CHINESE RIVER PIRATES

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 April 1931, Page 10

CHINESE RIVER PIRATES

TUB GUARDIAN GUNBOATS

River steamers carrying pasengers and merchandise are constantly plying up and down the Yangtze between Shanghai and Ichang, a matter of some 1,300 miles (writes a correspondent of “The Times”). As the great waterway of China, the Yangtze carries the burden of the trade, and even in these troublous times, when war in the north and bandit oppression in the valley have paralysed the economic life of the country, the ships have gallantly tried to carry on.

Beyond Ichang. up to Chungking, where Szechwan is the most westerly province of China, the lines of communication remain. There are not only river steamers on this route, but naval craft of at least five Powers — British, Japanese, American, French, and Italian —and they act as guardians to these steamers. With a Central Government struggling to assert its authority, the reign of the banditCommunist has been made easier. These bandits, in loosely formed and loosely linked armies, descend on the river on one bank or the other and, armed with rifles or antiquated artillerv. amuse themselves by interfering with passenger and cargo ships.

The life of a river steamer captain is very much like that of a merchant service captain in the Great War. There are no submarines to worry about, but although the bandits have quaint ideas of shooting and the ammunition of their artillery is more varied than effective, the idiosyncrasies of the Yangtze prevent the steamers from keeping to the middle of the channel and necessitate a zigzag course. Thus ample opportunities are provided for the merest tyro to find a target. It has become almost a commonplace for these ships to return to Shanghai showing distinct signs of having run the gauntlet. Ships carry armed guards at certain points, s and elaborate precautions are taken to prevent passengers from being hit, but bullet marks on the hulls of these ships bear testimony to the reality of the risk’s taken by captains and crews. THE BRITISH FLOTILLA Little has been heard of the activities of the gunboats. There is, however, between Yochow and Shasi, a specially lively stretch, and oh this the gunboats concentrate their attention. The British flotilla, which is the largest of all, consists only of thirteen boats distributed at various points from Chungking downwards, and the problem of the controlling authority is that of obtaining the best results from the use of his tiny force. Often a gunboat has to be detached for five or six days from its normal occupation of patrolling to carry out an “ad hoc” expedition for the rescue of an individual foreigner, say, a merchant or a missionary. On other occasions the gunboats have definitely to carry out the evacuation of foreign residents of up-river towns where the bandits have obtained temporary control. This work demands the transformation of the gupboat into a liner, a feat which the Navy achieves with its traditional adaptability. Along the lively stretch where patrolling is intense the bandid-Com-munists have managed to remove most of the beacons which guide the mariner, and to establish themselves. on both sides of the river. The gunboats come along, and when they detect a nest of bandits, they endeavour to smoke it out. They have left their mark with some decision on several places. There is a well-known bandit haunt by the name of Temple Hill. Owing to the attentions of the gunboat there is very little left of the buildings which stood there in more peaceful days. Were it not for these foreign navies, not only would merchant ships be unable to get up or down the rivef, but the peacefully inclined Chinese would find life more difficult than it is. Now that the war in the north is over, General Chiang Kai-shek’s troops are moving up, in the hope Of restoring this bandit-ridden territory to its lawful rulers. Progress is slow, but Government troops are only\too glad of the presence of the gunboats. The difficulties lying ahead consist mainly in the advantages possessed by any guerrilla force over regular troops. A MENACE TO TRADE The bandits can appear and disappear rapidly. They live on the country, which they know far better than their opponents. They are better in touch with the people, who, though oppressed by them, are not disposed to give the soldiers much assistance, for they argue that the soldiers will go away, but the bandits will return. On the other- hand, British gunboats are always sure of a welcome,'and it is on record that in one small village the headman definitely asked for the landing of a gunboat crew to oust the bandits. The message went on naively to indicate that this request could be granted without any fear of awkward,/ diplomatic questions beingraised.

The seriousness of this bandit menace can be seen in the condition 'of the once prosperous town up-river. Shasi, for instance, is a town from which radiates a good system of roads. It could draw into its net many of the commodities for which the. downcountry merchants are clamouring. Owing to the bandits, however, Shasi has to endure long periods of inactivity, and its commerce has been seriously damaged. The gradual domination of the once prosperous valley by the bandit-Com-munist hordes has so reduced the resources and vitality of the people that even if the much-promised trade revival were to reappear in Shanghai, it is doubtful whether the people would be able to respond to that change by increased activity on their own account. But so long as comnxunications can be kept open, so long will there be hope anions the traders and agriculturists. This is where the gunboats come in and where they are unostentatiously, but pertinaciously, contributing nobly to the war against economic failure.