793.94/8637: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State
[Received 11:10 a.m.]
220. Our 218, May 26, 10 a.m.19
1. According to an official of the Foreign Office, the following statement published last night by Central News Agency Nanking is a statement prepared by the Foreign Office.
2.
“The latest Sino-Japanese incident in Swatow was started when a Japanese subject attempted to move into a house in another district of the city without first reporting to the local police and receiving a permit from them as was required by police regulations, declared a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to reports hitherto received at Foreign Office, continued the spokesman, the Japanese subject involved in the affair, Kiyoshi Aoyama, committed bodily assault upon the Chinese police who attempted to persuade him to fulfill the requirements of the police regulations before moving into a new district. One officer and one policeman were said to have been injured. The Japanese was placed under arrest but was handed over to his Consul on the night of the incident. His punishment has been demanded by the local Chinese authorities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed Dr. Philip Tyau, Special Foreign Commissioner in Canton, to proceed to Swatow immediately to make a full inquiry into the matter. It is hoped that the incident will soon be settled amicably on the basis of impartial findings.”
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- Not printed.↩