The May Thirtieth Movement (pinyin: wǔsà yùndòng May 30, 1925) was a labor and anti-imperalist 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. The shootings sparked international censure and nation-wide anti-foreign demonstrations.
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Roots of the Incident
The Second Zhili–Fengtian War of 1924 was more destructive than previous military turmoil and bankrupted the Beijing government.[1] The victory of pro-Japanese warlord Zhang Zuolin left more liberal Chinese alienated from the new Beijing government. As more Chinese looked to the KMT and Communist parties for leadership, they began to disparage and delegitimize the northern leaders by calling them junfa (warlords).[1] At this time, the two parties were allied in the First United Front, which controlled Guangdong Province, and were backed by the Soviets.
Along with public outpourings of grief at the recent death of China's Republican hero Sun Yat-sen, the KMT had energized pro-Chinese, anti-imperial and anti-western organizations within major Chinese cities.[2] Alongside that Chinese Communist Party groups had been given greater ability to foment dissent at Shanghai's situation. Shanghai's native Chinese workforce was also beset by serious problems involving lack of legal factory inspection or recourse for worker grievances.[3]
In the early months of 1925 conflicts and strikes between the Chinese workforce and the Japanese run No. 8 Mill intensified until, on May 15, a Japanese foreman shot a protester named Ku Chen-Hung dead.[4] Over the following weeks, Ku Chen-Hung became viewed as a martyr by Chinese unions and student groups, resulting in numerous protests and strikes against foreign-run industries, particularly Japanese.
Incident
On the morning of May 30, 1925 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, in a number of cases, entering the police station and (according to SMP officers) attempting to either block the foyer or gain access to the cells.
A picket of police (there was only a skeleton staff of approximately a dozen officers overall) was set up to prevent demonstrators entering the station. In the minutes before the shooting, police and witnesses reported cries of 'kill the foreigners' were raised and the demonstration turned violent.[5][6] Inspector Edward Everson, station commander and the highest ranking officer on the scene (as the police commissioner K.J. McEuen had not let the demonstration interfere with his attendance at the Spring races), eventually shouted: 'Stop! If you do not stop I will shoot!' in Chinese. A few seconds later, at 3.37pm, and as the struggle intensified, he fired into the crowd with his revolver.
The Sikh and Chinese police then opened fire. 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.[7][8]
Aftermath
The incident shocked and galvanized the nation. Over the next few days, Shanghai businesses and workers went on strike, with the foreign concessions entering states of emergency. The strikes, coupled with violent demonstrations and riots, spread across China and brought the economy to a standstill[9]. In Hong Kong these strikes were known as the Canton-Hong Kong strike,[7] and in China proper were known as the May Thirtieth Strikes.
By November, with Chiang Kai-shek having finally seized power after Sun Yat-sen's death and Chinese businesses wishing to return to business, the strikes and protests began to be phased out.[5] In Hong Kong, they would not end until 1926. In response to the shooting, Everson and McEuen were eventually forced to resign, and both left China. The nationalist upsurge associated with the movement and with the Northern Expedition of the Guomindang eventually saw reforms in the governance of the International Settlement and the Shanghai Municipal Council.
References
- ^ a b Waldron, Arthur, (1991) From War to Nationalism: China's Turning Point, p. 5
- ^ Ku, Hung-Ting [1979] (1979). Urban Mass Movement: The May Thirtieth Movement in Shanghai. Modern Asian Studies, Vol.13, No.2. pp.197-216
- ^ B.L [1936] (Jul 15, 1936). Shanghai at Last Gets Factory Inspection Law. Far Eastern Survey, Vol.5, No.15.
- ^ Ku, Hung-Ting [1979] (1979). Urban Mass Movement: The May Thirtieth Movement in Shanghai. Modern Asian Studies, Vol.13, No.2. pp.201
- ^ a b Potter, Edna Lee (1940). News Is My Job: A Correspondent in War-Torn China. Macmillan publishing. p. 198
- ^ Bickers, Robert [2003] (2003). Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai. Allen Lane publishing. ISBN 0713996846. p. 165
- ^ a b Carroll, John Mark Carroll. [2007] (2007). A concise history of Hong Kong. Rowman & Littlefield publishing. ISBN 0742534227, 9780742534223. p. 100
- ^ Jens Bangsbo, Thomas Reilly, Mike Hughes. [1995] (1995). Science and Football III: Proceedings of the Third World Congress of Science and Football, Cardiff, Wales, 9-13 April, 1995. Taylor & Francis publishing. ISBN 0419221603, 9780419221609. p 42-43.
- ^ Horesh, Niv. 'Shanghai's Bund and Beyond', 2009 (Yale University Press)
See also
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