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 It determines the amount of their taxes and passes upon the budget. All local revenues must be paid into the Central Treasury, which will then supervise the proper disbursement. These revenues may not be retained, in whole or in part, by the local authorities, as was customary under the old regime. Naturally, this system has not as yet been brought into satisfactory operation.

In the "Government of Manchukuo", Japanese officials are prominent, and Japanese advisers are attached to all important Departments. Although the Premier and his Ministers are all Chinese, the heads of the various Boards of General Affairs, which, in the organisation of the new State, exercise the greatest measure of actual power, are Japanese. At first they were designated as advisers, but more recently those holding the most important posts have been made full Government officials on the same basis as the Chinese. In the Central Government alone, not including those in local governments or in the War Office and the military forces or in Government enterprises, nearly 200 Japanese are "Manchukuo" Officials.

Japanese control the Board of General Affairs and the Legislative and Advisory Bureaux, which in practice constitute a Premier's Office, the General Affairs Department in the Ministries and in the Provincial Governments, and the Self-Government Directing Committees in the Districts, and the police departments in the Provinces of Fengtien, Kirin, and Heilungkiang. In most bureaux, moreover, there are Japanese advisers, counsellors and secretaries.

There are also many Japanese in the railway offices and in the Central Bank. In the Supervisory Council, Japanese hold the posts of Chief of the Bureau of General Affairs, Chief of the Control Bureau, and Chief of the Auditing Board. In the Legislative Council, the Chief Secretary is a Japanese. Finally, some of the most important officials of the Regent are Japanese, including the Chief of the Office of Internal Affairs and the Commander of the Regent's bodyguard.

The aim of the Government, as expressed in the proclamation of the North-Eastern Administrative Committee of February 18th, and of the "Government of Manchukuo" of March 1st, is to rule in accordance with the fundamental principle of "Wang Tao". It is difficult to find an exact English equivalent for this phrase. The interpreters provided by the "Manchukuo" authorities translated it "love", but scholars give the meaning as the "kingly way", which may have many shades of meaning. Traditionally, the Chinese have used the expression "Wang Tao" as antithetical to "Pa Tao", which latter expression as discussed by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in his "San Min Chu Yi" (Three People's Principles), connotes reliance upon physical force and compulsion. Sun Yat-sen explained that "Wang Tao", therefore, was the antithesis of "Might makes right ".

The policy of the Self-Government Guiding Board, the chief agency in the creation of the new Government, was continued by the Advisory Bureau, which had superseded it. Military officers were not to be allowed to interfere in matters of administration. Regulations governing the qualifications for Government service are to be enacted and appointments are to be made on the basis of the ability of the candidates.

Taxation is to be reduced and placed on a legal basis, and reformed in accordance with sound principles of economics and administration. Direct taxes are to be transferred to the District and Municipal Governments, while the Central Government is to secure the income derived from indirect taxes.