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Beijing Newspaper Q1/1949 - Chinese news and events - January / February / March

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Wednesday, May 15th 2019, 12:05pm

Beijing Newspaper Q1/1949 - Chinese news and events - January / February / March

Tuesday 4. January - Qingdao Post
At Qingdao the "YELLOW SEA FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE, CHINESE ACADEMY OF FISHERY SCIENCES" under the leadership of Prof. TANG Qi-sheng was found. It's a leading research institution in the chinese empire, active in almost all research areas to do with aquaculture and marine and freshwater fisheries. The Institute was established to ensure sustainable fisheries.



Friday 7. January - Canton Daily
Southwest Airlines receives the 10 ENA C-25 Ponchito aircrafts from Peru. The machines will serve the line to Lhasa and to airports on Formosa Island.




Saturday 8. January - Sichuan Daily
The "Yangtze Gold Cruise Company" puts the "Golden Dragon" into service. "With our ships you get wonderfull experiences in river cruises on the Yangtze, the longest river in China." said the CEO of the company in an interview.



Monday 10. January - The Hankow Daily News

In a solemn ceremony, the Chinese Minister of Transport opened the "Yangtze Bridge" at Hankow. "The bridge is a wonderful testament to the skills of Chinese engineers and construction workers." said the mayor of Hankow Xia Changchi in an interview on the occasion of the official opening of the bridge.

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Friday, May 17th 2019, 10:40am

Wednesday 12. January - Beijing Post
Even in times of peace, the Chinese Army is always ready to defend the chinese empire - true to its motto "this we'll defend". The Chinese Dragon is always ready to fight against the intruders. The Chinese army's maneuvers involve units from all three branches - units of the National Army, the Territorial Army and the Reserve Army.




Friday 14. January – Suixi Air Force Base
» Do not tell me it's just a joke, sir «, Major Wu Faxian said to Air Force Major Liao Lei, » otherwise I am extremely disappointed.«

Liao Lei, commander of the I. Squadron of the Air Battle Force, nodded reassuringly to Faxian. He realized that the thirty-nine-year-old bomber commander was genuinely excited. The two officers were in front of the latest, most advanced aircraft of the Chinese Air Force: the heavy bomber BR-4.

»I’m not kidding, Wu «, Lei assured him and put his arm around Faxian's shoulder. "She belongs to us. "

"But the BR-4 has not been put into service yet," said Faxian.

"We got the first aircraft from serial production." said Liao Lei proudly.

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Thursday, June 13th 2019, 3:10pm

Tuesday 18. January – Cavite Harbour
There was a place at the Philippines that no unauthorized person could visit, and that was the submarine base in Cavite. The harbour street ends 300 meters away from a post office on a kind of a barracks gate, next to which a many hundred meters long barbed wire fence extends. Heavy-armed soldiers guard it around the clock, and without a special ID card, no one is allowed to pass through this gate, even workers working there who have forgotten their papers at home. The Chinese secret service had only two agents in this heavily guarded base. They operate at great risk and still could obtain only little information.
Wan Chuhan, a 44-year-old worker at the loading dock for the submarines, was one of them. Today, late in the afternoon of the 18th of January, Wan Chuhan squatted in the shadow of several crates which were stacked on the dock of the submarine base, watching carefully the harbor exit. He saw two boats leaving the harbor in succession, undoubtedly they will patrol the coast of Mainland China. This information he immediately sent it coded to his contact person on Formosa, when he came home from his shift late at night.


Thursday 20. January – Qingdao Post
The YFSRI is commissioning several fishing trawlers and a fishing and freezing vessel to intensify its research. The task of the ships is to check the fish stock in the coastal waters of China, but also in the complete chinese sea.

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Tuesday, June 18th 2019, 4:23pm

Saturday 22. January – Kaohsiung Daily
The chinese research vessel RV Nanjizhou explores Bashi Channel with its deep sea vehicle Bian Sha. After completion of the surveys, the ship continues its voyage to the Taitung Canyon and the Huatung Basin east of Lan Yu.



