COMMUNISTS CAPTURE TIENTSIN CITY AFTER NIGHT-LONG FIGHTING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26981, 17 January 1949, Page 5

COMMUNISTS CAPTURE TIENTSIN CITY AFTER NIGHT-LONG FIGHTING

New Zealand Press Association—Copyright

Rec. 11 p.m. NANKING, Jan. 15, Communist troops this morning entered Tientsin and began to occupy the city without resistance, report Reuter despatches from Tientsin, The occupation followed night-long sporadic fighting in various parts of the city during which Red troops steadily closed in from all parts.

Last night the Mayor of Tientsin, General Tuchleh Shih, sent urgent appeals to the Nationalist Government for immediate reinforcements. He reported then that the situation was desperate. Numerous fires are reported to be raging in the city as the result of the Communists’ shelling. A direct hit was scored upon an ammunition or gasoline .dump.

Hwaiyuan, 120 miles north-west of Nanking, fell into Communist hands yesterday, according to reliable, but unconfirmed, reports. The town was the last outpost of the Nationalist forces on the north bank of the Kwal River and an outer defence screen for the capital. It had earlier been evacuated by the Nationalists.

Tientsin received a merciless, unabating artillery bombardment. Many famous landmarks have been hit. War casualties among the panic-stricken refugees are mounting every minute. Gordon Hall, seat of the municipality, was shattered by a direct hit; the Italian Club, recently transformed into a hospital, was hit twice, causing unknown casualties; the French Consulate has been moved to a cellar. One. shell hit an ammunition dump near the United States Consulate, shattering all the windows and putting the lighting plant and the radio section out of commission Reuter’s office was also hit. Communist Peace Terms The Chinese Communist leader, Mao Tse-tung, to-day announced the Communists’ eight “ peace conditions ” for ending the civil war in China. Mao, who was speaking over the Communist radio, demanded the abrogation of treaties between China and the United States as one of the conditions. He accused Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of fighting the Communists because he was lured by the glitter of American weapons. Mao *said the Chinese Government was depending on the United States for support against the will of the people, > and added: “ The Red soldiers will liberate the people.” Mao’s conditions were:— 1. The trial of all “war criminals,” headed by Generalissimo Kai-shek and his wife. 2. The cancellation of the present Constitution. 3. The cancellation of “treacherous ” treaties with imperialist nations. 4. The formation of a State Council to include all Chinese elements, except “ reactionaries.” 5. The calendar years to be counted from Anno Domini instead of from the foundation of the Republic. 6. The elimination of reactionaries from the Government and the army. 7. The confiscation of “ bureaucratic ” capital. 8. Land reformsMao called upon Chiang to show the sincerity of his desire for peace by accepting the conditions. In Washington,- a State Department spokesman said the only treaties existing between the United States and China were those of friendship and commerce concluded last year, and one abolishing extra-territorial privileges for Americans in ChinaConsideration by Chiang Generalissimo Chiang -Kai-shek is said to be holding vital conferences with Kuomintang leaders on the Communists’ eight-point peace terms. A reliable Chinese source close to Kuomintang peace advocates claimed that the long-awaited decision on the generalissimo’s resignation and the opening of peace negotiations with the Communists could be expected within a few days. The eight - point peace terms amounted to little less than unconditional surrender for the Kuomintang, according to the concensus of opinion in the capital. Observers considered that there is no chance that they will be accepted, and the general opinion of members of the Control Yuan was that the terms are too severe. They said they opposed the trial of so-called war criminals, and asserted that the Communists must make some alldwance for bargaining. There wasrno opposition to the view that Chiang should remain in Nanking as President at an informal meeting of over 100 Kuomintang leaders today. The meeting was presided over by the Premier. Dr Sun Fo. and attended by the Kuomintang Executive Committee and some members of both legislative Control Yuans. Speakers criticised members seeking peace without outlining practical plans for obtaining it. Peace was unobtainable unless the Kuomintang was prepared to fight on, they declared.