HANKOW MOB-LAW

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 November 1926, Page 5

HANKOW MOB-LAW

FOREIGNERS IN PERIL. APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association). (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) PEKIN, Nov, 25. Japanese residents ,in Hankow are facing a fbbd. crisis ds the result of rigid picketing of the -concessions’ markets and goods shops by strikers. The city is c in the throes of general strike of servants, Wharf cddlieS, find foreigners employees,' who are responsible for the picketing. Large shipments of foodstuffs are being sent from Shanghai to Hankow, in response to an urgent appeal. All business is- at a complete standstill, and shipping operations are suspended. Several overseas vessels are held up and are unlikely to get away for some months. The river is rapidly falling. The majority of newspapers have suspended publication owing to the employees striking.

British ahd Americans have armed themselves, and are patrolling the concessions. The military declare that they are powerless to control the situation, which is in the hands of the labourers.

The looting of foreign property outside the concessions has commenced. Riots are hourly feared, and foreign flying squads are turning out frequently to quell outbreaks between the mobs and foreigners, who insist on protecting their property. Bloodshed was narrowly averted often, The larger foreign warships are leaving shortly, as the river is falling, causing anxiety to the residents. Yangtsze lightkeepers have declared a strike in sympathy with the Reds who have commandeered all the lightships. The navigation of the Chinese greatest waterway is a hazardous undertaking. Customs cruisers are leaving Shanghai to cope with the situation.