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TheMay Thirtieth Movement (simplified Chinese:五卅运动;traditional Chinese:五卅運動;pinyin:Wǔsà Yùndòng) was a majorlabor andanti-imperialist movement during the middle-period of theRepublic of China era. It began when theShanghai Municipal Police opened fire on Chinese protesters inShanghai'sInternational Settlement on 30 May 1925 (theShanghai massacre of 1925). The shootings sparked international censure and nationwide anti-foreign demonstrations and riots[1] such as theHands Off China protests in the United Kingdom.
In the aftermath of the 1924Second Zhili–Fengtian War, China found itself in the midst of one of the most destructive periods of turmoil since 1911.[2] The war had involved every major urban area in China, and badly damaged the rural infrastructure. As a result of the conflict theZhili-controlled government, backed by varied Euro-American business interests, was ousted from power by pro-Japanese warlordZhang Zuolin, who installed a government led by the generally unpopular statesmanDuan Qirui in November 1924. Though victorious, the war left Zhang's central government bankrupt and Duan exercised little authority outside Beijing. Authority in the north of the country was divided between Zhang andFeng Yuxiang, aSoviet Union-backed warlord, and public support for the northern militarists soon hit an all-time low, with southerners openly disparaging provincial governors asjunfa (warlords).[2] With his monarchist leanings and strong base in conservativeManchuria, Zhang represented the far right in Chinese politics and could claim few supporters. Meanwhile, theKMT (Nationalist) and Communist parties (allied as theFirst United Front) were running a diplomatically unrecognized Soviet-backed administration in the southern province ofGuangdong.[citation needed]
Alongside public grief at the recent death of China's Republican heroSun Yat-sen (12 March 1925), the KMT andChinese Communist Party (CCP) groups were particularly involved in unionising in Shanghai through the far-leftShanghai University.[3] Shanghai's native Chinese were strongly unionised compared to other cities and better educated, and recognised their plight as involving lack of legal factory inspection, recourse for worker grievances or equal rights.[4] Educated Chinese were also offended by the council's plan to introduce a newcensorship law, forcing all publications in the Settlement to use the publisher's true name and address.[citation needed]
In early months of 1925, strikes on those matters intensified.Japanese-owned cotton mills were a source of contention, and demonstrations between Japanese owners and Chinese employees around the #8 Cotton Mill became regular occurrences. In early May, workers at Shanghai Naga Wata Kaisha company began striking again in an effort to force company management to negotiate.[5]: 109 On 15 May, a Japanese guard employed by the company shot and killed a worker named Gu Zhenghong.[5]: 109 The killing resulted in public outrage.[5]: 109 The Shanghai Students Union began fundraising campaigns and delivered speeches condemning the killing.[5]: 109
A week after the killing, a group of students, heading for Ku's public "state" funeral and carrying banners, were arrested while traveling through the International Settlement. With their trial set for 30 May, various student organisations convened in the days before and decided to hold mass demonstrations across the International Settlement and outside theMixed Court.[citation needed]
On 30 May 1925, the Communist Party organized ananti-imperialist protest in which thousands of workers, students, and others marched towards the British concession on Nanjing road.[5]: 110
Just after the trial of the arrested students began,Shanghai Municipal Police arrested 15 ringleaders of a student protest being held on and around Nanjing Road, in the foreign controlledInternational Settlement. The protesters were held in Louza (Laozha) police station, which by 2:45 pm was facing a "huge crowd" of Chinese that had amassed outside. The demonstrators demanded the arrested ringleaders be returned to them. Police on Nanking Road reported the crowd, which was between 1,500 and 2,000 strong, started good-naturedly but became more aggressive as arrests were made.[citation needed]
A picket of police (there was only a skeleton staff of approximately two dozen officers overall, predominantlySikh andChinese, with threewhite officers) was set up to prevent demonstrators from entering the station.[6][7] Inspector Edward Everson, station commander and the highest-ranking officer on the scene (as the police commissioner K.J. McEuen had not let early warnings of public demonstrations interfere with his attendance at the city's Race Club) eventually shouted, "Stop! If you do not stop I will shoot!" inWu. A few seconds later, at 3:37 pm, and as the crowd was within six feet of the station entrance, he fired into the crowd with hisrevolver. The Sikh and Chinese policemen then also opened fire, discharging some 40 rounds. At least four demonstrators were killed at the scene, with another five dying later of their injuries. At least 14 injured were hospitalized, with many others wounded.[8]
In the evening of 30 May, the Communist Party decided to advocate for a strike of workers, students, and markets across Shanghai.[5]: 110
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On Sunday, 31 May, crowds of students protested. They then convened at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, where they gave a list of demands, including punishment of the officers involved in the shooting, an end toextraterritoriality and closure of theShanghai International Settlement. The president of the Chamber of Commerce was away, but eventually his deputy agreed to press for the demands to be carried out.
