Jinan Incident
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The Jinan Incident (Japanese:済南事件) or May 3rd Incident (Traditional Chinese: 五三慘案 , Simplified Chinese: 五三惨案) was an armed conflict between the Japanese Army and the Kuomintang's southern army in Jinan, the capital of Shandong in 1928 during the KMT's Northern Expedition.
Afraid that the Nanjing government would end Japanese occupation in Shandong, Japan dispatched an army to protect its interests in 1927. The army retreated from Shandong after a few months because the Northern Expedition was interrupted. The next year the Kuomintang resumed the campaign and Japan sent troops to Shandong in response. Some of these troops occupied Jinan.
Many of the northern warlords, at the time allied with various foreign powers, resisted the unifying Kuomintang forces. In 1927, the Shangdong warlord Chang Tsung-tsang (張宗昌) allied himself with Japan to slow down the Kuomintang's push into northern China. In April, the Kuomintang army arrived at Jinan and engaged in heavy fighting with Chang's and Japan's armies. In May Chiang Kai-Shek requested withdrawal from Jinan, guaranteeing the safety of Japanese residents. However, on May 3rd, during negotiations the Japanese resumed fire on Chinese civilians. They also captured 18 Chinese diplomats sent to negotiate, including the Kuomintang official Tsai Kung-shih (蔡公時), who was later tortured to death by having his face disfigured). Fighting resumed between the Chinese and the Japanese troops and it was not until March 1928 when a cease-fire was arranged that the Japanese agreed to pull out of Jinan. Approximately five thousand Chinese civilians were killed during the course of this conflict.
ja:済南事件 [[zh:五三慘案]