace， especially the Union of Democratic Control （UDC） and the International Peace Council （IPC）. Victor Gollancz’s Left Book Club， which had just published Edgar Snow’s Red Star over China， and rapidly sold over 100，000 copies would also play a pivotal role. Whilst the FOCP， set up in 1935 by the British section of the League Against Imperialism （LAI） was relatively short lived， and the IPC also newly formed in 1936 to oppose the growing drift to war in Europe， the UDC， set up after the end of WW1 to oppose secrecy in diplomacy and international treaties， was better established with a base amongst the left wing of the Labour and Liberal parties.

The CCC was flooded with demands for speakers from peace groups， women’s groups， churches， trade union and local political party branches. Reaction soon developed into acts of solidarity with China’s cause， growing first from the trade union grassroots. During the winter months of 1937/8， dockers in Southampton， Middlesborough and London took spontaneous action， refusing to handle Japanese cargoes. The CCC gave support. When the Haruna Maru departed from London without its cargo， this was a victory for the dockers’ action. But it cost them their pay and a few， even their jobs.

Despite considerable sympathy for China across the House of Commons， appeasement tendencies within the government remained strong. The CCC joined the call for an international boycott of Japanese goods， campaigning for the British government to embargo arms and finance for Japan and give aid to China. From late 1937， a consumer boycott of Japanese silk stockings was to be one of its main activities. The campaign had a popular appeal and spread widely as it mobilised women and gained the support of the British Cooperative movement. There were letters in the press—local， national and in women’s weekly magazines； there were lobbies of Parliament； a march to the Japanese embassy； rallies in Trafalgar Square； and under the pressure， five major London stores declared themselves in favour of a boycott. February 1938 saw CCC’s first China Week marked by 60 meetings， 80 poster parades in London alone and 200 in the country， with thousands of leaflets distributed. All these activities evidently had a deterrent effect as imports of Japanese silk clearly declined in value in 1938.

Another key strand of the CCC’s activities was relief work. Aid for medical and other purposes was sent to Chinese Red Cross and the China Defence League in Hong Kong. Together with the IPC， the CCC helped in the establishment of the International Peace Hospitals in the liberated areas in July 1938. There were five in all， including the well-known Bethune International Peace Hospital. Through a China medical aid committee set up under Lord Horder， the CCC helped to arrange for refugee doctors， who had served the anti-fascist cause in Spain， to be sent China to assist the Chinese Red Cross military medical services. The CCC also raised funds to support the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and the Bailie schools set up by Rewi Alley，

News of CPC-KMT united resistance， with victories of both sides reported widely by the CCC， gave great hope to the peace and anti-fascist movements in Britain， stiffening their opposition to appeasement. Wuhan became the new “Madrid” and， with China fighting on， the demand for CCC speakers was ceaseless. Between September 1937 and March 1940， it organised nearly three thousand meetings and distributed over one million leaflets calling for Aid China. The consumer boycott reached a peak in February 1939 and a “China Sunday” in July 1939， which gained support from the churches， was to be the most publicised of all the CCC events. Both Mme Sun Yatsen and Mao Zedong sent messages at this time.

With the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939， the CCC remained active although the boycott campaign， for example， could not be maintained. Even though Britain itself was now at war， the influence of appeasement in the government continued. When the Burma Road was closed for three months in July 1940， there was a public outcry： trades councils and Labour Party branches passed protest resolutions and， despite air raids — the Battle of Britain had started —within two weeks， a CCC petition demanding that the government open the road had gained some half a million supporters. Before the three months was up， the figure had risen to over one and a quarter million.

The CCC worked within a diverse milieu， with branches up and down the country.

It built support among peace activists and humanitarians； committed anti-fascists， anti-imperialists and Communists； Labour and Liberal party members； trade unionists， women’s organisations， and those with a passion for Chinese culture. At the same time， it was highly successful in reaching out across the political spectrum and beyond， to religious， business and cultural groups.

The CCC issued numerous pamphlets， papers and reports； it organised weekend schools and held important conferences； and there was even a 10-week study programme on China. It built up contacts in Holland， Belgium， France， the US， Indonesia， Australia， and South Africa， becoming a world centre for the collection and distribution of information about the Aid China movement.

The defence of Chinese culture — the qualities of the old and the emergence of the new — played an important part in the campaigning. Exhibitions， plays and films were constant features of the CCC’s work. So was the effort to counter popular perceptions of the Chinese as a race of laundrymen and chop suey waiters， promoting instead images of Chinese pilots， technicians and liberated women.

Following the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour and Hong Kong， the call on the CCC for speakers and information reached another peak. With Britain now in the Asian theatre of war and China an ally， the government had to commit more seriously to aid. A British United Aid to China Fund （BUACF）， chaired by Lady Stafford Cripps was formed. It represented a coalition of religious， business and humanitarian organisations， and with backing from the Labour movement， the trade unions and the cooperative movement， it was able to raise considerable funds. The CCC joined forces to assist the fundraising but continued its own campaigning to spread news of the situation in China， including information about the 8th Route Army， whilst calling for the end of extra-territoriality， including the return of Hong Kong to China.

With around 150 local committees， the BUACF offered a structure which allowed the CCC to reach a wider audience： around one million people saw the CCC’s travelling exhibition on China between October 1942 and March 1944. However， the BUAC was not good at upholding United Front principles， and despite being a non-political body， channelled the bulk of funding to the Chinese government. Within the BUACF， the CCC endeavoured to see that funds went to both the KMT and CPC sides. However， the difficulties were compounded by the KMT blockade of the Liberated Areas， and between 1941 and 1944， it was particularly difficult to get aid through to the International Peace Hospitals and the industrial cooperatives in the Liberated Areas.

For activists like my father， the war in Asia was a war of liberation and the victory of the Allies in 1945 was not the end of it. The CCC continued up to 1949 to publish information about the unfolding events in China， lobbying politicians to prepare to recognise the establishment of the PRC.

July 2015

Dr. Jenny Clegg is Vice-President of Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding.

Arthur Clegg， Aid China 1937-1949， New World Press， Beijing China， First published in 1989.

Tom Buchanan， East Wind， China and the British Left， 1925-1976， Oxford University Press， 2012