Wang & Chang Out

The Chinese pot that has been boiling ominously since the Japanese invasion of Shanghai six months ago, blew the lid off last week. First Wang Ching-wei, President of the Executive Yuan--i. e. Premier of the Nanking Government-- resigned. Wang, a Cantonese, was the most belligerent of the anti-Japanese leaders of China. Long an opponent of Marshal Chiang Kaishek, whom he considers a self-centred militarist, he forgot his differences at the time of the Shanghai incident to help Chiang oppose Japan. Marshal Chiang has lost much face by his continued failure to consolidate and pacify central China (his own territory) and his failure to provide more determined resistance to Japan. Wang Ching-wei resigned in disgust having first sent a note protesting the passive military policy in the north of "Young Chang" Hsueh-liang, ruler of Peiping.

Young Chang followed Wang out two days later, handed over his control to two committees, one political, one financial. It was a move that Peiping observers have been expecting for nearly two years. Well meaning, sickly, dope-taking Young Chang had never the influence or the ability of his sly father, the late great Chang Tso-lin. Japan's occupation of Manchuria has ruined him financially, disgraced him as a soldier, emasculated his ragged army. What the final result of these two resignations will be few dared guess last week. It was obvious that the strange sort of equilibrium by which the Nationalist Government has remained in power for the past four years was broken.

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