Chungking, June 6.
AST week's fighting on all fronts has died down according to a Chinese military spokesman here, apparently owing to a lack of sufficient troops as well as a clear-cut fighting plan on the part. of the Japanese, While the situation in Kwan; some minor movements took pi spokesman denied the importane, stung and Kiangsi was unaltered, lace along the Han River. The of the Japanese advance across the Han river towards Chienkiang as only about 1,000 Japanese troops were engaged in this action.
The spokesman added that for the time being no further was to be expected.
Contrary to recent reports from the front. about increased Japanese activity in central and western Shansi, where the Japanese are trying to each the Yellow River, the spakes-man declared that only minor engagements were taking place and that it would be wrong to attach any undue importance to" this. Instead the spokesman stressed that the new Yel~ low River bed caused by last year's breaking of dykes when the Yellow River was foreed on a southeastward course between Chengchow and Kal-feng. was now being widened by the Japanese in order to direct the low fof the Yellow River, which is expeet= ed to come in flood soon, solely along the new bed.
The present breach of 200 metres was being widened to 1,000 metres, the Chinese spokesman declared. Thereby the Japanese, he added, hoped to create a natural barrier Hbetween the Japanese forces on the eastern bank and the Chinese alan the western bank, which would set free a considerable number of Japanese who could be used elsewhere, 'This move is interpreted by Chiness citoles as an indication that the apanese are abandoning the plan of pushing on' towards Chengehow.—
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.