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2. One event of the past few days may throw
some light on the object of his visit. Lo Tik-ping,
Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Council, was
suddenly attacked by the forces of a number of
S
The
The
Military Commanders and driven from his post.
troops under his command nominally ten thousand men
were disarmed or fled into Kiangsi, and his place
was taken by Ho Kin referred to in the first
paragraph of Dr. Kotewall's Memorandum as Ho Chien.
The action of Ho Kin has the approval of Hankow and
has been reported for confirmation to Nanking.
principal charges brought against Lo were his alleged
neglect of the Communist menace in Hunan, enforcement of
excessive taxation and embezzlement of public funds.
3. It is too early to speculate on the possible results of this coup. The situation may of course be accepted by all parties; but certain
facts may be noted as pointing to future lines of
development:- Lo Tik-ping, through his former Commander Tam Yin-hoi now holding office at Nanking, is connected rather with Chiang Kai-shek than with the Kwangsi group: Ho Kin, the forces at whose
disposal are estimated by the China Year Book of
1928 at 35,000 men, is definitely associated with
T'ang Shang-chih: Ip K'ei and Ha Wai, lesser Military Commanders, who took part in the operations on the side of Ho Kin, are natives of Kwangsi and subordinates of Lei Tsung-yan of Hankow. Chinese opinion considers that by this manoeuvre the Kwangsi party has definitely strengthened its position.
Local
4.
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