Sunday 23. January – The China Post
A high-level delegation led by Finance Minister Lu Feng departed the capital today en route to the southern neighbours Siam and Bharat, where they will discuss a deepening of the economic relations . After that the deleagation will continue it's voyage to Persia and to the south african empire.



Tuesday 25. January – The Pescadores Telegraph
During the landing approach to the airport on Mako Island, an aircraft of Southwest Airlines crashes into the ground. According to initial reports, the BH-2 was on the regular flight from Tainan to Mako.

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Monday, August 12th 2019, 1:34pm

Wednesday 26. January - Shanghai Telegraph
The Oiler Qiandaohu the second of four tanker for the SINOPEC was taken in service today at the Shanghai shipyards.


Thursday 27. January - The Tai-Pei Tribune
Today is another scrapping day on the Quindao Beihai Shipbuilding. The next four Submarines of the obsolete E-Class will be scrapped. After a solemn ceremony the chinese flag was lowered the last time on these four vessels.


Sunday 30. January – The China Post
The extensive tests of the different aircraft types on the occasion of the tender for a commuter aircraft find their conclusion. Representatives of the interested chinese airlines will immediately contact the various manufacturers to discuss contracts for the purchase and / or a license production.

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Tuesday, August 13th 2019, 2:01pm

Tuesday 01. February – The Harbin Herald

Chinese Minister for Transport and Industry Ming Pi Wai will arive today at Harbin Airport. He will discuss with leading managers of Sinopec at the Fushun oilfields about the possibility to increase the production of chinese crude oil.



Thursday 03. February - The Tai-Pei Tribune
Loke Wan Tho, chairman of Civil Air Transport Inc., travels to Hongkong to meet representatives of one of the leading aircraft manufacturer of the United Kingdom - the de Havilland Aircraft Company Ltd.. His airline wants to buy several DH.104 and DH.114 aircraft.



Saturday 05. February - Beijing Post
Representatives of Renard Aeronautiques, met at the Belgium embassy in Beijing with managers of the three chinese airlines, which are interested in the R.45 aircraft. While Air China and CAT each want to buy up to 10 aircraft of this type, Lao Che Air Fright is interested in a larger number, especially in the freighter version.



Thursday 10. February - Berlin Airport
A Chinese delegation led by the Chinese Minister of Transport and Industry, Ming Pi Wai, lands at the airport in Berlin. The aim of the trip is to improve and deepen the business relationships between the two countries. Visits to manufacturers in different branches of the industry are also on the program, as planned talks on a possible cooperation in the construction of dams in the Chinese Empire. After the visit of germany, the delegation will continue it's voyage to the south of europe.

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Monday, August 19th 2019, 10:45am

Friday 11. February; early morning - Kaoshsiung Naval Base
Admiral of the fleet Tan Won, Commander of the Southern Fleet, was interested in the reports of his patrols in the South China Sea. He also had in mind the discussion with the Chinese leadership, in which they had recently decided to expand and consolidate China's influence in the South China Sea. A first step was the expansion of the Dongsha Islands. As the Philippines Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Reef) became more and more a military base, even though it was officially run as a civilian station, China has only the way to set up also an advanced base to secure its shipping lines. A huge part of the imported goods flow finally through the South China Sea. In order not to cause an international incident, as most recently in the Bering Sea, Admiral Won had to be very carefully. He studied the detailed map of the South China Sea extensively. The Xisha Dao (Paracel Islands) were as taboo as the Nanscha Dao (Spratly Islands). Both atolls had already been claimed by other nations and thus were unreachable for China. But then his eyes fell on a certain place..... the Zhongsha Islands. Whereby to call it islands was actually a lie. Because the Zhongsha are a collection of sunken atolls, sandbars, reefs and a small single island or better said rock. The Zhongsha, also known by its english name Macclesfield Bank, are ideally located. The Xisha Dao are located approximately 200km to the west and the Nanscha Dao 500km to the south. Chinese fishermen also reported abundant fishing in this area. So a good reason to secure the islands, thought the admiral. A short time later, the orders went to various departments in the Chinese Navy.

