May Thirtieth Movement The May Thirtieth Movement ( ) was a major labor and anti - imperialist movement during the middle - period of the Republic of China era . It began when Shanghai Municipal Police officers opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai ' s International Settlement on May 30 , 1925 . The shootings sparked international censure and nation - wide anti - foreign demonstration s and riots . Roots of the Incident . In the aftermath of 1924 ' s Second Zhili – Fengtian War China found itself in the midst of one of the most destructive periods of turmoil since 1911 . The war had involved every major urban area in China , and badly damaged the rural infrastructure . As a result of the conflict the Zhili - controlled government , backed by varied Anglo - American business interests , was ousted from power by the pro - Japanese warlord Zhang Zuolin , who installed a government led by the generally unpopular statesman Duan Qirui in November 1924 . Though victorious , the war left Zhang ' s central government bankrupt and Duan exercised little authority outside Beijing . Authority in the north of the country was divided between Zhang and Feng Yuxiang , a Soviet Union - backed warlord , and public support for the northern militarists soon hit an all - time low , with southerners openly disparaging provincial governors as " junfa " ( warlords ) . With his monarchist leanings and strong base in conservative Manchuria , Zhang represented the far right in Chinese politics and could claim few supporters . Meanwhile , the KMT ( Nationalist ) and Communist parties ( allied as the First United Front ) were running a diplomatically unrecognized Soviet - backed administration in the southern province of Guangdong . Alongside public grief at the recent death of China ' s Republican hero Sun Yat - sen ( 12 March ) , the KMT sought to foment pro - Chinese , anti - imperial and anti - western organizations and propaganda within major Chinese cities . Chinese Communist Party groups were particularly involved in sowing dissent in Shanghai through the far - left Shanghai University . Shanghai ' s native Chinese were strongly unionised compared to other cities and better educated , and recognised their plight as involving lack of legal factory inspection , recourse for worker grievances , or equal rights . Many Chinese families were also aggrieved by an upcoming Child Employment Bill proposed by the Shanghai Municipal Council , that would have stopped children under the age of 12 working in mills and factories ( many working - class homes relied on wages brought in by children ) . Educated Chinese were also offended by the Council ' s plan to introduce a new censorship law , forcing all publications in the Settlement to use the publisher ' s true name and address . In the early months of 1925 conflicts and strikes on these matters intensified . Japan ese owned cotton mills were a source of contention , and fights and demonstrations between Japanese and Chinese employees around the No . 8 Cotton Mill became regular occurrences . In February a group of Japanese managers were attacked while leaving work and one of them was killed . In response Japanese foremen took to carrying pistols while on duty . The escalation of ill - feeling culminated on May 15 , when during a violent Neo - Luddite - style riot inside the mill , a Japanese foreman shot a demonstrator named Ku Chen - Hung dead . Over the following weeks Ku Chen - Hung became viewed as a martyr by Chinese unions and student groups ( though not by the Chinese authorities or the middle - class who noted his political affiliations and close family membership to a prominent criminal gang ) . Numerous protests and strikes subsequently began against Japanese - run industries . A week later a group of Chinese students , heading for Ku ' s public " state " funeral and carrying banners , were arrested while traveling through the International Settlement . With their trial set for May 30 , various student organisations convened in the days before and decided to hold mass - demonstrations across the International Settlement and outside the Mixed Court . The Nanjing Road Incident . On the morning of May 30 , 1925 , just after the trial of the arrested students began , Shanghai Municipal Police arrested fifteen ringleaders of a student protest being held on and around Nanking Road , in the foreign - controlled International Settlement . These protesters were held in Louza ( Laozha ) police station , which by 2 : 45pm was facing a ' huge crowd ' of Chinese that had amassed outside . These demonstrators demanded the arrested ringleaders be returned to them and in a number of cases entered the police station , where ( according to SMP officers ) they tried to either block the foyer or gain access to the cells . Police on Nanking Road reported the crowd , which numbered between 1 , 500 and 2 , 000 strong , started good - natured but became more aggressive as arrests were made . After forcing protesters out of the charge room a picket of police ( there was only a skeleton staff of approximately two dozen policemen overall , predominantly Sikh and Chinese , with three British officers ) was set up to prevent demonstrators