Show CHINESE PIRATES OPENLY DEFY LAW Trade a Flourishing One in Eastern Waters The fine art of ot buccaneering ns as practiced by the sea wolves of south China Chinn may lack much of the romance and of ot the days daSs of the SpanIsh SpanIsh Spanish Span Span- ish Main but the principle Is exactly the same Blood Is spilled ships are are- captured by the dozens and hundreds of ot captives carried oft off for ransom In many respects the Chinese buccaneer buccaneer buc buc- caneer r is a more crafty more cold cold- blooded Individual than the Captain KIdds of ot yore Afraid of ot nothing except except except ex ex- possibly a n bath he pursues his calling with methodical boldness and today as centuries ago spreads terror terror terror ter ter- and death among the ships plying the South China seas Bias Bins bay about 65 05 miles mlles from almost within the range of British guns Is the stronghold of ot the pirate gangs Almost continual warfare has hns been conducted against them for five decades but they still carry on Braving battleships and b I air lanes tier hn su mar nos w. w ev en p I. I uJ ey sally forth In their little Junks seize a merchantman kidnap a n few v Chinese and return to their base where they appear to live the lives of simple and harmless fishermen In the last ten years ears an nn average of three foreign ships a year have been pirated in BIns Bias bay territory How many Chinese ships and Junks have been seized Is not known but ItIs It Itis itis is safe to presume that the total rung runs into three figures annually Until recently Decently little resistance was offered by th the ships ship's officers and piracy was considered by the Chinese a fairly safe trade to follow In the case of foreign vessels all aU piracies are committed by men posIng posing posing pos pos- ing as ns passengers The danger would be too great to Lo risk staging an attack by the sea although that method proved effective in the days of sailIng sailing sailIng sail- sail Ing ships With supplies of arms and ammu ammu- smuggled smuggled aboard and the ship well veIl out at nt sea the pirates usually In the steerage attack the crew at nt ata nta a given gl signal from the lead leader r. r One group attacks s the bridge and seizes the captain another the engine room while a n third ers co the passengers at nt pistols pistol's point and I keeps them from interfering After Arter the ship has hns been captured the pilot Is ordered to steer for a point of ot land where comrades of ot the pirates are waiting in the meantime meantime meantime mean mean- time the passengers arc robbed of their valuables those to be taken captive lined up on the deck and bound while the ships ship's stores are relieved relieved re re- of all nIl articles that can cnn be conveniently handled I The chief reason renson that piracy Is allowed allowed al 01 al- al lowed to continue In South China Is that the British authorities are more or less powerless to conduct an expedItIon expedition ex ex- on a n big scale without InfringIng Infringing infringing In In- fringing on Chinese sovereign rights Although the Chinese authorities themselves have admitted their Inability inability in in- ability to deal with the buccaneers they have refused many times to co- co with the British In any effort to punish the freebooters |