Tsao-Kun Regime

Tsao-Kun Regime

China under President Tsao-Kun (Tins, Oct. 15) is hardly less chaotic than it was under his predecessor Li Yuan-Hung.

France was at loggerheads with the Chinese Government over the latter's inability to make gold payments in accordance with the Boxer* indemnity. This state of affairs has caused the keenest concern to the other Powers interested in China, as they would have to join France in order to safeguard their protocol rights, or risk losing these rights by adhering to the Chinese Policies Treaty, one of the Washington treaties as yet unratified by France.

In the House of Representatives a bitter feud waged over the appointment of a Premier and the election of a Speaker. Wu Ching-Lien, the present speaker, was apparently determined to secure the Premiership or prevent the confirmation of another candidate. This had the effect of dividing the House into two factions--pro-Wu and anti-Wu, the result being that a free fight occurred when an anti-Wu man attempted to force a new election for the Speakership in order to get rid of Wu. As to the Premiership, Wu's supporters were not strong enough to secure his confirmation, and Wu's opponents were too weak to get their nominee confirmed without Wu's approval. President Tsao-Kun could not dissolve Parliament and appoint his own Prime Minister without the consent of the Senate. The Senate, having an anti- Tsao-Kun majority, would certainly have resisted. Hence the deadlock was complete.

The Government was also up against another trouble; it could not raise any money. Police, soldiers and schoolteachers threatened to strike for their overdue wages. In the case of the police and soldiers, they knew of France's demands upon the Government. " Why should foreigners be paid while we starve ? " they asked. In consequence of this, there was much bitterness abroad against the French.

-- The word Boxer comes from a mistranslation of the Chinese I ho Gh'uan, meaning The Patriotic United Fists, a secret society which originally was anti-dynastic, and had nothing to do with pugilism in spite of some " peculiar calisthenic exercises." At the end of the 19th Century the society came under the influence of the Empress Dowager, who persuaded them that the foreigner and his. spheres of interest--and not the Manchu dynasty--was responsible for the ills of China, and incited them to fight the invaders of their land--hence the Boxer Rising of 1900.