¶ Yellow River Flood news report in 1938, how the US media was biased for political reason
Yellow river flood news report in 1938 is a good example of how the US medias were biased with his political reason, siding Chiang kai-shek or even communists. The US has been this way since 2nd Sino-Japanese war started in 1937 through a battle of Shanghai, Nanking, and Chongqing.
What is Yellow River Flood in 1938?
Five days before the battle of Nanking on 13th December in 1937, on 8th Chiang fled to Hankou then move to Chungking in late 1937 and early 1938. By the spring of 1938, Chungking had effectively become the wartime capital of the Republic of China.
On June, only 6 month after Nanking, Chiang ordered to bomb the dyke of Yellow river to cause a big flood to halt and damage Japanese military advancing further. Although Japanese military didn't get a much damage, it killed up to a million of Chinese people with drowning and starvation. It is refereed to Yellow River Flood in 1938.
¶ How the US reported
Surprisingly, US media showed no condemnation against this Chiang's inhumane act to his own people. Instead, NY times (Tilman Durdin) introduced ROC 's propaganda saying that Japanese did the flood(1838/06/13). The other article simply showed the serial articles posted by Chiang's wife, Soong mei-ling who should be responsible and blamed for killing Chinese people.
US missionaries were also completely on the side of Chiang and Soong as appeared in an idealized image on Times journal whose publisher Henry Luce was born in China with missionary parents. They were sympathetic to Chiang and never mentioned their flaw or failure. They were even along with communists, and viewing as a poor democratic China invaded by Japan.
(Below) Completely Biased tone. Brooklyn Eagle describes as China "sorrow", and never condemned Chiang kai-shek who dare committed a crime killing its own massive people, while criticizing Japan at a war.
On 17-20th June in 1938, British knew it was done by Chinese KMT not Japanese.
This info was provided from here.
¶ How Spanish report criticized the US silence
Spanish newspaper 1938/06/19 criticized this US silence against Chiang on Republic Of China.
English translation
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CHINESE METHODS OF WARFARE While France and England show a morbid sensibleness in the face of the perfectly lawful and justified air bombardments of National Spain, and the Yankee Senate joins in the chorus of planning for the same cause, trying to convince us of their humanitarianism: Chinese are breaking the dikes of the Yellow River by means of a dynamite, which threatens to produce a watery catastrophe that only the universal deluge has a precedent to surpass it. The whole of central China, that is to say, an area of 700,000 square kilometers - that of Spain and almost that of France - is in grave danger of being buried under the waters, Seventy million inhabitants may be victims of this dreadful flood, if no way is found to divert the devastating torrent or to contain it, which is extremely difficult. And yet, neither from France, nor from Great Britain, nor from the United States, is there a voice of protest against the greatest attempt at human extermination ever conceived on earth. This conduct can only be explained by that purpose of lying and misrepresenting the truth which characterizes Bolshevism and democratic methods. They speak of peace when they are working to unleash war; they claim respect for treaties when they have imposed them on others or want to impose them on others; they call for the sanctity of debts when they are the creditors themselves, and otherwise forget that sanctity; and they demand respect for human life when they spread everywhere the revolutionary spirit, which leads everywhere to desolation and death. This is the only way to explain why they raise a hellish hue and cry when an airplane causes casualties, but remain silent when the Soviet regime condemns millions of unfortunate people to death, when the red Spanish checkpoints murder half a million honest Spaniards, and when the Chinese unleash a deluge that could drown several million peaceful inhabitants. How can civilized mankind allow this system of collective deception to continue? It would be a mistake for civilization if we did not cherish the absolute certainty that these false conventions are to be proclaimed in all nations as one of the most humiliating of all the evils of human dignity. J. M. CASTRO, “Spanish paper, El Diario vasco”, 1938/6/19 |
¶ How Japanese reported and reacted
Japanese media reported as a shock and anger against Chiang kai-shek by calling him the eternal enemy of human race and reporting that KMT is spreading a fake news saying Japan did it. Japanese rescued Chinese victims while KMT soldiers were shooting taking a chance to attack Japanese.
