The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-23
World Front
Late China News
" Alarm and Anxiety"
History Repeats Itself
By HARRY CANNES

KNOWING of the tremen.
IA dous and historic move
ments of the Chinese Soviets
and Red Armies, realizing the
great battles they are now
confronted with, every friend
of China is anxious these
days, and awaits the smallest scrap
Of information with the greatest
impotence.
The cable news service from
China gives an entirely false pic
ture of the situation. When yes
terday morning among our pile Of
foreign newspapers we saw the blue
Sun Vat Sen stamp on a magazine.
just arrived on the latest boat from
China, we grab 1t and read it first,
as fresher news than the morning
capitalist sheets. How different
from the claims Of victory of Chang
Ka1-Shek over the Chinese Soviets,
Again in the Oct. q issue of THE
China Weekly Review" the big
question mark for all of China Is
not Kiangsi but Szechuan province.
Another Kuomintang follower writes
on: "Szechuan, 8 Second Kiangsi?"
Little comment is required on the
following extracts (Which comprise
more than half of the entire article)
of Mr.. c. Y. Hsieh:
ut is cruel reality" laments this
Kuomintang supporter, that lust az
the Communist suppression cam
paign in Kiangsi has been brought
nearer than ever before to sue
cessful conclusion, news from Szech-
uan has begun to tell of another
red stronghold in the making.
"a perusal of recent news reports
from central and west China brings
out the following facts in bold re-
lief. First of all, the provincial
armies of Szechuan have suffered
such heavy reverseS at the hands
of the Reds that without outside
reinforcements they will not be able
to recover the ground they have
lost and may be in danger of losing
more. Secondly, it has been the
unmistakable intention of Hsiao
KEN and Ho Lung, both in COM
mand of some crack units of the
Communist army, to join hands
with each other. Should this occur,
which according to some sources
has already come to pass, the mem
ace in Szechuan would have as
sumed the proportions of national
problem.
For, quite irrespective of the is
sue of arms in northern and western
Szechuan where it was highly doubt
full whether the troops under Cen
erals Tien Sung-yao. Teng Hsi-hou,
Ii Chia-yu and Lo Cheh-chou could
check the advance of one of Hsu
Hsiang- chien's units towards Chentu
Capital of Szechuan), the drive
on Wahnsien and Chungking dead
ing industrial city, by the other
unit Of Hsu's men was a serious
strategic threat.
ONCE the latter two key cities
v we're in the hands Of the Reds,
1t would be only matter of time
when all the provincial armies west
of Chungking would collapse, be-
cause the supplies of arms and
ammunitions that outside sources
might rush to them could not reach
them any more.
Unfortunately by September the
worst that had been dreaded seemed
all but completely enacted. l.. Even
the fall Of Chengtu had more than
once been rumored, and Chungking
had been plunged into a state of
panic and uncertainty which was
only terminated by the return of
General Liu Hsiang to that city
toward the end of September.
ut is clear that the generals OF
Szechuan have had their hands full
in dealing with the Communists
under Hsu Hsiang-chien alone.
1.-THE disquieting thing is that
they may have to face a new
menace in the possible union be-
tween the Reds under Hsiao Keh
and those under Ho Lung. ;.
"EF THIS has been the plan of the
Communist leaders, there is no
question that Szechuan would be
their first choice, considering it's
comparative wealth despite the re-
lentless squeeze by the militarists)
and its strategic position on the
headwaters of the Yangtze and as Q
key to China's northwest and SOUTH
west.
when one links the possibility
of Sovietized Szechuan with the
consideration of the immense diff
ficulties which have beset the
governments campaign against
the Reds in southern Kiangsi-a
region far inferior to Szechuan IN
resources and geographical poten-
tiality-one cannot but view the
trend in Szechuan with alarm and
anxiety"
ALL of which fully confirms what
n the Daily Worker has been pub
fishing about recent events in So
Wet China.
In about one month, the Kiangsi
Red army will have joined the
Szechuan army, and Chang Kali
shek cannot move up his reinforce
ments within that time, as he fears
to abandon Kiangsi province en-
tirely where the Red partisan and
guerilla bands are still active, and
would quickly be transformed into