Page:Stanley Kuhl Hornbeck - The Situation in China (1927).djvu/22

 eign Powers have at Shanghai substantial naval and military forces, for the protection of the limited area (International Settlement and French concession) which is under foreign administrative jurisdiction. The Wu Pei-fu block, Wu himself being apparently no longer in control of it, still sits astride of the Peking-Hankow Railway north of Hankow. Feng Yu-hsiang has advanced southward through Shensi and his armies lie to the west near to and constantly menacing the Wu Pei-fu group. Feng is a member of the Nationalist Party and an ally of the Canton-Hankow Government.

In the revolt against the foreign Powers, the Chinese have found organized boycotts decidedly effective and are having resort with increased frequency to strikes. The combination of the two, as prosecuted at Canton, has had a very serious effect upon British interests and has visibly affected British policy during the past year. Both the boycott and the strike are two-edged and dangerous weapons, but the Chinese are more skillful in the use of defensive than of offensive measures. The recent propaganda among the masses is forging a weapon which may prove more dangerous to its creators than to those against whom it is directed. The foreign Powers are reluctant to use force and may be expected to do so only to prevent violence.

There is one factor in the domestic struggle which holds out a substantial promise of improvement. It is the fact that a Nationalist Movement is in full swing and that this movement is tending to produce, in the political and military fields, some effective organization.