BURMA ROAD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 November 1940, Page 5

BURMA ROAD

TRAFFIC PROCEEDING SMOOTHLY CLAIMS BY JAPANESE DISCREDITED. SUPPLIES FREELY REACHING CHINESE. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, November 10. Traffic over the Burma Road is proceeding smoothly, and vast quantities of supplies are reaching General Chiang Kai-shek’s armies. Japanese claims of destruction of the suspension bridges over the Salween and Mekong rivers between Kunming and Leshio, are untrue. The bridges were damaged, but have been repaired. The road is well guarded, though it is frequently attacked. The engineer commanding 500 repairers at the Salween bridge said that the road was bombed on October’ 28 and 29, and received direct hits. Repairs were completed within six hours. Officials said that about 3000 trucks were operating on the Lahio (Burma)Kunming section.

The Chinese report sinking a Japanese warship and a heavily-laden transport. TOKIO MOVE REPORTED REQUEST TO THAILAND. PASSAGE OF JAPANESE TROOPS. CHUNGKING, November 9. A Chinese Press dispatch from Kunming says that the Japanese Army in French Indo-China is negotiating with Thailand for the right of stationing Japanese troops in that country or for the passage of a Japanese force through Thai territory, thereby threatening Singapore and Burma. French authorities are said to be extending the Kuliu airfield for the Japanese. A Hanoi (Indo-China) message says that, reflecting the aggravation on the border dispute between Indo-China and Thai, authorities here in the past few days have been calling to the colours all French citizens between the ages of 40 and 50. Meantime the IndoChina army in the Tongking area is moving a large force southward while it is estimated that half the strength of the Indo-China air force has already been transferred to bases in the south.

SHANGHAI SHOOTING. SHANGHAI, November 9. Another Japanese gendarme was shot and seriously wounded by a Chinese gunman who, when about to be searched, suddenly drew a pistol from his sleeve and shot the gendarme in the chest. MISSIONARIES MURDERED. LONDON, November 10. Two American missionaries and one of their six children were murdered at Changyi, near Kutsing, a village on the Yunnan-Kweichow border. The victims were Alfred Max Bernheim, his wife Emily, and one son, David. One other child was wounded and admitted to hospital.

CONCESSION COURTS PROTEST MADE TO FRANCE. BY CHINA. SHANGHAI, November 9. The Chinese Foreign Minister has lodged a strong protest with the French Embassy over the transfer of the second special District Court and third branch of the Kiangsu High Court in the French concession to the Nanking regime. The operation of the Chinese Courts in the French concession will hereafter be considered invalid, and the French authorities will be held responsible for all consequences arising from the transfer of the Courts, said the Foreign Office spokesman. The Japanese have taken over control of the head office of the Central Bank of China. Financial circles said that the Japanese were preparing to open a new bank.