CHAOTIC CHINA

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1924, Page 9

CHAOTIC CHINA

A SETTLING OF OLD

SCORES

MILITARY GOVERNORS AT WAR

"SIDELIGHTS ON EASTERN V POLITICS.

China's present condition of rebellion, lawlessness, corruption, and inefficiency marks the lowest level reached since the declaration of the Republic 12^ years ago. Thoughtful observers question

whether the republican form of govern--ment will ever meet the peculiar needs „. „ ,-,,. ; , „ „. „ oLthe Chinese, declares the Melbourne -"Argus " Such observers believe that' ' the only solution of the present chaos is «,-Vr,„„.,..„i„. i:_ i« n,. lv x * i ': a-monarchy akin to the old form of dcspotism; but there is not In sight a strong man capable of bringing the whole of this vast country under his subjection. ' . There are"_ nominally two. Governments at present in China—the Northern, at Pekin, under the presidency of Tsao Kun; and the Southern at Canton, under . the presidency of Sun Vat Sen who is-supported by the great majority of the Chinese abroad, including those in Australia. Actually, however every province or group' of provinces is a government unto, iteelf, and the Governments of Pekin and Canton are mere' ciphers. The defiance of Pekin by the Tuchuns, or provincial military governors, of the North, became eeneral, it is ' interesting to note, at the beginning of 1918, when Chang Tso Lmg, originally a bandit but then Tuch-

drain upon the Treasury. On Tsao Kun's a|,sum|)^? n ? f th« Presidency at Pekin> Wu Pei-fu stepped into his shoes as In-spector-General of the Provinces of Chihli, Honan, and Shantung, thus rivailing Chang Tso Ling as (flic most powerful war lord in China, and becoming, >to the'hargain, the-virtual dictator of the Pekin Government. Intrigues for his• downfall were immediately afoot, Parliament became more unworkable than ever, rival factions in turn organising their forces, invading the House, and ejecting the enemy. Tsao Kun was maintained in office solely by Wu Peifu's armies.- The Government was bankrupt, and its officials' salaries were sixteen months in arrears.- There was. sufficie'nfc "graft," however, to make poli*'cs attractive, and this corruption has nac^ so serl°us a reaction upon Chinese commercial life that the'president of the Britisn Chamber of Commerce'at Shangllai was recently constrained to .remark: "The daJs when a chillese merchant's 'wor3 was his bond are oTer" Both• are now eq«ally w°rtliless." HOSTILITY TO FOREIGNERS. In Manchuria, Chan* Tso' Limr was

Un or Fengtien, who is ono of the chief protagonists in the most rocent outbreak of civil war, first declared his hostility to Pokih. A sequol to this general condition of robelhon was the division of tho Tuchuns into two groups, one, headed by Esao Kun, who had not then succeeded to the presidency, and Wu Pei-fu, who is now Chang Tso Ling's chief antagonist, standing for a peaceful settlement of the dispute with the South; and tho other, headed by Chang Teo Ling, for vigorous action against Sun Vat Sen's Government. By June, 1920. Chang Tso Ling perceived that the days of his faction were numbered, and, as is the way in China, he immediately began to intrigue with the other side. Wu Pei:fu, who had designs on the presidency for Taao Kun, regarded this division in the camp as an opportune time to move on Pekin. The Government, under duress, declared for Wu Pei-fu and his faction, but was in turn obliged to denounce it and offer rewards for the heads of Tsao Kiln and Wu Pei-fu. Wu Pei-fu promptly took up the challenge, made a forced march on Pekin, and defeated his enemies.

RISE OF WU PEI-FU.

The Tuchuns had by this time disavowed all semblance of control from Pekin. Their! provinces became increasingly independent, and ultimately there arose a triumvirate^of "super" Tuchuns—Wang, of HupeTi; Tsao Kun, of Chihli; and Chang Tso Ling, of Fengtien and Manchuria, who dictaicd the policy of the North. ' When, on 7th April,_ 1921| the South declared ite con. plete independence and elected Sun Vat Sen as its president,, he was immediately denounced by»,the triumvirate. The renewal of the-'clash between. North and South resulted in a decisive victory for the. South. The provinces' of Kweichow, Hunan, luangsi^.'ahcJ-Fukien declared their active sympathy with Sun Vat Sen's Government, and thus created a permanent division between North and South. Meanwhile, in the North, Wu Pei-fu, by his reduction of tho important buffer province of Honan and his,,cbnquest of the Southern troops, had by the close of 1921 established himself in a strong position; but Chang Tso Ling, having' gained absolute control of the thr'je Manchurian provinces, had become the most powerful war lord hi China, and had already visions of himself as dictator .of the entire country. Hie first decisive , measure was to depose the Government at Pekin, and to pface in power as Prime Minister Liang, one of his old supporters. The response of the hostile faction, in whose leadership Wu, Pei-fu had by "this time replaced Tsao Kun, was to call on Liang to resign. The next development was a remarkable alliance between Sun Vat Son and Chang Tso Ling, with the ostensible purpose of unifying China. Wu Pei-fu had, however, to bo crushed first. Chang Tso Ling was to advance from tho North and Sun Vat • Sen from the South: but all these plans., were frustrated at the eleventh hour by Chen Ching Ming, Sun Vat Sen's lieutenant and commander-in-chief, who flatly declined to lend his support to Chang Tso Ling. He refused to advance, and by the time he had- been relieved of his command it was too late for Sun Vat Sen to co-operate with his nmvfouinl ally. * -

