Hankou Incident

Since about February, Chinese people started to uproot and run off with trees and hedges from the mansions of wealthy people and from the Chinese gardens near the Japanese publishing company Doubunshoin just outside the Japanese concession. Before long this spread to Japanese homes. The perpetrators were mainly women and children but later adult men also turned out and hacked down the trees with axes in broad daylight. Then, when the Nanking Incident happened on 24 March 1927 the Chinese spread exaggerated rumors about rapes of Japanese residents and they ominously suggested that if something like that happened in Hankou, they would first target young women. Several days before the incident, Tang Shengzhi ordered the evacuation of American and British residents but he advised Japanese authorities that their residents could remain as they had sufficient protection. == Outbreak of the riots ==

There is some debate as to how the riots began. According to one source they were sparked by a physical altercation between a Japanese marine and a local ricksha puller, in which the latter was seriously injured. When a coolie attempted to come to the assistance of the ricksha puller, the marine stabbed him through the heart with his sword. Rather than disciplining the marine for his conduct, the Japanese naval commander ordered a detachment of troops to fire machine guns at a crowd of protestors who had gathered around the concession. The conflict between Japanese troops and Chinese protestors eventually led to dozens of fatalities. Dojin Hospital also pulled out from Hankou. Tang Shengzhi dispatched his army on the morning of 4 April and took charge of the situation but the All-China Federation of Trade Unions said that they could not agree to release their hostages without getting favorable terms for them from the Japanese, and even when Tang Shengzhi tried to send them back the jiuchadui, armed communist picketers who were spying on Tang's garrison headquarters, obstructed him. Due to the deliberations of the Japanese consul general, they were finally returned on 7 April. On the night of the incident Eugene Chen, the foreign minister of China, hurried to Consul General Takao and expressed his regrets and said that China would take full responsibility to resolve the issue. Wuhan garrison commander Tang Shengzhi also came and expressed his regrets, and requested the withdrawal of the Japanese landing party since his army was now guarding the concession. The consul general respected China's show of good faith and sought the evacuation of the landing party. Because it seemed that the Chinese were showing their sincerity by stationing their army in the area surrounding the concession, keeping away the crowds with the cooperation of the jiuchadui, and putting up posters exhorting citizens to not loot or harm the Japanese, the landing party for a time returned to its base at Taisho Hall. However, the Chinese army itself engaged in looting and immediately the Japanese redeployed their landing force. Tang Shengzhi's army which had entered Honganji was accused of looting the inner temple and was replaced by the army of He Jian, whose forces in turn withdrew from Honganji at the insistence of the Japanese landing party. Representatives of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions said that 10 Chinese people had died during the incident and denounced the use of force by the Japanese landing party as illegal. They continued to trot out uncooperative demands for immediate withdrawal of the landing party and an investigation of the causes of the incident, but were brushed off by the consul general. At the same time the Federation tried to enforce a blockade on food supplies into the Japanese concession. On 6 April 1:20 pm, women and children evacuated aboard the Joyo-maru and Daifuku-maru. Afterwards more were evacuated in several trips. The over 2,100 Japanese residents were reduced to upwards of 500. == Other repercussions ==

'' was sent from Shanghai to Wuhan loaded with food supplies. The 18th Destroyer Group, consisting of Isokaze class destroyers Amatsukaze, Isokaze, and Tokitsukaze were also deployed. On April 3, Standard Oil decided to close up operations in Yichang and withdrew all its US employees on American and British ships. America's envoy recommended that Americans resident in Beijing leave the capital. On 12 April, Chiang Kai-shek carried out the Shanghai massacre, executing many leading members of the Chinese Communist Party who were regarded with suspicion by the great powers who were willing to support Chiang's regime. == References ==