Western Responses to Food Distribution and Famine in Wartime China

Citation:

Abstract:

This paper examines how Western journalists, writers, and aid organizers in China were aware of significant food shortages in central China during World War II, but nevertheless prioritized the funding and distribution of non-food types of aid, and failed to bring attention to China's food shortages to British and American publics and governments. Through archived correspondence, diaries, meeting minutes, and published reports, I analyze how theories of economic and political development guided Western organizers’ consideration of relief efforts, and discuss the broader consequences of their actions and priorities for Chinese politics and for connections between the United States, China, and China's neighbors in the 1940s.
Last updated on 06/24/2021