HC Deb 24 October 1918 vol 110 cc933-4W
Mr. KING

asked the Joint Patronage Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Ministry of Information, whether Dr. Giles, professor of Chinese at Cambridge University, is advising the Ministry of Information; if so, whether he will explain why a journal called "Truth" was produced for circulation in the Far East without expert correction; whether he is aware that Professor Giles has declared that the publications of the Ministry for use in China are of a low type, as from an educated man, childish, and the title "Truth" is, in Chinese ears, absurd; and what action is being taken to recall publications which will appear ridiculous in the eyes of China?

Mr. BALDWIN

Dr. Giles, Professor of Chinese at Cambridge University, is not acting as adviser to the Ministry of Information. The letterpress of the journal, since the first few issues, has been produced under the expert supervision of Dr. Lionel Giles, of the British Museum. In his opinion the letterpress is not of a low type. The style is neither too literary nor too colloquial, but calculated to make the widest appeal to the general public in China. The title "Ch'eng Pao" is not only perfectly intelligible, but the best possible rendering of "Truth" as the title of a newspaper, and for more than two years, during which time the paper has circulated in China, no Chinaman appears to have taken exception to it.