from entering the station . In the minutes before the shooting , police and some witnesses reported that cries of " kill the foreigners " were raised as the demonstration turned violent . Inspector Edward Everson , station commander and the highest - ranking officer on the scene ( as the police commissioner K . J . McEuen had not let early warnings of public demonstrations interfere with his attendance at the city ' s Race Club ) eventually shouted : " Stop ! If you do not stop I will shoot ! " in Wu . A few seconds later , at 3 : 37 pm , and as the crowd was within six feet of the station entrance , he fired into the crowd with his revolver . The Sikh and Chinese policemen then also opened fire , unleashing some forty rounds . At least four demonstrators were killed at the scene , with another five dying later of their injuries . At least 14 injured were hospitalized , with many others wounded . Strikes and martial law . On Sunday , May 31 , crowds of students posted bills and demanded shops refuse to sell foreign goods or serve non - Chinese . They then convened at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce where they gave a list of demands , including punishment of the officers involved in the shooting , an end to extraterritoriality , and closure of the Shanghai International Settlement . The president of the Chamber of Commerce was away , but eventually his deputy agreed to press for these demands to be carried out . Nevertheless , he subsequently sent a message to the foreign Municipal Council that his consent was made under duress . The Municipal Council declared a state of martial law on Monday , June 1 , calling up the Shanghai Volunteer Corps militia , and requesting foreign military assistance to carry out raids and protect vested interests . Over the next month Shanghai businesses and workers went on strike , and there were sporadic outbreaks of demonstration and violence . Trams and foreigners were attacked , and there was looting of shops that refused to uphold the boycott of foreigners . Servants to foreigners refused to work , and almost a third of Chinese police failed to turn up for their shifts . The gas - works , electricity station , waterworks and telephone exchange became entirely run by Western volunteers . Numbers of Chinese killed and injured in the May 30 Movement ' s riots vary - figures normally vary between thirty and two - hundred dead , with hundreds injured . Policemen , firemen , and foreigners were also injured , some seriously , and one Chinese police constable was killed . Aftermath . The incident shocked and galvanized China , and the strikes and boycotts , coupled with further violent demonstrations and riots , quickly spread across China , bringing foreign economic interests to a near standstill . The fifteen ' ringleaders ' originally arrested on May 30 were given light or suspended sentences by Shanghai ' s foreign - run Mixed Court . The target of public ire moved from the Japanese ( for the death of Ku Chen - Hung ) to the British , and Hong Kong was particularly affected ( these strikes were there known as the Canton - Hong Kong strike ) . Further shootings by foreigners upon Chinese protesters occurred at Canton , Mukden and elsewhere , although a reported incident at Nanking which became a " cause célèbre " for anti - imperialists was apparently carried out by local Chinese authorities . Indeed , the Chinese warlords used the incident as a pretext to further their own political aims . While Feng Yuxiang threatened to attack British interests militarily and demanded a national apology , Zhang Zuolin - who effectively controlled Shanghai ' s Chinese outskirts - had his police and soldiers arrest protesters and Communists and assist the Settlement forces . Two investigations into the events of May 30 were ordered , one by the Chinese authorities and one by international appointees , Justice Finley Johnson ( presiding ) of the Judge of the Court of First Instance in the Philippines ( representing America ) , Sir Henry Gollan , Chief Justice of Hong Kong ( representing Britain ) and Justice Kisaburo Suga of the Hiroshima Court of Appeal ( representing Japan ) . The Chinese authorities deferred to the international investigation which , by a vote of 2 to 3 , found the shooting justifiable . Only the Justice Finley from America disagreed and recommended sweeping changes , including the retirement of the chief of the Settlement Police , Commissioner McEuen , and Inspector Everson . The forced resignation of these two individuals in late - 1925 would be the only official result of the inquiry . By November , with Chiang Kai - shek having finally wrested power from his rivals after Sun Yat - sen ' s death , and with Chinese businesses wishing to return to business ( the Settlement had begun cutting electricity to Chinese mills ) , the strikes and protests began to burn out . In Hong Kong , however , they would not totally end until mid - 1926 . The Kuomintang ' s support for the movement , and their Northern Expedition of 1926 / 7 , eventually led to reforms in the governance of the International Settlement ' s Shanghai Municipal Council and the beginning of the removal of the so - called Unequal Treaties .