Section 3 Post Sustained in the Calamity

After August 1937 when Shanghai was occupied, General Post Bureau was forced to move from Naming to Hankou. In 1938, Hankou was occupied, it moved to the rear areas, first Kunming, then Chongqing. For the post in occupied or to be occupied areas, China Post carried out the policy to maintain it as far as possible, and regulated that as long as the Japanese and the puppet government didn't interfere in post and persuaded to use their stamps, post office wouldn't retreat and still maintain the communication with rear areas.

China Post also deliberately let Italians F.Poletti and E.caretti stay in Beijing and Tianjin separately, French A.M.Chapelain stay in Shanghai, British V.Smith stay in Hankou to administrate post in occupied areas. In 1938, "Branch Office of Guangzhou Post Office" was set up in Hong Kong, and was managed by British W.O.Murray. In April 1939, "Mail Transfer Office" was set up m Vietnam' French J.Jouveiet was appointed to manage it. But Japanese pressed up to the post in occupied areas, from tightening its control to taking over totally. China Post had to frequently modified its postal routes to keep mall delivery as far as possible via Hong Kong, Shanghai, Be1Jing, Tianjin. Later, southern provinces were occupied by Japanese Army, Yue-Han railway was cut down, coastal ports were blocked, 10 routes tO Hong Kong, Macao were broken. China Post opened up truck postal route between Chongqing, Guiyang, Kunming and Burma to transport mails on land, through the airlines of Chongqing-Hong Kong, Chongqing-Rangoon, Chongqing-Moscow to transport mails by air. After the Pacific War broke out, airlines to Hong Kong and Rangoon were cut off, so it changed to transport mails through the airline of Chongqing-Calcutta of India, and opened up several routes to Russia to transport non-airmails, maintaining international post communication as far as possible. China Post developed from coastal and economically developed eastern and central areas. Post in northwest and southwest was underdeveloped with less post office networks and personnels. To meet the requirements of the resistant war, China Post developed post network in rear areas.

Early before the resistance war, General Bureau of China Post intended to purchase trucks to operate post independently because the situation was getting tenser. In 1936, 1937, it purchase 300 trucks to be used in the period of war. After the War of the Resistance against Japan broke out, the military lent some trucks and they purchased some more, total over 400. Besides short-distance post transportation, two major private-owned postal lines of South-North and East-West were opened up, i.e to Baoshan of Yunan in the South, Baoji of Shannxi in the North, total 3,000 long, to Chongqing to west, Longguan of Zhejiang to east, except a section of railway. There were total truck route over 2,000 km. Besides carrying mails, it also carried passengers if there was vacancy. Because post truck was safe and in time, there were lots of passengers. It has good reputations. Meanwhile, over 10,000 post offices and post boxes were developed in rear areas, recruiting over 10,000 post staff and set up military post officials in military areas and the basis of the resistance war. It improved services but increased expenditure. With the plundering of post in occupied areas by Japan, the business range of China Post gradually narrowed. Business shrunk, income decreased. With the rising price, the increasing transportation cost and salaries, post economy degraded gradually, which caused deficit. The deficit from 1941 to 1944 reach 978 million Yuan, and more in 1945, China Post was in a dangerous situation.