THE WORLD'S PRESS ON DONALD (CONTINUED)

 New Republic (US)

"Donald was, in the most complete sense of the term, a trustworthy adviser. Donald played an important part in almost everything that went on in China from the overthrow of the Manchus in 1911 to the long struggle against Japan. [He was] one of the most influential men in modern history."

The New York Times

"Mr. Donald refuses all compensation for his services, declines social invitations, is immune to flattery and refuses all honors. He is utterly selfless in his devotion to China and to Generalissimo Chiang..."

The Saturday Evening Post

" 'And then Donald arrived.' The phrase has a much deeper significance than its connection with the rescue of China's Man of Destiny [Chiang Kai-shek]. It is a recurrent motif in the turbulent history of the Celestial Republic. In every national convulsion since 1911, Donald has arrived on the dot, untying some snarl......." 

"Mr. Donald was a confidant of generals, handyman to warlords and held more state secrets than any foreigner who lived in China."

South Seas Weekly (Fiji)

 "He learnt long before the revolution [1911] that if he had known Chinese he would never have been able to get the contacts he had, for the Chinese knew that with him they were assured of the privacy of their conversations. The trouble was that if he knew ten words of Chinese the Chinese took it that he knew 100 and so on. The Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek did not speak English and in his contacts with him, Madame Chiang acted as interpreter..."

OTHERS ......

"Working mainly behind the scenes, Donald was to exert a substantial influence on the policies of China for a full decade"

"The coming of Donald to Sian really set the stage for fruitful negotiations. Indeed, there was no other person except Donald who commanded the full confidence of both the captor and the captive and whose presence at the most critical hours was looked upon by both as a friend in need."

  - "On apprend, d'autre part, q'un Australien, qui est l'ami intimate de Tchang Kai chek et de Tchang Hsué Liang, M. W. H. Donald, a quitté Nankin ce matin pour Sian-Fou, afin de tenter d'obtenir la libération du generalissimo" ...

 ["Other sources confirm that an Australian, Mr. W. H. Donald - who is a close friend of Chiang Kai-shek and of Chang Hsueh-liang - left Nanking this morning for Xian-fu in an attempt to obtain the generalissimo's release."]

"He was the first white man since Marco Polo to enjoy the confidence of China's rulers. He never took a drop of liquor in his life and he had two favourite sayings - 'He travels fastest who travels alone, and he travels fastest who travels dry.'"

"WHAT NOW, CHIANG?  ......For many years the Western powers realised the sterling qualities of the Japanese and feared that if China, with her great resources and manpower, emulated Japan and decided to clasp the hands of friendship with her neighbours across the Yellow Sea, it would mean the end of all Western influence, and exploitation, in East Asia .... the Britisher, Donald is still [Chiang's] trusted and ever-present adviser. What national leader, if he were a true representative of his people, would need the constant attention of a foreign adviser, I ask you?"

Chinese TV/cinema

In 1994, the dramatised TV documentary, Once Upon a Time in China: The Soong Sisters (HK/China) prominently featured Mr. Donald - as had the Chinese movie, The Xi'an Incident (1980).

Copyright, Frank Bren 2001. Photographs of Mr. Donald and friends are reproduced by kind permission of the Donald family (Australia) and Ansie Lee Sperry (USA). For all enquiries, please contact the Manager via frankmondial@lycos.com . Oh, and many thanks for visiting this site.