Hankow, July 26.
Reports of the Japanese occupation of Kiukiang cannot as yet be confirmed here.
A high Chinese official communicated by telephone at 10 o'clock last night with General Hsiung Shih-hui, Governor of Kiangsi, who then said that "fighting of a very severe nature is going on at Kiukiang, but the Chinese troops are still holding on to the city."
Although the situation is admitted to be critical following the landing of Japanese troops on the eastern cxtskirts of Kiukieng, at this morn ing's meeting of the Executive Yuan the War Minister, General Ho Ying: ching, made no reference to the Chi. nese evacuation of the port.
The latest Chinese reports say that skirts of Kiukisng, as Japanese warships. steaming upriver from Hukov Jare exchanging fire with Chinese shore batteries.
The Japanese are also stated to have effected a landing at the Asiatic Petroleum and Standard Oil Company installations three miles below Kiukiang.
The majority of buildings along the Kiukiang Bund are said to have been demolished by a heavy aerial and naval bombardment.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.