CO885-11 — Page 194

.PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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After discussion of the demands connected with the "social saloon" for the crew on the Kinshan, and of the incident on Thursday, 31st March, at Canton, when the crew "walked out" at about 8 a.in. without notice, it was resolved that:-

1. The members of the crew who walked out should not be reinstated in the Company's service, either as a crew or as indi- viduals, and that the Company should inform the Seamen's Union to this effect.

2. There was no objection to the engagement of another crew from the Seamen's Union to replace the strikers.

3. The provision of a "social hall" should be considered favour- ably by the Company, and the Union so informed. A condition should be that the hall should not be used for political purposes, and that it should be subject to ship's discipline through the Captain of the ship.

His Excellency stated that should these decisions lead directly to a strike or boycott against the Company, he would guarantee the ordinary trading losses of the ships operating under the management of the Steamboat Company for the month of April, it being clearly understood that this guarantee did not cover the possibility that other circumstances might supervene which of themselves might have the effect of hindering or of closing down the operations of the Company. It was further understood that the Company, subject to legal advice, would enforce the conditions of their contract with Mr. Wu Hay Tong. It was the opinion of the Directors that Wu was liable under his "farming " contract provided the ships ran from wharf to wharf, even if they ran empty.

His Excellency also promised to represent the matter to the Im- perial Government, and to recommend that financial assistance should be afforded to the Company in its struggle with the Canton Seamen's Union.

Sir R. Ho Tung said during the meeting that, if there were a strike prolonged for more than a month in the above recited cir cumstances he would guarantee the trading losses during the second month, i.e., May.

C. 30001/27 B. [No. 10.]

No. 11.

The Governor of Hong Kong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. (Received 25th May, 1927.)

(Secret.) SIR,

Government House, Hong Kong, 22nd April, 1927.

Somewhat belatedly the Kuomintang has realised that its Com- munist element, instead of being merely a frothy conglomeration of ultra-democratic patriots, is a well-defined party allied with the Third International and intent upon promoting "world revolution" in- volving massacre and confiscation. Accordingly, General Li Chai-sum, after returning to Canton from his conference with Marshal Tseung

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Kai-shek at Shanghai (see paragraph 3 of my secret despatch of the 14th April), launched on the morning of Good Friday (14th April), a very well planned attack on all the Communist centres in and round Canton. I enclose two accounts of his operations, the first being a report by the Commissioner of Customs at Canton and the second a digest of the accounts contained in the Canton vernacular press.

2. It is possible that this attack upon Chinese Communists, which was begun by Marshal Tseung in Shanghai on the 12th April and which has been continued by his adherents, not only at Canton but also at Swatow, Ningpo, Hangchow, and Soochow may have been prompted by the revelation of the Soviet programme for China dis- overed in the raid by Marshal Chang Tso-lin on Soviet premises in the Legation Quarter at Peking. I enclose a copy of the Bulletin for the 20th April containing the official report on these discoveries. Even though the communiqué emanates from the enemies of the Kuomintang, the vile and unscrupulous methods laid down in these instructions tally so exactly with the course of events where Com- "nationalists" must munist influence prevails that non-bolshevised believe even against their will. The Bulletin is issued daily in Hong (See Sir R. E. Kong by the Publicity Bureau for South China. Stubbs' confidential despatch of the 8th June, 1922. §).

3. It must not, of course, be assumed that the suppression of Com- munists involves any change of the Kuomintang programme in the matter of the so-called unequal Treaties," extra-territoriality and tariff autonomy. On the contrary it is not even certain that Labour, once it has recovered from the first shock of disarmament, will not Mr. Ch'an Imperialist." again be militant against the foreign Fu-muk is among the new Commissioners of Government for Kwang- tung, and Mr. Wong Kam-yuen is stated to have been permitted to carry on the reorganised Hong Kong-Canton Strike Committee." Mr. Ch'an Fu-muk was at one time a noted extremist. He was the author of a violent article in the Canton Press calling for the execu- tion of the Chinese delegates from the Colony to Canton in December, 1925, and his brother lost his life at the time of the assassination of his close political friend Liu Chung-hoi. Concerning Mr. Wong Kam-yuen please see the first paragraph of my despatch of the 14th April.*

4. Moreover, it cannot be said with certainty that the Communist peril has been more than scotched. The dismissal of Marshal Tseung from his command and his replacement by Marshal Fêng Yü-hsiang (the Christian General" and tool of Moscow) has been definitely decreed by the Hankow clique. His expulsion from the Kuomintang is also announced by the same faction. He, on the other hand, has unsparingly denounced the Hankow clique as the enemies of Chinese Nationalism, and has taken very vigorous action against their sup porters wherever he has been able to lay hands upon them. holds Shanghai and Nanking and has declared the latter to be the Nationalist capital. But the Communists appear to hold besides Hankow the whole of Hunan and Kiangsi provinces; and despite rumours of an understanding between Marshal Tseung and Marshal Chang Tso-lin the Fengtien forces continue to threaten Nanking, if

Not printed. § 35979/22 not printed.

• No. 10.

+ Enclosure 1.

He

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