Mei Ting's Diary Excerpt (5)
Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar June 1 Thursday weather:
I'm so furious, I'm so furious. Just last night, the Japanese army bombarded Wanping County, and the war has broken out in the northern part of Beijing. As a journalist, I keenly sense that this outbreak is not ordinary. Since the beginning of this year, Japan has been making friendly gestures towards our country, but unexpectedly, they have launched an attack on our North China region, with their spearhead directly pointing at the old capital city of Beijing. What do they mean by this? Do they want to expand the war and engage in a full-scale war with our country? But is our government prepared for war? The defense of the entire Beijing-Tianjin area relies solely on the 29th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which has outdated weapons and equipment that are no match for those of the Japanese invaders. Is there any chance of winning this battle?
What makes me even angrier is that this deadbeat, actually broke his promise and didn't let me go to the front line for an interview. A real man's word is his bond, what does it mean? It's clear he thinks I'm in the way. This guy even arranged for a guard to watch me, I don't even have personal freedom anymore, it's suffocating. No way, I need to find an opportunity to go to the front line for an interview, otherwise this trip to Beiping is pointless.
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The Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar June 19 Monday weather:
Yesterday, that guy who makes me so angry, actually had his guard buy me a ticket to Pukou and forced me onto the train. He was afraid I'd get off halfway, so he even had his guard escort me all the way to Pukou. How can he do this? I'm not some kind of person of his or anything. In these two weeks, I haven't been able to interview anyone because the guard he sent has been watching me like a hawk, and I didn't have any chance at all. What a waste of half a month! He said I could interview people but went back on his word. Hmph, next time I see him, just watch me scold him until his face turns red!
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The Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar July 10th Sunday weather:
The Second Battle of Shanghai has broken out again, those damned Japanese, they actually launched another attack on Shanghai. I remember five years ago, also in Shanghai, these Japanese relied on their superior ships and artillery to launch the first battle. Now, they want to launch another invasion against Shanghai. Fortunately, this time our government finally made up its mind to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese devils in Shanghai. I heard that the highest command is preparing to deploy their most elite German-equipped division onto the battlefield of Shanghai. This time, those Japanese soldiers will get what's coming to them! I don't believe that our country would mobilize so many troops and still fail to eliminate the small number of Japanese naval infantry in Shanghai. Blessings on my China!
The Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar July 27 Wednesday weather:
Originally, our country's military had the upper hand, but now it has been put on the defensive. The Japanese reinforcements have arrived and are forcibly landing at Wusongkou. Our troops are fighting to the death, but still cannot stop the enemy's landing. It seems that the Battle of Shanghai is going to be a tough one. All of our country's elite troops have already been deployed to the Songhu battlefield, but so far, the effect is not obvious, and all the armies have suffered heavy losses. The citizens of Shanghai are donating money and goods to support the anti-Japanese troops' determination to resist Japan.
I asked the newspaper director several times to send me to the Songhu Battle as a war correspondent, but the director just wouldn't let me go. Is it just because I'm a girl that I'm not allowed on the front lines? Isn't this gender discrimination?
Nanjing has been quite turbulent these days, with daily air raids by the Japanese military. The air raid sirens have been wailing loudly every day. Apart from being a bit panicked and tense at first, we've become numb to it all. After all, they come to visit our Nanjing skies every day, so whenever the air raid siren goes off, we just head down to the air-raid shelter. That's just how life has been passing by...
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