CHINESE PIRATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 267, 10 November 1928, Page 18

CHINESE PIRATES.

STILL A SCOURGE;

STRATEGY OF SUDDEN FORAYS HOW THEY OPERATE. The pirates of the. China seas are on the rampage again. In spite of strenuous—if somewhat sporadic— attempts on the part of successive Chinese Governments to drive them from the rivers and the sea coast, these buccaneers continue to. operate'. . This week the British river'steamer' Sha-si, 1300 tons, was attacked by pirates between Shanghai and Hankow. Thirty pirates, disguised as deck pas-' sengers, overpowered the crew. , The loot totalled 20,000 dollars. The pirates, who were ex-soldiers, left by a launch which had, followed the Sha-si. The latter returned to-Hankow,.where the wounded were taken • to hospital. , The account'--of this exploit recapitulates the history of many recent cases of piraoy in this locality. -.Foreign shipping interests have suffered heavy losses, time and* again, as the pirates made their attacks, collected the loot and disappeared to their fastnesses. By getting a few o,f their confederates to sign on with the native crew of a foreign ship they establish a basis of. operations. The ship clears port'with a valuable cargo arid' heads for the sea. Then one night the pirate leaders come aboard and with the help of their-confederates in the crew overpower the foreign officers. , Resistance is metwith death. Once the officers are out of the way the looting begins. Sometimes the ship is beached, so that the looting can be carried on easily, and the money, merchandise, provisions and arms carried inland or trans-

ferred to the pirates* boats. In any case, once the pirates have got away it is almost useless to search for them. They have countless places' where'they' can hide. . .. _.. ~ ... :-■:■ Officers of a steamship company that operates in Chinese waters said recently that' cases of piratical attacks on coastal steamships occur a dozen times a year. These ships' fall easy prey, because they make frequent stops at places where the pirates can board them with little trouble. As for eliminating the pirates accomplices from the crew, the steam ship men assert that this is almost' impossible because of the difficulty of picking out the sailors, allied with the buccaneers. And, even if the pirates are unable to get any of their fellows aboard as crew, they sometimes send their accomplices to travel as passengers.on a boat marked for looting. Native Chinese ships are not immune. The Chinese steamship Hsin-Wah . was> I looted last April. On > that occasion pirates posing as passengers made the attack. Fifteen of them overpowered the officers of the ship and ordered the captain to steer for Samchu Inlet, near Bias Bay. There the cargo was transferred to sampans, and the personal belongings of the passengers were not overlooked. Five of the Chinese passengers were carried off to be held for ransom. ;. The Pirates Beaten. . But relief was not far off. A Chinese gunboat appeared as the looting- was being completed, and the pirates, rushed for shore and scattered. A landing party gave chase. For two hours the retreating pirates were followed, but no gain was made, and the phase was given up. The Hsin-Wah, now accompanied by the ; gunboat as escort, completed its journey from Shanghai to Hongkong. The latter place has been the centre of'efforts to stamp out piracy for years. :''■'-'."';.'!