HOME RULE FOR INNER MONGOLIA

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19624, 19 October 1933, Page 9

HOME RULE FOR INNER MONGOLIA

LOOMING OF NEW CRISIS IN FAR EAST. OFFICIAL REPLY FROM NANKING United Press Association— By Electrlo Telegraph—Copyright (Received October 18, 11.58 p.m.) SHANGHAI, October 18. Threatening immediate secession unless the Chinese Central Government grants self-government, the leading Inner Mongolian rulers suddenly loom large in the present Far Eastern crisis. Occupying an important strategic position as an effective buffer state between Russia, Manchukuo and China, these disgruntled chieftains, including several royal descendants of the ancient Khans, control 160,000 square miles of minerally wealthy territory. which is virtually the key position in the event of the outbreak of hostilities between Russa and Japan. While expressing a desire to remain under the Chinese jurisdiction, the chieftains declare their readiness to seek the assistance of their neighbours should Nanking ignore the demands for an autonomous Inner Mongolia. Carefully Planned Demand. The foregoing decision was reached at a conference of secessionists, Just concluded in an isolated temple at Batahalak, attended by seventy delegates representing every subsidiary state of Inner Mongolia This is the first occasion that a completely united front has been offered by these nomadic tribes. Prince Tehwang. the chairman, supported by several other princes at the conference, claimed that the inhabitants had been subjected to territorial infringements, harsh taxation, and heavy duties on goods exported to China. Obviously the further extension of Japanese influence over Inner Mongolia, or the latter's alliance with Manchukuo, would be a serious blow to Soviet interests, cutting the latter’s important auxiliary route to the Pacific, through Urga-Kalgan. Official Reply. The Chinese Government announced that China is prepared to grant Inner Mongolia self-government, when satisfied as to the bona tides of the movement.