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& Enclo. No 4
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Fukien, General Chau Yam-yan, agreed with General Cheung Kai-shek that Chiu-on district should be/neutral zone between the two provinces. Now, however, that the Canton Government has launched its northern punitive expedition", the Defence Commissioner of Southern Fukien desires to avail himself of the opportunity to recover Chiu-on and has concentrated more than 2,000 men at Wan-shiu (*) and Ma-shan (5) for the pur- pose. The Fukienese arereported to have made several fierce assaults on Chiu-on, which were all repulsed; and it is said that, "if the trouble at Chiu-on continues, the area involved is bound to spread until this spark has involved Kuang-tung in a war with Fukient
2.
With reference to the 4th paragraph of my secret despatch of the 2nd August, concerning the attitude of the Chinese Navy in the conflict between Kuang-tung and Fukien, I enclose translation of an extract from the Man
Krok Yat Pa of the 5th August. This newspaper, which is the organ of the Canton Government, reports that there
has been a dispute,about the Fukien Provincial Bank between General Chau Yan-yan, the tupan of the province, and Admiral Sir Chen-ping Sah, K.C.M.0. († 4ƒ yk ),
•
a native of Fukien, who in 1922 was Civil Governor of the
province. It is alleged that the Chinese Navy has taken
sides with Admiral Sah in this matter: but I have no
authentic information on the subject. No vessels of the
Chinese Navy are at present at Hong Kong or off the Kuang- tung coast.
3.
By our own naval wireless I learn that General Cheung Kai-shek arrived at Heng-chou in Hunan province on
the 9th August; and from Colonel Hayley Bell, in a message dated the 10th August, I hear that the military information
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