on China for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries . When the representative of the Soviet Government arrived in Peking in 1922 , he was warmly welcomed by the Peking inhabitants , but treated with indifference by the Peking government . However , the great friendship between the peoples of these two countries was inalienable . W hen the Soviet Government once more sent an envoy to Peking in September 1923 , reiterating its willingness to relinquish all tsarist privileges in China and to conduct peace talks with the Chinese Government , the latter was hard put to it to find any excuse for refusal . The negotiations resulted in the conclusion of a friendly treaty — The Agreement on General Principles for the Settlement of Outstanding Questions Between the Republic of China and the USSR .
In accordance with the principles enunciated in the Soviet statements on China , the Soviet Government declared in the Agreement the unconditional abrogation of all the unequal treaties concluded between the tsarist and the Chinese governments relinquishment of all rights to concessions , leased territories , and so on in China , as well as of the Russian portion of the “ Boxer ” indemnity and extraterritoriality , and abandonment of all the privileges ( with the exception of matters pertaining to the business operations ) in connection with the Chinese Eastern Railway . This treaty , unprecedented in China ’ s history of foreign relations , elicited enthusiastic response from the Chinese people .
Furthermore , the Soviet Union helped Sun Yat-sen to establish a revolutionary army . The extreme importance of such an army had been borne upon Sun Yat-sen by the repeated failures of past revolutionary attempts . Accordingly , he decided to set up a military academy on the pattern of that of 12 the Soviet Red Army . The result was the founding of the W hampoa Military Academy in Canton in May 1924 . Cadets of this academy formed the backbone of the newlyestablished National Revolutionary Army , the chief fighting force which later brought the whole of Kwangtung under the revolutionary government and carried out the Northern Expedition .
The establishment of the revolutionary united front aroused the hostility and fear of the imperialists , warlords and compradors , who began to make joint efforts to oppose it . A reflection of this struggle within the ranks of the Kuomintang was the activities of Feng Tzu-yu and other reactionaries , who openly opposed the Kuomintang -Communist cooperation , the Communist Party itself , the Soviet Union and the workers ’ strikes , and set about organizing an anti-Communist alliance in collusion with the imperialists and all other reactionaries . Subsequently , they were followed by Chang Chi , Hsieh Chih , Tsou Lu and other anti- Communist elements in the Kuomintang who also opposed the Kuomintang-Communist cooperation and the revolutionary united front .
The struggle between the revolutionaries and the counterrevolutionaries assumed its fiercest form in the Incident of the Kwangtung Merchant Volunteers Corps in October 1924 . The corps was an armed organization of landlords and compradors headed by Chen Lim-pak , a comprador of the British-owned Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation . Backed by the British imperialists and allied with the warlord Chen Chiung-ming , the corps schemed for the overthrow of Sun Yat-sen ’ s revolutionary government in Kwangtung by a concerted attack from both within and without . But Sun Yat-sen displayed great resolution in the struggle , and with the support of the worker and peasant masses , the revolutionary government successfully put down the armed riot of the Merchant Volunteers Corps .
With the rise of the Chinese revolution , the working-class movement revived .
After the February 7 Massacre , the trade unions on the Peking- Hankow Railway and in the city of W uhan were banned and other trade unions were also compelled to go underground , with the exception of those in Canton and Hunan . But though the revolutionary government in Canton had recognized the trade unions , and much was achieved by the Anyuan Trade Union which persisted in its struggle , the working-class movement of the country as a whole was temporarily at a low ebb . At that time the most urgent tasks of the trade unions were to provide relief to the workers and to resume the struggle . The Trade Union Secretariat organized a special committee to make collections for the relief of the many victims and their families . Learning from the experiences of the international working-class movement , the Chinese Communist Party made it a central task to organize “ factory trade union groups ,” i . e ., secret groups of less than ten people in factory workshops , for the purpose of organizing the masses of the workers . In February 1924 , the National Railway Workers Trade Union Federation was established in Peking .
The political programme of the Kuomintang provided for the “ enacting of labour laws ” and “ protecting labour organizations .” The working-class movement in Canton was thus enabled to forge ahead , and even a workers ’ army was set up .
In July 1924 , the Communist Party led a big strike of the workers in the foreign factories in the British concession of Shameen , Canton ,
Class Struggle