CHINA'S ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 776, 28 March 1910, Page 7

CHINA'S ARMY.

STATEMENT BY THE WAR . MINISTER. UNIVERSAL MILITARY SERVICE. By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright • Berlin, March 25. General Ying Chang, the new Chinese War Minister, interviewed in /'.Berlin, stated that he contemplates introducing universal' military service in China. REORGANISATION. . Certain measures have for some time been.on foot to reorganiseithe Chinese Army in accordance with an instruction drawn up by Yuan-Shi-Kai in 1902. A law of military reorganisation was promulgated in January, 1905. The Chinese Army is to bo national, and no longer to bo composed of heterogeneous; forces under, provincial viceroys. There will be the. active army, the first reserve, and tho second rcsorve, of the Lu-chu'n or Imperial Land Forces. There will be infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers) and army service troopsjiand the organisation will be in divisions of . all arms. It is intended to constitute 37 of these divisions, and, according to the scheme, the organisation should be complete in 1913, when the 37 divisions should number 28,000 officers and 430,000 men (380,000 combatants). So far' 13 divisions havo been' completed, the others being' skeleton training forces. Each division numbers' about 12,000 men, and includes forces of cavalry and artillery. In war the infantry will bo doubled from the first reserve, but cavalry and special troops are maintained on a warfooting. Men ,nro carefully selected, .opium smokera being refused, and entry is for three years, with optional well-paid service in the first reserve (threo years) and tho second reserve (four years). The reservo service is popular, and probably 20,000 havo passed into it. By 1912 the five Yang-tso provinces should be able to put progressively in line 10,000 fighting men each. Tho old troops are disappearing, but proposals are on foot for tho'reorganisation of various provincial organisations, such as the army on the Mongolian border. . Tho training is directed by Japaneso officers.