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Tuesday, August 20th 2019, 10:28am

Saturday 12. February - Beijing Post
The two icebreaker HICMS Shen Neng-3 and HICMS Shen Neng-4 were completed today at the Bohai Shipbuilding at Tianjin. Following their builders's trials they will join the harbor forces at Dairen.


Monday 14. February - The China Post
The Chinese Finance Minister Lu Feng continued his discussions today with representatives of the government of Siam on a wide range of trade issues. In a press conference following today’s meetings Lu Feng said that good progress had been made on the question of bilateral tariff reductions and economic cooperations, though many details still need to be worked out. As a first success, we have an agreement that Siamese airlines are allowed to land in China and vice versa Chinese in Siam.


Tuesday 15. February - Bremen
The chinese delegation traveled to Bremen for a conference with the management of the Focke-Achgelis Works. China is very interested in the Focke Achgelis Fa336 Utility helicopter .

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Tuesday, August 20th 2019, 3:09pm

Wednesday 16. February - South China Morning Post (Newspaper in Hongkong)
Civil Air Transport Inc. and de Havilland Aircraft Company Ltd. signed a contract for the purchase of 20 aircrafts. In particular, CAT Inc. bought 10 DH.104 and 10 DH.114 aircrafts. "We are happy that we have completed this deal with de Havilland, their machines are very reliable." said Loke Wan Tho in an interview.


Thursday 17. February - Beijing Post
Renard Aeronautiques and various Chinese airlines are signing a contract for the purchase of 50 R.45 aircraft in different configurations. The aircrafts will be delivered directly by the Belgian manufacturer. Furthermore, a license sale of this type to Bao-Huang Ltd. was agreed. By signing this license agreement, Bao-Huang was saved from bankruptcy.

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Wednesday, August 21st 2019, 10:39am

Friday, 18. February 1949, 22.47 Uhr local time - South China Sea
It was a dark night when the fifty-seven-year-old Admiral Yin Po L'un, commander of the chinese "Zhongsha" Task-Force, grabbed for the mug of tea and drank with relish a few sips. Yin's Task Force, whose units surrounded the flagship in a widely spaced protective rhombus, headed south-west against the wind, which itself rolled the big flagship. The ships have immediately left the military port of Kaoshsiung after beeing supplied and refueled and were surely be watched by a Philippine submarine.

The task force currently consisted of fourteen ships of the SOUTH FLEET, whose mostly manned with young, inexperienced crews. Yin's task force's outer defensive ring was made up of Huangfen-Class and Ningpo-Class speedboats. At the head of the rhombus was an old minesweeper of the Shuihong-Class. While his flagship, the heavy cruiser HICMS Guiyang was surrounded by 4 destroyers. For a simple patrol, the task force was actually too heavily armed but that was not really the task of the fleet. In the past, Indochina patrolled the waters here and there and laid out a few navigation buoys at dangerous places. But now China secures these rich fishing grounds here. For this reason, the fleet was here and to consolidate China's claim about the Zhongsha.


»Position, Navigator?« called Admiral Yin.

»Aye, aye, Admiral!« replied the navigator, leaning over the map table »Our position is five nautical miles northeast of the Zhongsha Islands and round about 450 nautical miles northwest of the Huangyan Dao Station«, he used the Chinese name of Scarborough Reef to please the admiral. The station there has always been a thorn in Yin's eyes, as the Huangyan Dao undoubtedly were Chinese territory in his opinion.

»Water Depth?«

»Twenty yards under the keel, Mr. Admiral,« Captain Lubu reported. »There is no danger of touching the ground on the current course.«

Yin nodded wordlessly. Then he stood up and went to the navigator who was still benting over the map. Yin asked him »We are still here or ?« and pointed on a flagsympbol on the map.

