Serious Civil Disorder Looms In Shanghai As City Comes Under Economic Paralysis

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 May 1949, Page 5

Serious Civil Disorder Looms In Shanghai As City Comes Under Economic Paralysis

HONGKONG, May 3 (Rce. 8 pm).—Serious civil disorder is mounting in Shanghai as economic paralysis settles on China’s financial capital, temporarily by-passed by the Communist armies in the rapidly developing civil war.

Usually reliable reports reaching Hongkong today said that most of Shanghai's foreign population was hoping for Communist occupation before the angry mounting tension among the 6,000,000 population of the once prosperous metropolis bursts into rioting and bloodshed A below subsistence level pay and a money shortage caused by inflation had already resulted in a number of foreign business executives being threatened with violence by employees. Tension is expected to mount this week because it was doubted whether the low cost of living index figure announced for the fortnight ended last Saturday would give the working population sufficient to eat. Several commercial houses computed an index and put ii Chinese silver dollars in the fortnightly pay envelopes of coolie wageearners, instead of an average of 11 dollars and seven cents needed to provide a coolie family’s race. Reports said that a garrison headquarters order pegging the silver dollar at 4,000,000 gold yuan would do nothing to relievve the situation unless it also pegged the price of rice. Th j. it was thought, was a practical impossibility in Shanghai today.