Fairbank Claims Law Ineffective in China

Rule by man and not by law may be the most effective system of government for China, John K. Fairbank '29, professor of History, told the World Law Club yesterday.

Speaking on "The Rule of Law in China," Fairbank said that the Communist system of absolute rule was evidently more convincing to the impoverished people of China than Western methods. For this reason, he added, the West has met with little success in the past in trying to impose on China a form of government based on a set legal code.

Fairbank said that the people of China are in a bad position under Communist control, but that they have little choice in the matter. He could give no apparent answer to the problem of how the West could succeed in establishing a rule based on legalistic, instead of terroristic principles. He stated that action must be taken soon. "I am definitely in favor of pushing our values upon them," he said, "if they can be pushed.

"Communism in China may be a triumph of evil, but it is still a triumph of power," he said. "The West has never succeeded in gaining so much influence."