»Yes Sir.« was the immediately reply from the navigator.

»When should our protégés arrive here?« Captain Lubu asked.

»Within the next few days. Until then, we will anchor here with our flagship«, Admiral Yin pointed to a marked spot on the map. »Give orders to our guards to search the area for troublemakers.« the admiral concluded. It will not be an easy task, Yin thought. There will certainly be protests against our project, but my job is to secure the construction here and that is exactly what I will do.

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Wednesday, August 21st 2019, 6:15pm

Macclesfield Bank, Indochinese ship Ha Giang
Lieutenant Van Pham was the only officer aboard the submarine chaser Ha Giang, in command of the ship and its crew of twenty-two men. Well, its theoretical twenty-two men; like most ships of the Patrouille Navale Indochinoise, Ha Giang was perpetually shorthanded, and Pham only had seventeen men aboard. Nearly a quarter of them were fresh recruits who'd only been inducted into service in December. But Ha Giang's chief engineer was a ten-year man, and the senior noncom aboard, Quartier-maître de 1re classe Petit, was a grizzled French Navy veteran with outstanding experience. Even if he had been demoted three times for brawling ashore, and Pham personally suspected him of running a gambling ring... but Pham couldn't prove it, and knew better to push things.

The week's mission for Ha Giang was to head out from the naval base at Hai Phong harbour, refuel from the Than Tien in the Hoang Sa islands, and then check the status of several navigational buoys in the direction of Macclesfield Bank. It was a longer mission than most the Ha Giang usually took on, and it often required some patience while aiding the Vietnamese, Chinese and Filipino fishermen who sometimes worked in the area. The last time Pham patrolled the region, he'd had to intervene to separate two Chinese junks who'd fouled each other's nets; Pham believed he had probably prevented a murder. But Ha Giang's missions were almost never that exciting...

Which was small consolation to Lieutenant Van Pham when the sun rose to shine on the very unexpected sight of a foreign cruiser anchored five kilometers away from Ha Giang's own overnight anchorage.

The lookout, whose job it was to spot these things before the subchaser's captain, called out a belated report. "Large warship bearing three-zero-five, range intermediate!"

"Really?" Pham sighed. He got out his little book of visual recognition charts. "Quartier-maître, please challenge them with semaphore and ask them to identify themselves. Inquire if they've gone aground and require assistance."

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Thursday, August 22nd 2019, 5:24pm

Saturday, 19. February 1949, early morning - aboard HICMS Gaocheng

The sun was just rising over the horizon when Captain Chen Zhibin realized, that there was a small vehicle between them and the flagship of the Zhongsha task force. "Damn it. How does that come from ?" he wondered. At the same moment a voice croaked out of the intercom "Radio room to Bridge. Radar contact - bearing 55, distance 3 thousand. speed 0."

"Roger" Captain Zhibin confirmed. "Signalman, take a lamp and ask the foreign ship what it is looking for and ask if they need any help." then he turned to the intercom "Bridge to Radio Room. Message to flagship. Unidentified vehicle sighted. Contact in progress. Run to the position for closer examination."

"Helmsman, Course 55. Halfspeed ahead." Immediately the engines of the Gaocheng howled and the water at the stern started to foam.


meanwhile aboard the HICMS Guiyang ...
On board the cruiser HICMS Guiyang, life was just awakening when the radio mate received the signal from the Gaocheng. Immediately afterwards, bustle broke out on the bridge, cause Captain Lubu knew that the admiral hated surprises. Although Lubu was reassured that such a small vehicle was not a serious threat for the heavy cruiser, but an undiscovered vehicle so close to the flagship was definitely a surprise that Admiral Yin certainly did not like.

