IN MONGOLIA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 22 October 1928, Page 9

IN MONGOLIA.

RUSSIAN HOLD CHALLENGED. AFFAIRS COMING TO A HEAD. . Considerable uncertainty attaches to tlie matter of thi3 relations of the new Chinese Government with the Russians in respect of Mongolia, now nominally independent but actually under the dominance of the Soviet admnifetration. Concerning this district kuown as Inner Mongolia, the principal town of which is Kalgan on the Peiping-Kalgan railway, about 150 miles west of the capital, there will, be no difficulty for the Russians who have interfered little with the successive Chinese leaders who have controlled it during the past few years. But as to the vast region of Outer Mongolia, whose capital is Urga, about 800 mileswest of Kalgan, some definite understanding will presently be necessary. Urga, a remote but important city, is a centre of tlie Siberian fur trade and before tlie war there were many Europeans, including a number of Americans, there. Since its occupation and control by the Russians, those have left, and Urga hais' been visited only, by a few journalists with credentials front Moscow. Two years ago- one British fur dealer and his family still remained, but it is understood they have since left, for the Russian objection to any other Europeans there is very strong and much danger would attend any attempted visit.

CLOAK FOR RUSSIAN. DOMINANCE. It is obvious, however, that this state of things cannot obtain indefinitely; for all of Mongolia is, after all, Chinese territory. The so-called independence of the vast western section has been nothing more than a cloak for Russian dominance and a shield for possible Russian activities in the direction of China or Manchuria.

As pointing to possible action in J this regal'd there is significance in a recent conference at Kalgan between Pei Yun-ti, executive, executive of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Committee of the Ruomintang, and representatives of the Mongolian princes who are supposed to control the various vaguely-defined provinces. At, this conference certain decisions were reached, subject to the approval of the Central Government at Nanking. Among these were the establishment of the administration headquarters of Inner Mongolia at the small town of Dolonuor, about 100 miles northeast of Kalgan; the control of all Mongolian affairs directly by tlie Central Government at Nanking; the abolition of all principalities, and- the extension of equal rights with citizens of the Chinese Republic to all relatives oi former Mongolian princes. It was aLs-o decided that all nominally ruling Mongolian princes shall unite in the organisation of an Inner Mongolian Goverment under the Central Government -and entitled to the protection of the Nationalist miliary establishment. The Nationalist llag is to be the emblem of this subsidiary government.

It is possible to discern more significance in all this than appears on the surface. For some years the Mongolian princes have been more or less at odds with one another, sometimes in an extremely hostile degree. In order to prevent any presentation of a united front to their dominance of the greater part of Mongolia, the Russians have fostered this dissension, and they are sure to perceive a menace to many of their aims in the Far East, m tins apparent unification of the Mongolian princes and their affiliation with the Nationalist Government.

Affairs concerning the whole of the vast region of Mongolia may thus b© brought to a head and a final determination of its destiny reached. If the unification, said to have been a result of the Kalgan conference, is an actual fact and likely to endure, it can liardly fail to present a strong front to any' possible Russian advance eastward through Mongolia at any time. What the Russian .reaction to the move will be remains to be seen, but there is a strong possibility of speedy developments in this hitherto little-noticed region.