The Sandongxing Regime, Yang Yuting and Far Eastern International Relations in Pre-World War II Nationalist China

Abstract

The research to date dealing with the assassination of Yang Yuting by order of Zhang Xueliang on 10 January 1929 focuses on the belief that Yang was pro-Japanese. What the research fails to consider, however, is the assassination of Chang Yinhuai on that same date, which pan by no means be attributed to pro-Japanese sentiment, since Chang never studied in Japan, which is the only proof offered for Yang's pro-Japanese position. Could these assassinations have had some other motive? The author of this article believes so, based on two points yet to be considered in the existing research. The first has to do with the public careers and political ideas of the two victims. Studies have clearly shown the political ideas and actions of Zhang Xueliang from the time of the bombing death of Zhang Zuolin at the hands of a Japanese agent on 4 June 1928 to the hoisting of the Nationalist flag on 29 December of that year ; however, a similar analysis of Zhang's activities during that time has yet to be done, due to the a priori assumption that Zhang and Yang were political enemies. Consequently, we have no idea of Yang's policy stances or how they conflicted with Zhang's, other than the former's alleged pro-Japanese sentiment, leading to the conclusion that Yang's assassination was motivated by personal conflict between the two. This is why the author of the present article has felt the need to delve into the political ideas and actions of Yang and Chang Yinhuai. The author's second point focuses on the power structure of the Sandongxing 東三省 Regime and the political roles played in it by Zhang, Yang and Chang. Whenever conflict occurs in any political regime, clashes usually occur between factions, not individual politicians. In the case of the Sandongxing Regime, conflict not only occurred along generational lines (between the old timer and newcomer factions), but also geographically between the leading province in the triad, Fengtian, and the other two, Jilin and Heilongjiang. What remains unclear is where Zhang, Yang and Chang stood within the Regime's structure of conflict, which may be the key, to why the latter two were assassinated. One more factor that must be taken into consideration is the situation of the three countries bordering on the Sandongxing region : China, the Soviet Union and Japan. The research to date has tended to emphasize the actions of Japan in the framework of the historical background to its relationship to Manchuria. However, even if it can be proved that Yang was pro-Japanese, it is still important to identify his place in the Regime's structure and the Regime's relationship to its other two neighbors. Also, within the fluid international situation at that time, the Regime's structure was probably also in flux, one good example of which being Yang's assassination. With respect to China, it was being ruled by two central bodies, the government in Beijing ruling over Changcheng 長城 and all points south and the Nationalist government. However, these bodies did not exercise full control over the country in the same manner as the former Qing Dynasty or the later People's Republic. This is why the author deals with the "China factor" focussing not only on the two central ruling bodies, but also the, movements of the various warlord factions.