In Forbidden Territory

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 April 1910, Page 4

In Forbidden Territory

AT-' DHASSA'S GATES/«" •

China-.is 'engaged [;ii: One'.'.of-' tjie most momentous., mjlitary. nntlertak* ings of, ,'t lie . present day. '"Slie "is' recoilqlicring Tibet/ the last .remaining land mystery in' the World,'alio. her army is at the gates u-ith -nfotfeM ' {ii'tillery' -aM v A-irelesfe telegraphy. ~,-.,..,, | .■,.,,„•..; !•,,-.„ / .nmazjng ajn.nbnneern.cut. has, oyer. . i bepi.imadt\Qi-..an.Y i .,,f v orejgii., Gove.r.nmeul;'. , Cliijia ( i is a Wake,; .shp.ilias.begun.Jier ./iieti' life , with ah energetic ''policy whioh.must,, liavo .jns|;ing.'an'<l, fni:jr,eachiiig not'.oiijy r»u the..fiiture of tbe/Rar. East,' but.'of the''Cliinese ~,'jEnjpire'.' itself,, '[Tibet, is to "be .and refoiuiied.v'.tlje, populous, nionas-', teries, (hithert'o "the, 'most, •in ible. stronghcild ,of buddhism'-ui t))e/ world) are ' tir'be ' rediieed. or .sii'p-j'. pressed,.and; CJiiijese '•cqlpivjsts, are receiving , iiVducements to" settle, Zil, thej new]y' T opeiie<r; protectorate. ' r 'I iventy j fiye thqiisand, nieii),'' coni r , prising the; finest'- modern 'troops'. iiV[ ChiiKi, and" eoiiiiuanded' by' officers, trained under ( jtlie Japiiiii'ese, eiiti'tred ' : Tlbet"'froin Szixiluiflh' \vjtji 2(H) mountain guns and .all, tlie cciuipinent a. modern 'a rinv | fii ■ the , held. ■' " ! '; ";;'.' KUGHT OF- THE DALAT- LAM A. A Renter Calcutta states that the Uhijie.se have entered Lhassa from the east. The Dalai La ma',' the. iiiciiriLiti-on of ha, has fled from the sacred city with his Ministers,'-and'>is now on his way to India. He will arrive at Ivaliinpang on Saturday. .iJt is believed' that- he" iivtciiids 1 -id appeal to the Indian Governments" , " 1 ' In well-in formed >: qnarteTß-'it ; is' b.dieved that the effective tion .and administration of Tibet- b'j' China will; not -affect!: the! military situation in Tridiri; "atflioughj Mi(f doiibt; it will'Occasion')extra!Work■ for! the political-.-department,'. •■ ■' Importaiit information-- re'gardiiig' this epoch-triaking isituatioji! bii.s been received by Renter's Agency-fr-dirii an.,official:-who; h:is .eperltiitlic 'past fifteen years! in tlie' Jieaghbonrhood. of ithe,(Eastern Tibetan :border,;liiH vol.ving:.'btHweoii; ..(two arid ntlineel tluui&ind miles ..iij.inu-al. .triaVeiling/ among; the semii-independ(Jnb'ii ami wild tribes of that region;.-I He asthe only, white .auiMlifioiiie of'itherti have ..seen;; he.:'; poasbssas-y many friends among, the. bottler and i iis;iiiv,toiK-h7withii.ljliaflSiai.'l'ii : !• "The news of tliH,iDaliu-i T l>am'ii , .s flight from Lhassa is not surprising,"' he said, "for it was not tlie intention of the Chinese Government to allow him to be fully reinstated -at any rate so far as his civil power was concerned. China rence for caravans to he despatched Tibetan policy, owing to the British mission to Lhassa aiiul the necessity thereby imposed upon China of establishing more effective control over Tibet. During the past two years the old hereditary border chiefs and other frontier men have been replaced by Chinese officials. One Tibetan frontier is already being transformed into n Chinese province, of which Ratung, formerly the last Chinese town, has now been made the capital. CHINA'S AIM. China's aim was gradually to push her troops into Lhassa, and when 1 left the Chinese column had goc as far as Chianulo, nine days from Tibet proper. Twenty-five thousand troops were to be sent from Szecliuan. the best organised military- province in Western China, and of 'these 10.000 bad left Chentu, the Capital of .Szechunn. All these men bad been trained on Japanese lines by Chinese cadets, who themselves had passed through the military academy with its Japanese instructors. It was a daily occurrence for caravans t obe despatched from various centres in Szechua.il towards Tibet. These caravans averaged 100 coolies with leads and perhaps '200 mules, carrying arms, aii'innnition, and military supplies I along the main road into Tibet. The idea in view was not thoroughly to subdue the froniter tribes at once, but to cut a way through to hhas.sa. The army took with it wireless telegraphic apparatus, and completed this installation is t advanced into Tibet. The existing telegraph is always being cut by Tibetans, and has to be guarded by Chinese soldiers every two and a-half miles. The Chinese army on the frontier met with great opposition and encountered enormous difficulties. Much suffering was occasioned by extreme' cold, and the lack of supplies a.nd clothing. Just before I left reports came in of .severe Chinese reverses. At least 200 mountain guns of Japanese pattern have been sent into Tibet, and on the day f left fourteen of these passed my house bound for the west. Some time ago f counted a caravan with 100 loads of silver for the payment of the troops. FEVERISH ACTIVITY... Feverish activity prevails at the two arsenals at Chentu, where 7000 men are working night and day. All the machinery in the new arsenal is German, and, together with the plant at the powder factory, was only lately completed under German supervision. Unfortunately there is no doubt that the Chinese soldiery do not pay much regard to the religious susceptibilities of the Tibetans, and that the charges of desecration of the monasteries are well I'oundA. The Chinese are doing their best to reduce the number of lamas, their policy being not to allow more than 100 to ,'a monastery, whereas at present there are often as many as 0000. The remained* they are inducing to got married and go on the land. The Chinese are also holding out every inducement for Chinese emigrants to go into the newly-formed part of Tibet. They are offering grants of land, and are also advancing money for outfit, seeds, etc.. for five years without interest. The large majority of the trained troops who are now omnloved are stronglv anti-dvnastic. and chafe under the a.ntiquated methods of Pekin.