CHINA IN TURMOIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 219, 13 September 1923, Page 13

CHINA IN TURMOIL.

FIGHTING FOREIGNERS

iCHEMES OF SUN VAT SEN.

China was ''f ,lol ' m " molp die- 1 nr panis.'.l »tau\ There it. evr\ indication that the country i> on the edge of a volcano which is likely to erupt pi any moment, with roMllts far more poieilt than any since liir birth of the republic. Li Yuan-hung, the President of China, ha.- had to tip.' from tlie capital i-ity iinu take refuse ! " Tientsin: half of Ihp iin-rn-hors of Parliament have left Peking: si parliamentary assembly. numbering Rbmit -W- > s " ovr sittincr in Shanghai behind rlosfd doors-. Sun Vat-sen. in the full joys of victory over his enemies, is B<ntatinz ior re-inatallation as Presidt'lU, while demands are rorninp from gpveral quarter- that the l>oy PN-Emperor 'I'llYj) be aj:ain plaoed on the throne ni:fl that China c.nre more return to monarchy, with an emperor ruling from the ancient forbidden city, write? the Phanphai .-orrespondent of the •'Melbourne Herald." When two Britisii police officers wero (■harmed at Shanghai with usiii£ third degree methods on a Chinese prisoner, the native press seized on the situation to demand the abolition of extra-terri-torial rights. They pointed out that, will] the exception of South China, order throughout the Republic had been almost restored. Scarcely had t lie words been written than news of the great Shantung banriitrv was flashed over the country. Tin , ! silence of the young Chinese national reformers which' followed this smashing indictment of Chinese rule was subsequently succeeded by a violent declan.ation by Sun Vat-sen, who used the critical position to strive for the realisation of his dream—the unification of the North and -South under a representative jjovemment, wtili himself as President. He formed n cabinet and appointed his I old henchman. C. C. Wu. Foreign Minister, to be ready for the day when Canton should be recognised as the political : capital of the Republic. j COOLIES ELATED. While all this turmoil is -roinir i>ll. the j Chinese coolie class, which forms the) vest majority of the population, elated hv the success of minor strikes that have been held throughout the country, is planning, through its numerous fiuilds. to follow suit in one bip industrial upheaval. Shanghai, the largest commercial city in China, has been chosen as the strike centre, but the thing that is deterring the guilds from giving the strike signal is the fact that, there are 8000 ! Russian refugees in Shanghai on the verge of starvation, all of whom will Ik , unly too glad to take the strikers' places. In the meantime Japan is increasing her fleet of gunboats on the Vangtszo. I 7Vo new gunboats, built by a Japanese firm in Shanghai. have just been : launched. The Japanese Consul-General, ! at the launching ceremony, regretted that his government had to increase its navy. but. in view of the lawlessness prevalent as a result of the anti- ■ tapanese boycott, it was necessary for her own protection for Japan to build more boats. All foreign governments with interests in China are ceaselessly patrolling the coast and rivers with warships. AMERICANS AKRKSTED. In the midst of the furore created by Ihp bandit outrage, like a thunder clap lias come news of the arrest of two prominent Shanghai American citizens, and the expected arrest of at least twenty others, including Britishers, for smuggling puns and ammunition, to the value of three million dollars, into Shanghai and other port?. A score of six-inch guns, thousands of machine guns and hundreds of thousands of rifles and small i arms, from outside ports to warring generals in the interior. The United States District Attorney has announced that a gigantic gunrunning conspiracy has been carried on for months, by which the lawless generals in the various provinces have been supplied -with arms and munitions, tnder treaties between the United States and China all Americans arrested for gun-running must be handed over to the Chinese authorities, irrespective of any extra-territorial rights that they mayhave, to be tried in their own courts. The legal question, -which no doubt will be fought with all the vigour that money can induce, will centre on the question whether the American gun-runner will have the right, to be handed over to the Government of the province controlled by the general vith whom he has been wading arms. Those foreigners who. after several weeks' confinement in the fastnesses of the mountains, have been released from captivity, are now demanding a large compensation from the Chinese Government. Seeing, however, that at the present time there is very little semblance of a government in the whole of the country, there is meagre hope that they will receive one dollar in compensation. BANDITS GO OX STRIKE. The chief bandit is now a general in the Chinese army, and many of his followers hold commissions under him. Last week a company of the ex-bandits »ent on strike as the military had not handed over the ransom promised before the captives were released. Fearing further trouble, the Government pave waxto the men's requests. Now the latter ha*? gone back peacefully to their barracks. Before the tinal release of thu captives a happy farewell party w;is given by the bandit leader, whose photograph was taken with his «rm Hung affectionately round one of the Anion«\«!i captives' neck. How long all these chaotic condition* cur] continue is a matter of speculation. but the average foreigner with fore=ijht U determined to make money whil" there is still money to be made Ton years, it is confidently stated in authoritative quarters, will see a new China, in which foreign control will bu entirely eliminated.