CHINESE DEMAND WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20990, 29 September 1931, Page 9

CHINESE DEMAND WAR.

JAPAN Df MANCHURIA.

OCCUPATION RESENTED.

DESPERATE SITUATION.

RUSSIANS ON THE ALERT. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received September 28, 10.45 p.m.) SHANGHAI, Sept. 28. There is a widespread opinion that the League of Nations has failed at the first real crisis. The country's officials are facing a desperate situation. The people everywhere, led by students and radical organisations;, are demanding war to rid Manchuria of the Japanese, and propagandists are feeding the flames of popular discontent by exaggerated accounts of massacres of Chinese by Japanese. Japan's assurances that she will restore the status quo in Manchuria are apparently premature. The Japanese evidently intend to hold the occupied positions arid to withdraw only the reinforcements which were en route prior to the League's decision. The Russian menace continues. Three troop trains are waiting at Manchuli in case of immediate necessity. Six Russian gunboats are manoeuvring on the Sungari 1 River observing the Japanese military j movements. The Soviet Consul at Har- < bin is in constant touch with the Chinese special representative. Japanese military airmen are dropping handbills at Harbin announcing the ionpending arrival of Japanese troops. A message from Kobe says that it is alleged that a movement is on foot for the joint independence of Manchuria and Mongolia, under the name of the Chunghe Republic. The Japanese press has been permitted to publish this news, but it is warned against giving any hint that it has Japanese Government or military ingRIOTING IN HONGKONG. JAPANESE AREA WRECKED. MARTIAL LAW DECLARED. (Received September 28, 5.5 p.m.) e HONGKONG, Sept. 27. The Government has declared a state | of emergency in Hongkong, following the i killing of six Japanese by Chinese in ! the course of all day and all night riot- | ing. in which every Japanese shop was ! wrecked. I British volunteers in armoured cars i are now patrolling the streets. The | troops made frequent bayonet charges I and occasionally resorted to firing, in j Order to break up the frenzied mobs. Three Chinese were killed. The total of the Chinese casualties in | the street conflicts is unknown. Seven I Japanese were killed and others badly inS jured. Their district this morning prei sented amazing scenes. The streets were j indescribably littered with articles of j Japanese manufacture which had been ! thrown out of windows, while the mobs i were wildly dancing and smashing every- ; thing Japanese. Ail the Japanese have evacuated their | districts for places of safety under a i heavy guard. j The Hongkong Government will this j afternoon declare martial law. ! The Welsh Borderers are standing by. | All the troops are wearing tin helmets, ' giving them a war-time appearance. I BANDITS WRECK TRAIN. | j OUTRAGE BY CHINESE. I i FOREIGNERS LOSE LIVES. SHANGHAI, Sept. 27. A most dastardly outrage is reported from Peking in connection with a bandit attack on a passenger train on the Pe-king-Mukden railway. A bandit gang removed the rails across a bridge and an engine and five coaches plunged into a creek 30ft. below. After the derailment the bandits savagely attacked the passengers and slaughtered 30 of them, including the train staff and British, Russian and Hindu passengers. The miscreants ruthlessly drove the other passengers into the country. The bandits then systematically looted the train and decamped, leaving behind a terrible scene of carnage and destruction. PROTEST BY BRITAIN. FIRING ON REFUGE E£S. PEKING-MUKDEN RAILWAY. PEKING. Sept.. 27. It, is understood that the British Legation will protest against the reported firing on trains carrying refugees from Mukden and also against the cutting of tlie branch railway which links the Pe-king-Mukden railway with Yinkow, a Chinese port in the Gulf of Liactung.