CHANG’S BUFFER STATE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 23 May 1928, Page 11

CHANG’S BUFFER STATE

PLANS FALL THROUGH.

FIGHT FOR PEKING. BATTLE NOW DEVELOPING. (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT.) UNITED SERVICE.) Received Mav 23, 1.20 p.m. TOKIO, May 22. Negotiations between Chang Tso Lin, and the Japanese legation at Peking for Chang’s orderly withdrawal into Manchuria appear to have broken down. The Foreign Office here stated that Chang’s agent had approached the Minister, Air Yoshizawa at Peking, on Tuesday night, with a proposal that the Northerners would immediately withdraw into Manchuria provided Japan would stop the Nationalist adihnee on Peking arid guarantee that the Peking-Tientsin area would not be allowed to fall under the Nationalist control. Mr Yoshizawa refused, dcellaring that such a step would be a violation of neutrality. Chang’s desire is apparently for a sort of buffer, state for the Peking-Tientsin area, which would be between the Nationalist domain and Manchuria. War Office advices substantiate this analysis, declaring that a major battle is already developing between the Southern and Northern forces with preliminary fighting now under way between the Shangsi • Army, which is oar 5 of the Southern attacking force and the Northern troops. The War Office states that about 200,000 Northern forces are opposing 220,000 attackirig Southerns along a line from NanIcon pass, around Peking through Paotingfi and Tangehow, which is about sixty miles southward of Tientsin.

BOYCOTT ON JAPANESE GOODS A COUNTER MOVE. Received May 23, 1.20 p.m. SHANGHAI, May 22. Japanese merchants having decided on retaliation to the Chinese boycott, yesterday decided to refrain froni purhasing Chinese export goods until the boycott lifted.