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forces consist now of new recruits and that the
"Iron army" is now a thing of the past. The Cantonese also suffered severely in this engagement and were unable to follow up their success; the position is therefore again one of stalemate and is likely to remain so until a decision is reached in
the North.
3.
The machinations of Cheung Fat-fui and his communist allies coupled with the withdrawal of
troops from the country districts and the preoccupation
of the authorities with the threat of invasion have
led to a recrudescence of banditry throughout the province. To quote a few instances, on the 24th of February the tow boat from Yung K'ei in Shuntak arrived in Canton with a valuable cargo of silk and
reported an attack by bandits who had laid mines in
the river one of which exploded blowing a hole in the
side of the tow. The bandits who were hidden on
the bank then opened fire but were prevented from accomplishing their purpose by the armed guard on board which kept them at bay until the damage had been
hastily repaired and the boat could proceed.
About
the same time a large band of brigands in military uniform attacked and plundered two large villages near Tung K'ei and escaped with their booty.
These
stories taken at random from the vernacular press are
typical of many others and parallels could be found
in almost any issue.
Communist activities in this connection are
illustrated
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