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H.M. Legation, Peking, and the Editor of the Peking and Tientsin Times; there was also a confidential foreign office bag on board. The distinguished gentlemen (and the important bag) were not molested by the pirates, but the exploit naturally led to very strong representations to the Chinese Government at Peking. These resulted in a cruiser of the Chinese Northern Fleet visiting Bias Bay, but it did nothing when it got there, and probably never intended to do anything. In fact, it is doubtful whether the Northern party objected at all to the activities of the Bias Bay gangs, which constituted an obvious difficulty for their Nationalist enemies in Canton.
Immediately after the visit of the Northern cruiser the Nationalist Government announced that they could deal with the situation themselves and required no outside assistance, but in actual fact they also did nothing. As a result three further piracies, including an attack on a French ship in February, were carried out by Bias Bay pirates, though in one case, owing to British Naval activity off Bias Bay, the captured ship was taken to Kiau Island (north of Macao).
But at last the pirates long run of success was to be broken. The s.s. Sunning (Butterfield and Swire) on passage from Shanghai to Hong Kong was seized by pirates on 15th November, 1926. The ship was fitted with wireless and grills and carried Indian guards, but the officers were taken off their guard by the sudden- ness of the attack and the pirates gained complete control of the ship. The officers, who were locked and guarded in their cabins, did not, however, give up hope. At a suitable moment they contrived to escape from their guards and to regain the bridge, which was fortified in accordance with the piracy regulations. Severe fighting followed, and realising that they could not recapture the bridge, the pirates set fire to the superstructure of the ship in the hope of smoking or burning out the officers. This action was their undoing, for H.M.S. Bluebell sighted the flames in the early morning while on her way from Hong Kong to Swatow and closed to assist the ship. Some of the pirates got away in the ship's boats, but 10 of these men were captured, and together with 12 others arrested on board, were taken to Hong Kong, tried and executed. It was rumoured that the pirates who had escaped had carried off with them two British women and Vindictive was accordingly despatched at once to Bias Bay, with two platoons of infantry and some Hong Kong police, in order to cut them off. When later the rumour was found to be incorrect, it was decided not to land troops owing to the danger of arousing anti-British agitation. Strong representations were, however, made to the Canton Government and the result was the despatch in January, 1927, of 2,000 troops in a drive of the area to the west of Bias Bay. The only British co-operation stated to be required was to prevent the bandits entering British territory.
It subsequently transpired that the Chinese expedition was really directed against a General Lo Kwan, a political opponent
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of Canton, whose followers had on 6th December attacked some Canton military cadets. The Chinese troops in fact never entered the real pirate area, which lay to the north and east of the Bay, and the operations had no effect whatever, for on 27th January the British s.s. Seangbee, Singapore to Hong Kong, was seized and taken to Bias Bay.
It was, nevertheless, still considered undesirable to take indepen- dent action. The Cantonese alleged that General Lo Kwan, who normally resided in Hong Kong, was in league with the pirates, and that they had definite proof that the headquarters of the pirate organisation was in Hong Kong itself. They also promised to send another expedition to deal with the north and east areas. Later they suggested that a British gunboat should be stationed in Bias Bay, and that to burn Chinese villages was an improper way of dealing with the situation.
As the promises of a further expedition from Canton did not materialise, it became evident that the Government there did not really intend to help us, and it was therefore decided that an independent force should go to Bias Bay on the next occasion of the piracy on a British ship. We had not long to wait. On 21st March the British s.s. Hopsang, Swatow to Hong Kong, fell a victim to the gang. Accordingly, as soon as news of the outrage was received, a naval landing party was despatched to the bay and burnt certain houses in the area, which were known to be inhabited by pirates.
This action produced a formal protest from Canton, and this protest was followed up at the beginning of May by a statement that most of the Bias Bay pirates belonged to the organisation known as the Chi Kung Tang, which was established in Hong Kong and certain other places in British territory. The statement was accompanied by a list of branches, secret signs, membership cards, regulations and circulars of the Chi Kung Tang. On 1st June Canton sent another note to the effect that the piracies were the work of organisations in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, which provided an Intelligence Service and directed operations. It was maintained that the destruction of places where pirates lived or loot was taken could have no permanent effect; the only way was to destroy the organisations at their source. A list giving the names of organisations in Hong Kong and Singapore, with the names and nicknames of pirates was sent with the note.
In July there was another protest against the "improper and brutal" action taken by the British in the Bias Bay area, but this did not affect the decision, already made, that a further expedition should be despatched to the locality on the next occasion of the piracy of a British ship.
On 22nd July, 1927, the Norwegian s,s. Solviken was pirated in the usual manner, A week later the Norwegian Consul General at Shanghai brought before the Consular Body the question of joint action by the Powers interested in shipping, to deal with the Bias Bay pirates. While this question was under consideration by
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