Peiping, Feb. 3
The police have been very jumpy these last few days. For some months now, every single person coming into or going out of the city is carefully searched at each gate by police under the supervision of the Japanese military. They have even special women police for this purpose. And in recent weeks, of an evening, pedestrians have been held up and searched on the streets inside the city itself. On the days previous to the China New Year these precautions were tightened up, searchings of persons and cars on all the main streets at all hours were the order of the day.
Large bodies of police were posted at street corners and important points. A last-minute order was sent round to householders forbidding the letting-off of firecrackers. But so ingrained is this passion for noise—presumably this year it was more essential than ever to frighten away the devils—that the order was only partially obeyed., And though the volume of noise was much less than usual, a few bolder spirits still ventured to let off crackers. On the night of New Year's day the electric light suddenly failed, "without any warning, all over the city for two hours, It was at once rumoured that this was an air raid precaution by the authorities, because Paotingfu had been bombed by Chinese planes, That an air attack on Peiping is no longer regarded by the authority absurd dream, but is now envi as an unpleasant possibility, would seem {o be indicated by the fact that the Japanese military authorities have been very busy with air defence measures in recent weeks.
I took the opportunity recently io go for a car trip to the Ming Tombs which lie about 25 miles north. of the city close to the Nankow Pas: The countryside was strangely deserted, very different from ordinary times; one met scarcely anybody on the roads and only a few people in the villages, Otherwise everything was perfectly peaceful. as it may well be, seeing that the Japanese have garrisons of their own in all the small towns, and of Manchoukuo troops in the larger villages. The Tombs themselves were quite unharmed, neither side having touched them or come near them during the fighting in summer.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.