OPERATIONS IN CHINA.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17974, 20 March 1930, Page 5

OPERATIONS IN CHINA.

MOVEMENTS OF TROOPS. PRESS GANGS AT WORK. SHANSHI COMMANDEER RAILWAYS. United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel.—Copyright (Received March 20, 11.45 a.m.) SHANGHAI, March 19. The continued withdrawal of tha Nationalist troops from the north to Nanking in accordance with the announced refusal of General Chiang Kai-Shek to resort to war against General Yen Ilsi Shan is reported to be only a temporary retirement along the Tsinpu railway to enable the concentration of Nationalist forces to de- ' fend Nanking against the threatened attack by the Shanshi troops, who have , already advanced over a considerable area and are now massing for the purpose of launching a general offensive, j General A’en’s troops have already disarmed the Nationalist garrison at Peking, expelling Nanking nominees, and seizing the telephones and telegraphs. Shansi press gangs, which previously have been working secretly, are now openly forcing thousands of coolies into military service. The entire rolling stock of the Peking railways has been commandeered by the Shanshi War Lord, and the former capital is assuming the greatest military activity since the Nationalist occupation three years previously. Every train leaving for the southward carries thousands of northern soldiers. Nanking’s position is seriously threatened by two spheres of influence, though it is generally believed by foreign observers that General Chiang Kai Shek’s military and monetary resources are sufficient to prevent Nanking’s fall though joint, uprisings may result in the loss of Ilankow and considerable territory in 'the north and the j probable establishment of a provisional Government at Peking under General Yen Hsi Shan. 1 YEN HSI-SHAN’S PLANS. RESTORATION OF PEKING. DETERMINED STRUGGLE PENDING (Received March 20, 9.30 a.m.) SHANGHAI, March 19. The Central News Agency reports that the official propaganda organisation of the Nationalist Government today stated that General Y'cn Hsi-Shan > is planning to establish an independent Government at Peiping (Peking), bringing the former capital to its erstwhile status, re-introducing the name Peking, and recalling its former dignity, to the exclusion of Republicans. According to the report, Marshal Wu Pei-fu will become War Minister, Marshal Tuan Chi-jui will become Minister of the Interior, and Liang Shi-hye, known as “The God of Wealth,” will become Minister of Finance. The announcement is regarded as a furtherance of the plans of the Shansi war lord to withstand at all costs’ the encroachment of the Nationalist influence in the North, and the determination of Yen Hsi-shan to fight a determinate engagement with General Chiang Kai-shek. General Wu Pei-fu, since his retirement, had been living a Monastic life, and his name had not been mentioned until to-day in the present political turmoil. s