The Municipal Council declared a state of martial law on Monday, 1 June, calling up theShanghai Volunteer Corps militia and requesting foreign military assistance to carry out raids and protect vested interests. Over the next month Shanghai businesses and workers went on strike.
On 4 November 1925,Cai Hesen's brother, Cai Linzheng, was shot and killed while leading a workers' picket team during the Guangzhou-Hong Kong strike.[5]: 110
The numbers of Chinese killed and injured in the 30 May Movement's protests vary: figures normally vary between 30 and 200 dead, with hundreds injured.
The incident shocked and galvanized China, and the strikes and boycotts, quickly spread across the country, bringing foreign economic interests to a near standstill.[9] The 15 "ringleaders" originally arrested on 30 May were given light or suspended sentences by Shanghai's foreign-runMixed Court.
The target of public ire moved from the Japanese (for the killing of Ku Chen-Hung) to the British, andHong Kong was particularly affected (the strikes were there known as theCanton-Hong Kong strike).[8] Further shootings by foreigners upon Chinese protesters occurred atCanton,Mukden and elsewhere. Indeed, the Chinese warlords used the incident as a pretext to further their own political aims. WhileFeng Yuxiang threatened to attack British interests via force and demanded a public apology,Zhang Zuolin, who effectively controlled Shanghai's Chinese outskirts, had his police and soldiers arrest protesters and Communists and assist the Settlement forces.[citation needed]
Two investigations into the events of 30 May were ordered, one by Chinese authorities and one by international appointees, JusticeFinley Johnson (presiding), Judge of the Court of First Instance in the Philippines (representing America), SirHenry Gollan, Chief Justice of Hong Kong (representing Britain) and JusticeKisaburo Suga of the Hiroshima Court of Appeal (representing Japan). The Chinese authorities refused to participate in the international investigation, which found 2-1 that the shooting justifiable. Only the Justice Finley from America disagreed and recommended sweeping changes, including the retirement of the chief of the Settlement Police, Commissioner McEuen, and Inspector Everson. Their forced resignation in late-1925 would be the only official result of the inquiry.[citation needed]
By November, withChiang Kai-shek having finally wrested power from his rivals after Sun Yat-sen's death and with Chinese businesses wishing to return to operation (the Settlement had begun cutting electricity to Chinese mills), the strikes and protests began to fizzle out.[6] In Hong Kong, however, they would not totally end until mid-1926. TheKuomintang's support for the movement, and itsNorthern Expedition of 1926–27, eventually led to reforms in the governance of the International Settlement'sShanghai Municipal Council and the beginning of the removal of theUnequal Treaties.[citation needed]
The May Thirtieth events caused the transfer of the Muslim Chengda College and Imam (Ahong)Ma Songting to Beijing.[10]
The May Thirtieth Movement began a period of increasing radicalization and militancy among China's industrial workers, students, and progressive intellectuals.[11]: 61 It resulted in a major period of growth for the CCP.[12]: 56 By the end of 1925, the number of Communist Party members had risen to approximately 10,000 from 994 at the time of the Fourth Congress earlier that year.[5]: 110 Local communist organizations also expanded rapidly.[5]: 110
The movement also helped boost the Kuomintang to national hegemony.[12]: 56
In the 1990s, theMay Thirtieth Movement Monument was installed atPeople's Park.[citation needed]
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