Reporter on "N.-C.D.N." Staff Attempt to Photograph Decorated Hotel Door Causes Mauling, Tie-Pulling, and Search of Person An assault was made by an armed Japanese soldier on Mr. V. F. Meis-ling, "North-China Daily News' reporter, at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon in Tiendong Road across from the New Asia Hotel. The soldier, attached temporarily to the Japanese Gendarmerie, came running out of the lobby as the American journalist attempted to photograph the decora ated entrance to the hotel, struck him a number of blows, with his clenched fists, pulled his necktie, searched him, and then pushed him across the street and into the hotel. Mr. Meisling. who did not endeavour to defend himself, was hit four times in the chest and three or four times in the back. One blow was directed at the small camera he was carrying, after he had put it in his coat pocket.
Witnesses of the assault were two Indian watchmen and some Chinese who appeared out of the hotel. When Mr. Meisling arrived in Tiendong Road. only the watchmen were in the street and they made no objection to his opening his camera and training it on the hotel entrance, which was adorned with the banner of the new Central Chinese regime and the Japanese flag, crossed. There was no Japanese, civilian or military, in sight. Suddenly, however, the Japanese soldier appeared from inside the hotel, ran across the street and started to strike the newspaper-man.
Mr. Meisling tried to make the soldier understand, by gestures, that he had taken no pictures of the hotel, but he failed to placate the man. The soldier, who was short and stocky, apparently sought to hit the reporter in the face. Mr. Meisling, however, standing well over six feet, the gen-dorine only managed to pommel the upper part of his chest. He further hit the small of his back, pulled his necktie, and searched him, before shoving him towards the hotel entrance—all the while addressing him in Japanese. The Indian watchmen followed the pair across the street.
Inside the lobby, Mr. Meisling was denied the use of a telephone and was told by a Chinese to wait, after he had presented his card. At this juncture a Japanese civilian, who appeared to be an official, walked over to him from the back of the lobbyland asked him, in English, what had happened. The Japanese civilian said a few words to the gendarme and then told Mr. Meisling in English that he was free to go and to take the picture of the hotel entrance.
Mr. Meisling reported the assault first at Hongkew Police Station, then to the officer in charge of the Gendarmerie headquarters in the Bridge House, and finally to the office of the American Consul-General. The Gendarmerie officer said that the soldier who attacked the journalist was only temporarily attached to the Gendarmes, and promised that an investigation would be made.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.