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Show FORMER PRESIDENT IS AGAIN Ifl OFFICE DEPOSED EXECUTIVE RESUMES POST AFTER FIVE YEARS; MANDATE NAMES PREMIER Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Rule Believed About To Fall As Prime Minister Accepts Ac-cepts Position Under Chief Executive Peking. Li Yuan-Hung, who five years ago was forced out of the presidency presi-dency of China by the militarists, arrived ar-rived here Sunday and resumed the post of the nation's chief executive. LI came from Tientsih in response to the call of the revived republican parliament, which recently met there, that he again assume the direction of China's afairsf. President Li Yuan-Hung issued his i'irst mandate shortly after assuming office, appointing as premier Wu Ting-I'ang, Ting-I'ang, former minister to the United States, and since 1917 one of tlie strongest supporters of tthe Canton government's struggle against what It. termed the militarism of the north. It is understood that Dr. Wu Tins-Fang Tins-Fang has accepted the premiership. In tli meantime President Li lias designated desig-nated Dr. W. W. Yen, former minister under the last premier, Liang Khilu Yi, to act as premier until Dr. Wu's arrival from Canton. The unification of China is declared in oflcial circles here to have been brought considerably nearer by Wu Ting-Fang's acceptance of the premiership. premier-ship. It is asserted that Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Yat-Sen, president of the republic of South China, in whose structure Wu has been a confstent pillar of strength, will be unable much longer to maintain a separate government. Proponents of the reunited China program count on Wu to swing many of Sun's suporters to the new Peking government, which alrea-dy has the backing of a large 'bloc of the revived republican parliament, as well as that of Geranal Wu Pei-Fu, conqueror of Chang Tso-L!fi, and the outstanding outstand-ing military figure of the country. It is expected that in the near fu-ure fu-ure members of the old republican parliament resident in Canton will come to Peking as the result of Wu's assumption of office as the head of the cabinet. Wu Ting-Fang has been on active ijoemy of the Peking government since 1917, when LI Yuan-Hung was forced out of the presidency by the militarists and the republican parliament dissolved. dissolv-ed. At that time he resigned the premiership pre-miership to throw the weight of his support into the struggle of the southwestern south-western provinces against the militarists militar-ists of the north. He consistently has backed the Canton Can-ton government's battle for the restoration restor-ation of the republican parliment, a program which is one of President Li Yuang-Hung's most prominent administrative ad-ministrative planks. Itx is reDOrted here that President Li obtained Dr. Wu's acceptance of the premiership before leaving Tien Tsin. Li's return to the presidency was sought by Wu Pei-Fu, chief of China's military men, as well as by the revive? republican parliament, but the elderly Chinese statesman declared himself reluctant to leave his retirement to reenter the turbid political seas at Peking. On being importuned he said he would undertake the responsibility If all the tuchuns and high inspecting commissioners would resign immediately, immed-iately, accompaying him to Peking to confer on the welfare of China. It was the tuchtm, or military governor, gover-nor, system that brought about the downfall of Li's presidency in 1917. "I am willing to sacrifice myself, but if this program be not adopted, the extii-ction of the nation is before our eyes. It is my inclination to stay until death in Tien Tsin, my home. I have no more desire to see the people peo-ple of the world. I am old. "What ambition I have is only to see reunion, and I would lay down my life to bring it about a day earlier." |