CHINA ROUSED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 708, 8 March 1933, Page 1

CHINA ROUSED.

COUNTER-OFFENSIVE TO BE LAUNCHED. Nation Demand* Action. SERIOUS CLASH EXPECTED IN NEAR FUTURE. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received March 8, 10.45 a.xn.) SHANGHAI, March 7. There is intense indignation throughout the country as a result of the failure of the Jehol forces, compelling the Nanking authorities to take action which it is hoped will appease the wrath of the public. General Chiang Kai-shek has finally decided to proceed north, announcing his determination to head a counter-offensive to prevent further Japanese encroachment in China and possibly staging an attempt to drive the Japanese away from the Great Wall.

, The public. Press and national bodies ■ are clamouring for action and are de- | manding that the Chinese stage an ofi fensive to recover their prestige in the ' eyes of the world, though saner counsels at Nanking advise caution, emj phasising the futility of further hostili- ; ties in the face of the recent debacle. Southern China is making preparaI tions to send a large body of troops north to assist in any counter-attack beyond the Great Wall. Three divisions are being mobilised under General j Tsai Ting-kai, the national hero of I last year’s Chapei fighting, j The concentration of a large force ; in the northern cities, especially’ in { Pekin, Tientsin and Shanhaikwan portends a serious clash in the near future. Such circumstances may compel the I Japanese to cross the Great Wall, precipitating an alarming situation. ! A large Japanese fleet is at present ! in northern waters awaiting order*.

The Japanese Navy is immeasurably j superior to the Chinese fleet. ! At the end of 1931 Japan had com- ' pleted—--10 battleships, ! 7 armoured cruisers, • 3 aircraft carriers, 30 cruisers, 2 first-class gunboats, ; 110 destroyers, 67 submarines. The largest vessel in the Chinese navy is the cruiser, Ilai Chi, of 4300 tons displacement. Other cruisers include the Ying Swei and Chai Ho, of 1 2600 tons, built in 1911, and three of 3000 tons, built in 1897-98. The Yat j Sen, built in 1930, is of 1650 tons. In addition there are 21 steel gunboats of more than 400 tons, 16 smaller river and other gunboats, 4 destroyers. 8 torpedo-boats, and various other vesJ sels, many of which, as the result of | neglect, are believed to be without j fighting value. There are no naval | bases of any importance.

PEKIN GUARDED. Strict Precaution to Prevent Disorder. SHANGHAI, March 7. Though there will undoubtedly be more fighting in the near future there is little possibility of serious opposition to the Japanese, who hold all strategic points in Jehol, reducing the defeated forces to complete helplessness. Pekin remains quiet, but the authorities have taken every precaution to prevent disorders. Martial law has been declared and all the gates are heavily’ guarded and are closed at nightfall. Almost all the Chinese, with the exception of General Sun Tien-ydng’s forces, which defected with a considerable number of General Tang Yu-lin’s men, are now -within the Great Wall. However, the situation at Shanhaikwan is pregnant with dire possibilities, as the Chinese are concentrating there in considerable strength, including two divisions of Marshal Chiang Kai-shek’s forces. A message from Kobe states that only one Japanese soldier was killed and thirty were injured in the whole of the Jehol campaign. The Manchukuo Government announces that it will make confiscations of property for the benefit of the poor, and will give encouragement to poppygrowing, guaranteeing a high price for opium for the financial rehabilitation of the province.