Section 3 Movement of Regaining Post Authorities

Modern post started from the customs post, with strong semi-colony colour. After Qing Post was established, it still didn't break away from the customs. Post manager was grasped by foreigners, almost all high-level post administrators were foreigners. Only after the Republic of China was founded, heads of the General Post Administration Bureau was taken by Chinese officials.

By 1917, the Ministry of Communication of the Republic of China changed the Chief of Post taken by foreigners to the assistant of the Head of the Bureau. But H. Picard-Destelan regulated in "Post Regulations" that Chief of the Post had the authority of final decision. Meanwhile, Chinese head of the post bureau didn't participated in the work, and became the set-off of foreigners. Some high-level foreigners monopolized the authorities. Chinese low-level post staff and postman only had low salaries, which formed a great difference with foreign staff. They worked hard, and were oppressed by foreigners, which accumulated their anger. When republic revolutionary army undertook punitive expedition northward and occupied the areas along the Yangtze River, under the leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC), post labour unions were organized in all southern provinces and movements of regaining post authorities were widely set off. Firstly, post labour Union of Hunan province struggled with French Post Chief C.M.R.A de jaurias, who closed down the issue of stamps, stopped remittance cashing and undertook conspiracy destruction under the instruction of H. Picard-Destelan. Hunan Provincial Government dismissed C.M.R.A. de jaurias from his post, appointed Chinese official Shi Zongyue as the Post Chief of Hunan and regained the post administrative authorities. Post Labour Union of Hubei Province led post workers of Wuhan to be on strike. Post Chief G.Tudhope was scared and escaped from Hubei. The succeeding Post Chief A.M.Chapelain continued to be hostile to post workers. Post Labour Union continuously exposed his crimes, and requested to expel him, which was widely supported by public opinions. The Ministry of Communication of the Republic Government of Wuhan sent officials to investigate and handle it. Post workers of Zhejiang provinces also undertook the movement of regaining post authorities. By then, N.B.Doodha, a British Indian as post chief of Zhejiang Province was a spy, he collected information in Gansu and Zhejiang, and gathered intelligence about the activities of Northern Expeditionary Army. Post Labour Union of Hangzhou exposed his crimes as a spy. Because the evidence was conclusive, public opinions were boiling, Post Chief H.Picard-Destelan had to let him leave China in the name of "retiring". On March 7, 1927, under the leadership of Communist Party of China, National Post Worker Congress was held in Hankou which passed tens of resolutions including establishing Labour Union, regaining post authorities, setting up POst superVisor, modifying post outlines, and established National Post Labour Union. Chiang Kai-shek's anti-revolutionary coup tat suppressed the mass struggle. But this struggle played an important role in Kuomintang Government to regain highest level post administration.