More Like France

Firmly last week General Chiang Kaishek, who left China virtually without a Government fortnight ago by resigning as President, hopping into a plane, and soaring off to his country estate, announced: "I will not open any letters or telegrams."

To this promise General Chiang stuck, disregarded all appeals from Nanking to come back and make some sort of compromise with the Cantonese statesmen who had forced him out (TIME, Dec. 28). They in Nanking last week dominated one of the most savagely bickering sessions of the Central Executive Committee of the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang ever held. Aloof like General Chiang stood his brother-in-law, Dr. T. V. Soong, China's No. 1 banker and reputedly the only Chinese who as Finance Minister can get enough money together to keep a Chinese Government going. In Shanghai last week Dr. Soong cantered on horseback every morning, a pleasure he has not had time to take for months. Because China simply had to have a Government, the Nanking political muddle unsnarled itself faster than might otherwise have been the case. Cantonese Dr. Sun Fo (son of the late, great Dr. Sun Yatsen, "Father of the Chinese Republic") was chosen President of the Executive Yuan, equivalent to Premier. At the same time the Executive Committee of the Nationalist Party tinkered with China's organic law in such a way as to reduce the powers of the President and make that office resemble the Presidency of France. Into this post of honor, suddenly shorn of much of its power, was popped the venerable Lin Sen, born at Foochow, aged 67, prominent in China's revolutionary struggles and a onetime resident of California. Premier Sun, who thus unexpectedly emerged as the directive head of a new kind of Chinese Cabinet, was expected to have as his Minister of Foreign Affairs famed Eugene Chen, a Cantonese leader close to Moscow, with ideas about making peace with Japan (TIME, Nov. 2). This choice, however, was not made definite last week and the new Government was strongly urged to "fight Japan" by one of China's doughtiest war lords, Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang who offered to swing his private army into the fight and attempt to defend Chinchow (see below).

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