Respectfully submitted: A Plea for the Punishment of Local Thugs and the Restoration of the Newspaper Office.  Following the recent Qingdao crisis, students nationwide and various public organizations have spared no sacrifice, loudly sounding the alarm to awaken the nation and jointly avert impending disaster. Our Hunan students have acted in unison, driven by patriotic sincerity and the humble desire to save the country; after several months of sustained effort, tangible results are beginning to emerge. We had hoped to press forward vigorously and to see a swift reconciliation between North and South, so that we might present a united front abroad. Unfortunately, remnants of the imperialist regime and the old Anfu clique, solely concerned with their own private interests, have resorted to cunning schemes and insidious rhetoric to mislead Your Excellency. As a result, illegal elections that had previously been suspended by the relevant ministries have been revived, and preliminary ballots have even been reinstated. Given that peace negotiations have yet to resume and that Hunan Province remains divided, the question of whether to retain or abolish the old and new National Assemblies still requires formal deliberation, keeping the authorities deeply engaged in prolonged consultations and thereby bringing the talks to a standstill.  Yet, precisely at this time of great turmoil, such unlawful elections have suddenly reappeared—this not only obstructs the prospects for peace but also tarnishes Your Excellency’s noble reputation. Pondering this situation for some time, we students were about to issue a statement setting forth our views when we learned that local thugs Ku Tianbao, Huang Zhong, Li Fanxi, and others had fabricated public opinion by staging a sham citizens’ assembly under the guise of an educational association. Believing that these individuals harbored sinister motives and that the matter was of grave importance, our association dispatched a small delegation to attend the meeting. On arrival, we found the venue heavily guarded by troops and police, completely encircled inside and out. Ku and Huang were the first to take the stage, vehemently denouncing the opposition of Hunanese people to the illegal elections. In response, Mr. Peng Huang, president of our association, together with Delegate Qiu Weiqin, representing all the students, eloquently articulated the true voice of the people. Immediately thereafter, however, they were arrested by soldiers acting on orders from Ku and Huang, who threatened to execute them on the spot. It was only through the intervention of Captain Zhang, who happened to be present to maintain order, that they were finally spared. Your Excellency has long expressed strong approval of our students’ actions and has repeatedly sought to protect us; for this, our association is profoundly grateful. Nevertheless, the aforementioned thugs—Ku Tianbao, Huang Zhong, Li Fanxi, and others—have brazenly colluded with external forces, misled Your Excellency, and insulted the student body. It is for these reasons that we humbly submit this petition, earnestly requesting that these ruffians be severely punished as a deterrent to others.

Furthermore, there remains a point with which our association cannot fully reconcile itself: The Dagong Bao, as the authentic mouthpiece of Hunanese public opinion, has long enjoyed high regard both within and outside the province. Yet, because it published a factual declaration issued by the Federation of Public Organizations opposing the illegal elections, the newspaper was promptly shut down, its editor was detained, and to this day no release has been granted. We students had assumed that this action did not reflect Your Excellency’s true intentions and that the matter would soon be resolved, hence our reluctance to raise the issue earlier. Regardless of whether the declaration bore the official seals of the various organizations involved, the fact remains that the entire population of Hunan spoke with one voice in opposition to the election. Had Your Excellency seized the opportunity to publicly endorse and disseminate this position, the people of Hunan would undoubtedly have been filled with gratitude. Conversely, if left unaddressed, the very principles of a republic and freedom of speech would be undermined. Moreover, the suppression of a well-respected publication could easily lead outsiders to conclude that the government is stifling free expression—restraining speech more rigorously than containing a flood—and such a perception would only serve to exacerbate the problem rather than alleviate it. How can one explain Your Excellency’s failure to recognize this clear and far-reaching implication? Fortunately, Your Excellency has now heeded public sentiment and temporarily postponed the election; however, the editor of the Dagong Bao has yet to be released, leaving the newspaper indefinitely suspended and causing widespread anxiety and confusion among the populace. It is for this reason that we respectfully request Your Excellency once again to align with public opinion, release the editor, and restore the newspaper office to full operation.

We have long admired Your Excellency’s unwavering resolve to root out evil and promote justice, as well as Your Excellency’s graceful and enlightened leadership. With heartfelt devotion, we earnestly implore Your Excellency to consider our plea for the punishment of local thugs and the restoration of the newspaper office. We stand ready to carry out Your Excellency’s instructions without delay.  Respectfully submitted by Zhang, Military Governor and Provincial Governor of Hunan.