Min Kuo Jih Pao
[4] At its inception, the Min Kuo Jih Pao was dedicated to opposing Yuan Shikai, actively supporting the Constitutional Protection Movement, and criticising the Beiyang Government.
After Sun Yat-sen's death, control of the newspaper shifted to the Western Hills Conference faction, leading to the Nationalist Party's central committee reorganising the paper in 1926.
the Min Kuo Jih Pao was established on 22 January 1916 in the Shanghai French Concession by Chen Qimei and others, with Ye Chucan and Shao Lizi serving as its chief editors.
[3] At its launch, the newspaper's main objective was to oppose Yuan Shikai,[9] and its inaugural editorial stated:[5]In the spring when autocratic tyranny is exposed, on the day when righteous forces rise throughout the land, we, the Min Kuo Jih Pao, solemnly present our first words to compatriots nationwide: Despotism leads inevitably to chaos, usurpation demands rightful punishment; complacency is not a strategy for safeguarding our land, and tolerance is not the path of righteousness.
Today, as wounds fester and our realm teeters on the brink of collapse, with the source of our troubles not yet eradicated, and extinction looming, our compatriots furrow their brows in distress, a sentiment not new to this day.
Yet, why do we still not rise in self-defence?In subsequent reports, the newspaper continued to refer to Yuan Shikai as a "tyrant," describing his government as "evil" and criticising his attempt to restore the monarchy as "a treacherous theft of the nation."
[10] Following Yuan Shikai's failed attempt to declare himself emperor in March 1916, the Min Kuo Jih Pao actively supported the Protection Movement led by Sun Yat-sen, criticising the Beiyang warlord government.
It also featured special coverage on the third anniversary of the death of Tongmenghui elder and founding member of the KMT, Song Jiaoren, using the occasion to denounce Yuan's regime.
[7] After the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, Shao Lizi was invited to a tea party hosted by the Shanghai Student Union at the Carlton Cafe on Ningbo Road.
Inspired by the Min Kuo Jih Pao and other newspapers, nearly ten thousand people in Shanghai joined the strike and boycott movement in early June.
[13] In January 1926, the Second National Congress of the KMT passed a resolution to discipline individuals like Ye Chucan and ordered that the newspaper "be handed over for reorganisation or complete change of attitude.
"[5] The Central Executive Committee of the KMT in Guangzhou declared the newspaper to be occupied by reactionary elements, with absurd discussions and greatly deviating from the party's principles.
[5] Between 1927 and 1932, the newspaper's political commentary was highly aligned with the Nanjing government, adopting anti-Soviet and anti-Communist stances, and participated in propaganda against the Guangxi and Guangdong factions, the Fengtian clique, and the reorganisationists.
[6] In 1929, Fudan University professor Hong Shen, after watching the American film Welcome Danger at the Grand Guangming Theater in Shanghai, took the stage inside the cinema to vehemently denounce the movie for insulting China and called for a boycott.
After his release, Hong Shen sued in court and published articles in the Min Kuo Jih Pao calling for a boycott, leading to the film's lead actor issuing a public apology to the Chinese people in American newspapers, banning the film's screening in other Chinese cities, and forcing the Grand Guangming Theater to publicly apologise to Hong Shen.
The Min Kuo Jih Pao reported on this incident, with the headline on the unsuccessful attempt to kill the Japanese Emperor and a subtitle that read "Unfortunately, Only the Secondary Car Was Damaged."
[15] On January 27, following the Japanese demand to suspend the Min Kuo Jih Pao, the Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Youren and Sun Ke resigned in protest.
