Hankow, June 22. IGHTING is going on at present in the vicinity of Taihu, where the situation is said to be critical, the Chinese military spokesman declared today.
Taihu is on the north bank of the Yangtze near the Hupeh-Anhwei.border, north of Matung, where the Chinese boom is situated, Continuing their "relentless drive" westward along the north bank of the Yangtze, the spokesman went on, the Japanese, after the occupation of shan, launched a "vigorous assault" on Chinese positions at Taihu, from which, the spokesman declared, the Japanese hope to advance southward towards Susung, southwest of Tsienshan, for a drive into Hupeh province via Huangmei.
The breathing space afforded by the Yellow River floods to the Chinese armies is being feverishly used by the Chinese {o reorganize and take Uup positions to defend Hankow from the north-west, in addition to the defences already "taken against attack along the Yangtze.
The new Chinese line now stated to! have been formed is more or less 3 straight line running diagonally across Honan province from Kunghsien, 35 miles west of Chengchow, on the Lunghai at the northernmost Wemity, "through Hsucheng, on the Peiping-Hankow Railway. 60 miles fouth of Chengchow, to) Kushihy in the corner where south Honan joins Anhwei at the southernmost.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.