August 15, 1923

“…Since the Xiangxi issue arose, Zhao’s position has been shaken, and he has had no choice but to use the provincial constitution as a means of self-defense. Therefore, in the days leading up to this, he instructed his followers—Fang Kegang, Li Jimin, and others—to bribe various public organizations with money to issue telegrams in support of him, or to stage mass movements…all under the guise of upholding the provincial constitution…They scheduled a parade for 8:00 a.m. on the fifth day. Most of the letters they sent out were addressed to workers’ groups, on the assumption that workers had simple minds and that at least a thousand or so would turn up. However, when ten o’clock came and went, not only did no organized group appear, but even among individual participants there were scarcely more than a handful of their own relatives and friends. In great distress, they dispatched people to四处 to places such as the Chinese Labor Union, which was notorious for being run by thugs, as well as the Welfare Home and the Buddhist Propagation Hall, offering fifty cents in silver dollars per person along with a light meal, and hired over a hundred individuals. At noon, they set off on their parade. Prior to the march, they held a meeting at the Education Association’s cinema, where about one hundred and twenty to thirty people gathered—party members, monks, and beggars. The proceedings began as follows:

(1) Monk Chipei, acting as chairman, delivered a report explaining the purpose of the meeting, saying roughly:

‘The provincial constitution is better described as a ‘provincial constitutional sutra,’ much like the Buddhist scriptures…’ As he spoke, the monks and beggars in attendance began gesticulating wildly.

(2) After the meeting adjourned, the procession set out:

Two large banners led the way—one reading ‘Provincial Constitution Preservation Society,’ the other ‘Provincial People’s Petition Assembly.’

The first contingent consisted of men in long gowns and mandarin jackets, posing as representatives of the provincial populace, numbering some twenty to thirty.

The second group was the Chinese Labor Union, with about five or six members.

The third was the Buddhist Propagation Group, all bald and wearing monastic robes, comprising forty to fifty individuals.

The fourth was the Welfare Home, with around forty participants.

A motley crew indeed…they staged this farcical spectacle, leaving nothing undone to make it as ridiculous as possible…” (from the Min Guo Daily).


We have always opposed the system of federated provincial autonomy, because what it really amounts to is not federalism but rather a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms. We have also consistently rejected provincial constitutions concocted by corrupt warlords and politicians, which purport to represent the people yet serve instead as instruments for these very same forces to vie for power and profit. Hunan provides a particularly clear example of this. Zhao Hengti now brazenly boasts of raising an “army to defend the constitution,” yet over the past two years—ever since the constitution was adopted—he has brutally massacred laborers (including Huang Pang and others), sealed off newspapers (such as the Daguang Bao, Zizhi Xinbao, and Xin Xiang Bao), stripped the people of their freedom of correspondence (postal and telegraph censors were never removed for a single day), and deprived them of freedom of assembly and association (he shut down the rickshaw drivers’ union, the rice-milling workers’ union, and the Foreign Affairs Support Committee, repeatedly banning gatherings of students and workers). Moreover, he has protected his own troops from prosecution while they engaged in the trafficking and cultivation of opium; rigged elections by dispatching his subordinates to fabricate total voter rolls based on the provincial constitution, to falsify the composition of the provincial legislature through bribery, and to buy his own election to the post of governor; and extorted contributions from merchants (forcing the president of the Changsha General Chamber of Commerce to flee on multiple occasions) and levied exorbitant land taxes on farmers (with some counties collecting dues as far ahead as the seventeenth year of the Republic). He has also systematically undermined the legally mandated budgetary proportions by slashing funds for education and industry while massively increasing military spending, all while colluding with Wu Peifu and Xiao Yaonan. Is there a single one of these actions that does not constitute open hostility toward the people, masked behind the facade of a provincial constitution? Even this latest large-scale mobilization originated from a dispute with Cai Juyou over the opium tax (the so-called special tax). Such an utterly wicked and unpardonable figure as Zhao Hengti still dares to trumpet his “defense of the constitution” under false pretenses—truly, he should be ashamed to face the people of Hunan!


○ The Guide Weekly, Issue 36   The Guide Weekly Publishing House   August 15, 1923