"Should i wake the admiral." the Master Chief asked.
"NO." Lubu answered. "There is no need to wake the admiral for such a trifle."

back on the HICMS Gaocheng ...
The Gaocheng was only a few hundred yards away from the foreign vehicle when the signal maat finally received an answer from the vehicle."The ship is the Ha Giang from Indochina. They ask what we are doing here and if we need any help ?" the sailor said to the bridge. Apparently they were surprised to be contacted by the destroyer, because they answered a bit late. No wonder, we hardly stand out from the dark side of the horizon, Captain Zhibin thought.

"Pass the message on to the flagship and respond to our guest that we thank them for their aid, but that they are in the middle of a Chinese exercise and they please should leave the area immediately."

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Thursday, August 22nd 2019, 6:00pm

I foresee that all will not go as planned. May you live in interesting times. ;)

Rooijen10

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Thursday, August 22nd 2019, 7:39pm

What? You are going to drop a bomb there. Bruce?

BruceDuncan

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Thursday, August 22nd 2019, 8:05pm

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

What? You are going to drop a bomb there. Bruce?


Not I, not yet. My news cycle is months ahead.

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Thursday, August 22nd 2019, 8:07pm

Macclesfield Bank, Indochinese ship Ha Giang
"Well, this stretch of sea seems to be busy this morning," Lieutenant Van Pham remarked to no one in particular. First a cruiser - Pham's recognition chart identified her as the Chinese cruiser Guiyang - and then a destroyer, maybe a member of the Yiyang class.

Quartier-maître Petit pointed toward the destroyer. "Semaphore message, lieutenant." He jotted down the message, and then handed it to Pham.

"'You are in the middle of a Chinese exercise and you please should leave the area immediately.' Well then," Pham said, "It sounds to me like we're in exactly the right place." He jotted down a message of his own. Encountered Chinese cruiser Guiyang and destroyer at 16° 3'49"N by 114°26'52"E. Destroyer claims exercises underway and demands we leave area. Please advise. "Take this to Nguyen and have him send it to Headquarters."

"Yes sir," Petit said. He returned a few moments later. "Nguyen's coding it for transmission."

"Good," Pham replied. The destroyer's maneuvers were making him somewhat nervous, and it would take some time to get underway even if he wanted to leave immediately. "Raise the PB flag."

Petit cocked his head. "'I am engaged in minesweeping operations, please keep clear'?"

Pham nodded. "They're Chinese warships. That means I'm sweeping for political mines. With my career, I do believe... in the meantime, I think we will start getting underway."

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Monday, August 26th 2019, 10:03am

aboard the HICMS Gaocheng
"Radio room to bridge. Indochinese ship sends encrypted message, probably to fleet headquarter." a voice sounded in the intercom.

Then there was a call from the second officer, who had been pointing his binoculars at the Indochinese ship all the time. "Signal from our guest. Ship sets PB flag."

The Ha Giang was actually a subchaser and patrol boat and not a minesweeper, but you never knew - thought Captain Zhibin.

"Rudder hard to portside!" Zhibin said.

"Rudder hard to portside, aye!" the answer came directly from the helmsman and the destroyer turned sharply.

"Mines !" the navigator breathed. Everywhere on the bridge heads turned.

"Quite possible." Zhibin nodded grimly. "How far are we from our guest?"

The navigator looked attentively at the map. "About four hundred meters, sir."

"Engines stop !" The little crook ... Zhibin thought. Surely that was just a trick with the flag, because a minefield makes virtually no sense here. But Zhibin did not want to risk a damaging of his ship, so he stopped as a precaution.


aboard the HICMS Guiyang
Admiral Yin entered the bridge in good spirits when Captain Lubu told him about the last 30 minutes.

Yin turned to Lubu. "Make sure we can hear the radio traffic. Captain Zhibin should warn the ship that they are in the middle of a live ammunition exercise and that China will not take any responsibility if their ship will be damaged."

A short time later they heard Zhibin's warning "This is Chinese destroyer Gaocheng on the international call channel 9. You are in the middle of a Chinese exercise with explosive ammunition. To prevent an incident, we ask you again to leave the area immediately. Staying in this area is at your own risk and you have to bear the consequences."

