CHINESE BOYCOTT

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 109, 8 April 1926, Page 2

CHINESE BOYCOTT

BRITISH IN SOUTH CHINA. NEGOTIATIONS EOlt SETTLEMENT. , HONGKONG, March 2G. Sir Cecil Clementi, tho Governor of Hongkong, addressing tho Chamber of Commerco to-day, announced that the Canton Government was now prepared to appoint three members to negotiate with tlireo Hongkong officials for a settlement of tho boycott. Tho Governor said ho had agreed to the proposal and hoped that tho negotiation/; would Boon Login, and would lead to an honourable and lasting settlement. “It seems,” ho added, “that the sane and commonsenso Canton residents aro at last beating down Communism, and re-establishing law and order.”

Tho Governor said that ho regarded tho outlook as moro hopeful than at any timo sinco Juno. HONGKONG, Feb. 24. Contrary jto tho expectation of many British residents in this part of the world, the Chinese New Year Festival has left tho boycott of British trado in South China, which has now been maintained for eight months, in full blast. For all Chinese, tho New Year is tho most important business settlement of tho year, and owing to the protracted boycott oi trado this month’s settlement has been for tho Chinese merchants of Hongkong, Canton and Swatow, particularly, tho most difficult in tho recollection of tho oldest of them. Tho number of business failures so far announced lias not, however, been great, but that is due to tho fact that in a very largo number of cases there has been agreement to carry forward the settlement to a more favourable time. Tho feeling prevails that the boycott cannot last for ever. HOW IT BEGAN. Ostensibly the boycott nroso out ol tho action of the British police of the Shanghai International Settlement firing on a mob that threatened to wreck a police station. Tho recalled student organisations, in association with labour unions, organised a striko and boycott against the foreign community in Shanghai and elsewhere. Tho call met with a ready responso at Canton, where Bolshevik propaganda in tho past year or so has been most fruitful, and three weeks after the Shanghai shooting incident one occurred at Canton. There was what was called a procession. of “students” filivough the streets, a procession that included a not insignificant number of armed soldiers. Tho object of the demonstration was political and the Canton Government had been warned by tho consuls of the danger of permitting such demonstrations by people dominated by foreign sentiments. At such a time, some preparation had necessarily to be made lor tho defence of the Shameen—tho foreign settlement —against possible aggrossivo action of Chinese “rowdies, and it happened that as “ tho procession was passing the Shameen shots were fired by members of it into tho foreign concession, and tho guards there returned the fire, causing severs, casualties among tho processionists. Tlio episode added iuel to the strike and boycott agitation. The strike organisation in Canton brought out, by methods of intimidation peculiar to the Chinese, practically tlio whole body of Chinese employed by foreign firms and residents in Hongkong, and oven the women servants and nurses in tho hospitals where the patients aro ninety-five per cent Chinese. Hongkong was regarded by the Strike organisation as “the citadel of British Imperialism in the Far East, so, although tho British colony had not been directly concerned in any of tho incidents out of which the striko originated, the fury of tho movement was directed against the colony. Within tho past week, the central executive committee of the Kuonnntang —the political party which dominates tho Government of Canton—has issued a manifesto in which Hongkong is described as having been reduced to “a desolate island,” though, as a matter of fact, ill all outward appearances, at least, Hongkong is the same now as before the strike. Tho places of the strikers who have not returned to the colony are occupied bv new men, and no scarcity ot labour is anywhere felt in tlio colony. Tho Hongkong Government has made every reasonable .effort to bring tho strike boycott to an end, and lias been waiting for tho Canton Government to give moro substantial proof of the “sincerity” of its wishes for an early restoration of tho former friendly relations between tlio two ports. CUSTOMS TAKE ACTION. Seeing, presumably, that- there was no early prospect of an end being put to the boycott through negotiations between the Hongkong and Canton authorities, the Customs Commissioner—obviously with tho full concurrence of the superior authorities in Pekin—has this week brought matters to a head, after a final strong warning to the Canton Government, by practically closing tho port of Canton, which embraces the old port of Whampoa, which tlio strikers havo been wildly proposing to develop into a port which will “cut out” Hongkong as tho shipping port for South China. i From February 22. tho customs refused to issue permits to vessels in these places; consequently all loading or discharge of cargo was suspended pending the return to tho customs for examination and assessment of duty all tho cargo which has been unlawfully seized by the boycott pickets. The outcome of this challenge to the Canton authorities cannot at tlio moment be predicted. Two or threo years ago the Canton Government contemplated the seizure Of tho maritime customs at Canton, and setting up an independent administration. This quickly brought into the harbour of Canton an international fleet of gunboats. Even tho United Stated was represented by no less than six. In the presence of such a demonstration tho Canton Government abandoned tho attompt. At tho moment the outcomo of tho incident cannot with any confidence be predicted, but it is fairly certain that tho restraints now put upon trado by armed gangs of boycott pickets will speedily bo removed.