ELECTION BY BRIBERY.

and Chang retired to his Manchurian fastness with headquarters at Moukden to make preparation for a war of revenge. - From January, 1923, interest centred in b plot to oust Li Yuan Hung, Hsu's successor, from the Presidency, and put Tsao Kun in his place. in June the police and gendarmerie mutinied in order to intimidate the President into resignatiorf. He stuck to his post until he was threatened with ejection by armed force, when he surrendered and left the capital. By October, Tsao Kun had raised sufficient money .to bribe each member to the amount of 5000 dollars, and he was dully ejected. Sun Vat Sen was having his share of trouble in the South. He liad been driven out of Canton by Chen .Ching; Mirig, and had only succeeded in regaining., possession of the city with the costly aid of hired troops, whose maintenance necessitated a continuous

biding his time and awaiting another opportunity to strike the decisive blow which now seems to be imminent. He has, it is said, completely reorganised his army in personnel, armament, equipment, and training, and has also procured an efficient aerial arm from France. He i 3 reported to possess an army of 140,000 well paid and well disciplined troops, and his government of the Manchurian provinces is said to be comparatively efficient and progressive. On tho other hand, Sun Vat Sen's fortunes l» the South have reached their, lowest ebb. Civil war continues between Sun and Chen Ching Ming, with indecisive results, Chen, holding all the eastern portions of the Kwangtung provinces, bun's imported troops have been a continuous source of anxiety and financial embarrassment, and a merciless policy of taxation and confiscation has been employed for their maintenance. Iri January last the desperate Sun even' threatelle.d to seize the Customs revenue, which is appropriated to the service of foreign debts, but he was "warned off" by the Powers, and the warning was effectually emphasised by the dispatch of warships to Canton. Recent efforts hy Sun to enlist the sympathy and support of-Chang.. Tso Ling havo failed . miserably; in Chang's eyes, Sun Vat Seii is no longer a; factor in the future of China. , Nevertheless, Sun Vat Sen is still bent on furnishing troops in support -of Ohaiig's cause. One disturbing development of recent times has been the marked growth of the antagonism to foreigners, with the exception of the Japanese, who since the Washington 'Conference have come to be regarded as the champions of the yellow races. Antagonism to.foreigners has found expression in attacks upon missionaries; in outrages by bandits, whojroam the country unchecked; m piracy' of foreign vessels; and in repeated insults of foreign nationals. This spirit may be traced to the Conference of Versailles, where China was bitterly disappointed at the restricted concessions vouchsafed her by the Powers, and later to Washington, where, though she obtained more benefit than any other Power, she was distmctly embittered that she did not receive more. Disappointed students,-with a smattering of foreign learning, have helped to fan the flame. The latest outbreak, which is simply a new phase of what-is practically continuous civil war seems to .have originated ostensibly m the . action of Lv lung Hsiang, military Governor of Cliekiang, m inviting members of the Pekin larhament to assemble in Shanghai which has aroused tho ire of President Isao Kun and his ally, Wu Pei-fu. ■Chang Tso Ling seems to consider that his long-awaited opportunity of settling old scores with Wu Pei-fu and the Pekin Government has at last arrived, and he is reported to have rendered Lv Yung Hsiang material assistance in arms and money. Chi Hsieh Yuan, who launched the attack on Lv Yung Hsiang, is one of the minions of the P'ekiii Government, by which lie was appointed In-spector-General of the Provinces of Kiangsii and Anhewei in December last The present clash, though not unexpected, was not looked for till the spring of 1925 ,as military operations are lar<"e° ly impracticable in the' Chinese winter but Wu Pei-fu, having reduced his two provinces of Honan and Szechuan, which were in open rebellion, has apparently decided that the time is ripo for a resumption of war. Chang Tso NLiu^'.s answer was a declaration of war on Tsao Kun and Wu Pei-fu in a remarkable proclamation, which has been published in the eabU niqasngcn, und both sides art now immfreed in wax.

Fighting proceeded, therefore,'without the intervention of Southern troops. The result wan a victory for Wu, The president; (Hsu Chih-Qhtuuj) resigned,