(below) Japanese Nichi Nichi newspaper 1938/06/15 condemning Chang's outrageous act, calling him “Chiang kai-shek (蒋介石), Eternal(永遠) enemy (敵) against human being(人類の)”
(Below)
世紀の悪虐 支那軍黄河の堤防決壊
鄭州及び漢口さして進撃する皇軍の猛威に恐怖狼狽せる敵は、自国民衆を犠牲として皇軍の進出を阻むべく、六月十日、悪虐非道にも手段を選ばず遂に大黄河の堤防を破壊する暴挙を敢えてしたのである。即ち中牟の北方五庄附近十数か所及び、鄭州北方京水鎭、許家堤附近で数か所を破壊して、折柄連日の降雨で大増水を来せる大黄河の濁流は忽ち氾濫し、総浸水面積は百平方里に達し、溺死者行方不明十数萬といはれる大惨害を被り、河南の沃野一千万の住民は、水地獄に突き落とされ、一時、黄河は河筋を替えて淮河を経て、揚子江へ流れるのではないかともいはれたが、皇軍及び皇軍と協力せる附近支那良民の努力と降雨が止んだがために、水勢はその後、おとろへ、約一カ月で復舊（復旧）するであろうと見られてゐる。
The Atrocity of the Century: The Chinese Army Breaks the Yellow River Dikes
Terrified and thrown into panic by the fierce advance of the Imperial Army toward Zhengzhou and Hankou, the enemy—determined to halt the Imperial Army’s advance even at the expense of their own people—dared to commit the outrageous act of destroying the Yellow River dikes on June 10, resorting to any means necessary, no matter how cruel and inhumane. Specifically, they destroyed the levees at more than a dozen locations near Wuzhuang, north of Zhongmu, as well as several locations near Jingshui Town and Xujia Dike, north of Zhengzhou. As the Yellow River had already swollen significantly due to days of continuous rainfall, its muddy waters immediately burst their banks, flooding a total area of 100 square li and causing a massive catastrophe in which more than 100,000 people are said to have drowned or gone missing. Ten million residents of Henan’s fertile plains were plunged into a watery hell. At one point, it was even speculated that the Yellow River might change its course, flowing through the Huai River into the Yangtze River; however, thanks to the efforts of the Imperial Army and the local Chinese civilians cooperating with them, as well as the cessation of rainfall, the floodwaters have since subsided, and it is expected that the area will be restored to normal in about one month.
(Below)
皇軍の救済 天を仰ぎ地に伏して慟哭した農民たちにとっては、皇軍の手厚い救済は1滴の水、1粒の米よりも尊いものである。（写真は食糧を配給する〇〇班に対して日章旗と五色旗をうち振って喜び集う水災難民）
Relief from the Imperial Army For the farmers who looked up to the heavens and prostrated themselves on the ground in anguished weeping, the generous relief provided by the Imperial Army was more precious than a single drop of water or a single grain of rice. (The photo shows flood victims gathering joyfully, waving the Rising Sun Flag and the Five-Color Flag, as the XX Unit distributes food rations.)
(below) Japanese newspaper, Asahi 1938/06/16, 非人道の犠牲 算なし the damage/victims of inhumane act, countless.
(below) Japanese newspaper, Asahi 1938/06/30. 支那のデマ, Chinese lie. Republic of China's attempt to blame the flood to Japan was failed, French community didn't take China's claim seriously and didn't buy it.
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大阪毎日新聞 1938年6月15日 Jpn Newspaper, Osaka Mainichi Shinbun 1938/06/15
[Right Top] 支那軍の黄河堤防破壊 Destruction of the Yellow River embankment by the Chinese army 皇軍、修復に全力傾注 Imperial Japanese military devotes all efforts to restoration 「非戦闘員盲爆」宣傳(宣伝)の蒋政権 The Chiang Kai-shek regime's propaganda of “ (Japanese) blindly bombing non-combatants” 神人共に許さぬ暴虐 brutality that neither gods nor humans can forgive
[left] 敵、盛んに妨害 The enemy actively interferes 更に新たな決潰を企画 The plans further breaches (of the embankment).
[Bottom right] 犠牲既に十数万 Victims already numbering tens of thousands |
(below) Oddly, Chinese officer, Yee Chao? 趙毅 who bombed a river by order and rewarded by Chiang was taken in custody and executed for joining a communist force. Very fishy..