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Wednesday, August 28th 2019, 5:52am

Macclesfield Bank, Indochinese ship Ha Giang
The diesels had rumbled into action and the submarine chaser was underway at last when Lieutenant Pham received the Gaocheng's radio warning. Pham frowned as Quartier-maître Petit handed him the message. "Chinese brats," Pham said quietly. "What do you think, Quartier-maître?"

"They have all the force they need to eject us from the area," the Frenchman said. "Or sink us without survivors."

"Do you think they'd really do that?"

"No... but the Chinese are increasingly eager to throw their weight around. I wouldn't bet against it. We should open the range at once and continue using our radio."

Pham nodded. "I concur. We'll move out to about ten kilometers distance and observe remotely." He jotted down a quick response. "Have Nguyen send this in response to the Gaocheng. And when he's done, I'll have another coded message for Haiphong."

* * * * *


Response to Gaocheng: "This is a well-known fishing area frequented by civilian vessels. We have received no Notice to Mariners for live ammunition exercises in this region. We strongly protest your irresponsible disregard for nautical safety and urge you to make a 24 hour delay before beginning exercises." [1]

* * * * *


Message on open long-range wireless: "Indochinese Patrol Vessel Ha Giang advises all mariners that Chinese naval vessels have declared previously unannounced live ammunition exercise area near 16° 3'49"N by 114°26'52"E, Macclesfield Bank. All civilian ships are urged to take utmost precautions and avoid area for the immediate period."

* * * * *


Note [1]: The Patrouille Navale Indochinoise, like the French Navy, always issues a Notice to Mariners in advance of live ammunition exercises or large-scale maneuvers, declaring the timeframe and the general area where it will occur. (The exercise of light weaponry up to 57mm doesn't usually apply to this.) In general, the Notice to Mariners is announced anywhere between one day to a few months ahead of time, depending on the scale of exercises. Even in cases where a Notice to Mariners is filed, the French (and Indochinese) see it as the responsibility of the shooter to ensure they don't hit anything. Thus, from the viewpoint of the MN / PNI, the combination of unannounced live ammunition exercises and the Gaocheng's disavowal of responsibility for ammunition use is, at best, highly irresponsible.

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Wednesday, August 28th 2019, 1:45pm

Philippine monitoring stations in the Kapuluan ng Kalayaan note the Ha Giang’s wireless message with grave concern and inform the authorities in Manila. The growing situation will be closely watched.

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Thursday, August 29th 2019, 9:05am

aboard the HICMS Gaocheng
"They are leaving." said one sailor, relieved to see that the Ha Giang was moving.

"We are not ready yet." Zhibin muttered. "They will just move as far as they have to and will keep an eye on us. Helmsman .... Tracking and accompanying our guests with due distance. Message to Flagship 'Ha Giang leaves the area. We will accompany them to a safe distance until further notice.' "



same time aboard the HICMS Guiyang
"Gaochang sent a message, that our guests are moving." the on-board intercom sounded.

"It's about time. At any moment our friends can appear on the horizon." Admiral Yin said.

"New radar contact - bearing 0." came an new message via intercom.

"These will be our protégés." said Admiral Yin. According to his orders, it is the Navy Construction Battalion, which was distributed to various auxiliary ships of the Chinese Navy.

The admiral took a deep breath. "Captain, send to Captain Han of the Youzhun follwing message: 'Set course to our friends and accompany them to our position here.' Message to the Gaocheng: 'Accompany Hai Giang and keep watching.' Execution !"

The frigate Youzhun was the Task Force's closest ship to the new radar contact. A little later, the watch officer of the Youzhun reported: "Ships in sight." Through his binoculars he could see the unmistakable silhouette of the Crane-Ship 1. This was accompanied by a ship of the Heizhi class, a salvage lighter that was built especially for shallow waters, a Dragon-class tug, and the Base Supply Ship Houxin.