ZERO HOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 42, 20 February 1933, Page 7

ZERO HOUR.

AWAITED BY JAPS.

ULTIMATUM TO CHINA. Three-Way Drive Into Jehol May Start Any Moment. ; 150,000 CHINESE READY. (United F.A.-Electrlc Telegraph-Copyright) (Received 10 a.m.) SHANGHAI, February 19. According to Peking messages no internal situation in China since the Boxer rebellion has- been more serious than the pending warfare at Jehol. Though war has not been declared officially, certainly there is war de facto —no longer a difference of opinion between Chinese and Japaneso militarists, but a real war. The visit of the Finance Minister, Mr. T. V. Soong, to Peking, and his public utterances and exhortations to troops, as well as the raising of a loan of 20,000,000 dollars for providing supplies for the armies resisting Japan, indicate a quiet determination to sternly face the inevitable. Peking remains calm, but it is realised that only a few days separates North China from a disastrous war. A message from Chengteh, Jehol Province, states that Mr. Soong declared to a mass meeting there: "On behalf of the Central Government of China I give you a pledge that we will never give up the north-east and we will never give up Jehol." The meeting was attended by highly-placed military and civilian leaders. Mr. Soong and others have gone to Jehol to complete plans for resisting the threatened Japanese, invasion of the province. "The enemy may blockade our ports and capture Nanking," said Mr. Soong, "but there will be no one to sign terms of surrender. We can safely rest assured that the eventual victory ■will be ours, but we must steel ourselves to temporary disappointments and adversities. We must show the world that Jehol, like the three Eastern provinces, is Chinese territory." Jap. Order to Evacuate City. A Chinese official communique reports that the Japanese commander at Tungliao has delivered an ultimatum to the Chinese commander at Kailu, in the north-east corner of Jehol, to evacuate the city immediately or be attacked. The Chinese have ignored the threat.

Meanwhile there are further considerable Japanese troop movements in the vicinity of Chinchow, •whence a threeway drive is expected to commence. Manchurian reports show that the Japanese preparations are practically complete. General Muto -is merely waiting the zero hour to launch an advance. It is estimated that 150,000 Chinese, including volunteers, are massed at strategic points outside the Great Wall, gfv'ing every indication that the Chinese will offer the most stubborn fight ia this country's history.