May 30 Movement
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The May 30 Movement or May 30 incident (Chinese: 五卅运动; 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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[edit] Roots of the Incident
The roots of the incident can be traced to a number of things: 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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]. 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.
[edit] 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 concession. These protesters were held in Louza 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.[4][5] Inspector Edward Everson, the highest ranking officer on the scene due to his superiors having left for a horse-racing match, eventually shouted: 'Stop! If you do not stop I will shoot!' in Chinese. A few seconds later, at 3.37pm, and as the fighting intensified, he fired into the crowd with his revolver.
The Sikh and Chinese police then opened fire. At least 4 demonstrators were killed at the scene, with another 5 dying later of their injuries. At least 14 injured were hospitalized, with many others wounded.[6][7]
[edit] 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[8]. In Hong Kong these strikes were known as the Canton-Hong Kong strike[6], 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.[4] In Hong Kong, they would not end until 1926. In response to the shooting, the concessions demanded the resignation of a number of police and council members and began to allow Chinese greater control and rights in the foreign concessions, including being allowed to sit on the Shanghai Municipal Council.
[edit] References
- ^ 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. pg. 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. 'Shangha's Bund and Beyond', 2009 (Yale University Press)
[edit] See also
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