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After entering the 1930s, although China appeared to have achieved unity on the surface, it still faced numerous internal and external crises. With the outbreak of the Mukden Incident, the January 28 Incident, and the Rehe and Great Wall campaigns, the Nationalist Government’s passive foreign policy and military failures led to widespread dissatisfaction among various public opinions. The government’s prestige in the north continued to decline, presenting local power factions in North China with an opportunity to challenge the Nationalist Government once more. Feng Yuxiang was one such figure. After his defeat in the Central Plains War, he temporarily resided in Linfen, Shanxi, while closely observing political changes, hoping for a comeback. Following the Mukden Incident, Feng sensed a major upheaval within the Nationalist Government and, at the end of the year, announced his intention to head south and participate in the first plenary session of the Kuomintang after Chiang Kai-shek stepped down. Feng’s journey south received high praise from two major northern newspapers, Ta Kung Pao and Yishi Bao. After the January 28 Incident, although anti-Japanese sentiment in China seemed to wane temporarily, Feng Yuxiang retreated from the public eye. However, with the outbreak of the Rehe Campaign and the Great Wall Campaign, Feng seized another opportunity. Before the Tanggu Truce was signed, he took the chance to seize Chahar Province and raised the anti-Japanese banner, forming the Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Army. The Nationalist Government, naturally intolerant of such separatist actions, applied military pressure and used various means to sow discord within the Allied Army. Realizing he was no longer a match for the Nationalist Government, Feng announced the dissolution of the Allied Army, which ultimately survived for less than three months. During its two-month existence, the Chahar Anti-Japanese Allied Army created a sensation in northern Chinese public opinion. Editorials in Ta Kung Pao and Yishi Bao expressed differing views on the matter. Ta Kung Pao opposed Feng Yuxiang’s separatist actions, hoping he would return to Nanjing and cooperate with the Nationalist Government. Yishi Bao, on the other hand, believed Feng’s separatist actions were a defense against external aggression and should be understood. These differing viewpoints were based on the distinct development histories of the two newspapers and reflected the divergent thoughts and ideologies of northern Chinese intellectuals when faced with the crisis.
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