The Hokitika Guardian WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 24th. 1923 IN CHINA

Hokitika Guardian, 24 January 1923, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 24th. 1923 IN CHINA

CumtENT events in China point to a prolonging of faction struggles. These have, as pointed out by 3 northern eonteniporniy, been China’s bane o\ > i since the overthrow of tile Maneliu monarchy in 1911. 'lhat revolution had its origin in Southern China, and thence came subsequent revolts against tile Republic then established. Iwo years after the Republic was founded the South was in open rehellion; in a few months the ixnolt was sup! ressed. Another two yea is passed: the President sought to make himself Emperor

and again the South sprang to arms, combining with some Northern p"«vincos. and forced him to abandon bis designs and to accept a stieeesso • in the Presidential chair. The settlement was brief. An independent Government. Maiming to be the < nl.v genuine representative of the Constitutional Republican movement, was set up ju Canton at iho end of 1917. Intermittent fighting went on through 1919. ft was indecisive. Tn February of the following year a peace conference was held in Shanghai, but it lasted for months with talk that led to nothing. The military factions in I with North and South con tin tied to vex the country, the central Government in Pekin living too weak to assert itself and enforce pence. At length, in 1921. a tripartite China emerged from the chaos. The central area of the Yangtse began to he defined politically as separate from the North, although it still paid some respect to Pei,in. That North was nominally controlled by tile Pekin Government, which was recognised by the Powers as the Government of China ; it was largely under the thumb, 'however. of a high official of Manchuria. Til the South a lival President oxer-

ei=ed a rebellious influence from Canton. The inevitable result lias be°n to make China pitiably weak, a condition that has rendered it extremely vulnerable to dominance by Japan. The happenings of last year saw a change in this three- cornered struggle. At the opening of the year the North, with the Pekin Government, was under the control of the Manchtirian-Tnspeotor General, Cliang-Tso-lin. In the central Yangtse region W u Pei-fu was the dominating personality, having risen there to a position which equalled that held by Chang in tho North. Sun Yat gen was President of the rebellious area acknowledging Canton. Chang dismissed the Pekin Premier, replaced him with another like himself, strong--1 v pro-Tirnnese. l’"o=t the act of the n°w Premier was the pardoning of the leaders of n pro-Japanese Club who had been in sanctuary in Pekin under the protection of the .Tiinnnesa

Legation there. This was regarded by Wu Pei-fn, of the Yangtse region, wlio was of all the Chinese leaders most prominently opposed to Japan, as a. direct challenge. He set his forces moving. Chang gathered against him all the reactionary elements of the North. At this juncture Sun of Canton. who previously had been violently opposed to Chang in the North, agreed to help him hv sending an expedition against AVu. The threatened war. in spite of the efforts at mediation, in which the Pekin President, Hsu. was reported to have been active, hroko out last April near Pekin. Wn "' ns successful and entered the capital in triumph. His victory was completed hv the happenings in the South. There Soil Y.it Sen and his powerful general, Chen Cuinng-ming. quarrelled and Chen chose to range himself alongside Wu. An inducement to do this was furnished hv the latter's proposals that the whole nation should agree to the restoration of the Provisional Constitution of the first year of the Republic. In spite of protests by the Canton President and his Parliament, the propos'd had acceptance in the South Sun was driven out of Canton. The ‘abolition of the Southern Parliament i soon followed under the Central f"iv-em.-ient of the Xn'tli it seemed likely that China would again become a unit. The hope proved elusive, however. Snti Yat Sen continued in revolt. '1 he old feuds of the South revived. Prom recent news it may he concluded that • although there is now a strong party in the South wishful to join up with the North. Sun Yat Son is implacably i opposed. The nows of the revolt of ('licit Chiutig-mitig's forces adds to the j confusion, and China’s peace seems at the moment as far off as over