In their designs on Hopei and Charhar provinces, says the paper, ihe. Japanese must have made the seizure of Peiping a prerequisite. their military dispositions during the recent years having been directed toward a complete encircling of that city. The only line of communications which is now left to link Pei-bing with points south is the Peiping-Hankow Railway, on which is located Lukouchiao, the key to the old capital, Situated <t the intersection beween the Fengtai and Lukouchiao branches on the Peiping-Liaoning and Peiping-Hankow Railways, this town will be a much contested strategic stronghold in the coming struggle.
On the pretext of night manœuvres Japanese troops planned to capture Lukouchiao and the Wanping city They have now presented China an ultimatum demanding the complete withdrawal of the 37th Division. Their real aspirations were to turn Peiping into another "demilitarized zone to facilitate their seizure of the old capital, where they will either proclaim a so-called—Hwapeikuo (North China Kingdom) or simply transfer the Manchoukuo regime under Mr. Henry Pu Yi. This 's why the Lukouchiao affair was de fined by General: Chiang Kai hok in his Kuling speech as the fi al test of China's fortitude.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.