Cui Xiaoqian Explained

Office1:Director of the Department of Finance
Term Start1:October 15, 1937
Term End1:September 1, 1939
1Blankname1:Head of state
1Namedata1:Xia Gong (as representing North Shanxi in the Mengjiang United Committee)
2Blankname1:Head of government
2Namedata1:Maejima Masu
Office2:Mengjiang Bank Committee
Term Start2:November 23, 1937
Term End2:January 16, 1938
1Blankname2:Head of state
2Blankname2:Director-general
2Namedata2:Booyüweijiyuu (Baoyuejiao)
Successor2:Chen Wenbing
Predecessor1:Position established
Successor1:Ma Yongkui
Nationality:Han Chinese
Residence:Datong
Profession:Government official
Cabinet:Xia Gong Government

Cui Xiaoqian was a government figure in both Mengjiang and North Shanxi during the Second Sino-Japanese War when these regions were under Japanese occupation. Little information is known about Cui himself, though his position inside the North Shanxi Autonomous Government is apparent.

Under the leadership of Cui Xiaoqian, Japanese efforts to extend their control of occupation were enacted, such as with the creation of the Labor Control Committee of North Shanxi.

Career

On October 15, 1937, Cui was appointed to the position of director within the Department of Finance of the North Shanxi Autonomous Government during the "Bring the Shanxi Province to Autonomy" conference held in Datong. It is unknown if Cui served any role in the interim administration of Chen Yuming while the region was still under direct Japanese army control before October 15, 1937, though this may have occurred. After this date however, Cui was given an official role within the new collaborationist government of North Shanxi along with Hashimoto Otoji, who served as his consultant.[1] [2]

On November 23, 1937, a month after being appointed into the government of North Shanxi, Cui was appointed into the Mengjiang Bank Committee, a part of the Xingya Association. This position allowed Cui to maintain an important role in maintaining the region's economics, despite not being Japanese, or part of the Japanese government in a more direct manner.

In mid-1939, the Labor Control Committee of North Shanxi was created. This organization, which was under the control of the North Shanxi Department of Finance, pressed 8,000 Chinese laborers into coal mining operations in and around Datong until the group's dissolution in 1943.[3]

Some of Cui's economic decisions have been criticized, such as the lack of economic cohesion in North Shanxi at this time. Despite being an integral member of the so-called "economic unification" of Mengjiang, North Shanxi, and South Chahar, over 17 different currencies were used within the state. This led to, as described by Zhang Fo of Hebei University, a "chaotic" situation.[4] Under Cui, bank-made and company-made currencies were banned however, showing at least a basic effort towards economic centralization within the state.[5]

In 1938, Cui was replaced in his position by Chen Wenbing within the Mengjiang Bank Committee, though he was still part of the larger Xingya Association. The following year, however, Cui Xiaoqian lost his position within the North Shanxi Autonomous Government when it became a semi-autonomous province of Mengjiang, lessening the autonomy of the state to a point where the sub-national administration was not needed.

References

  1. Book: 山西文史资料56. Shanxi People's Publishing House. 1988. Taiyuan, China. 45–47. Shanxi Literature and History Materials 56.
  2. Web site: 日伪晋北自治政府的成立. 27 Sep 2018. blog.sina.com.cn. Chinese. The Establishment of the Japanese Puppet North Shanxi Autonomous Government. 27 Aug 2019.
  3. Book: Kratoska, Paul H.. Asian Labor in the Wartime Japanese Empire: Unknown Histories: Unknown Histories. 2014-12-18. Routledge. 9781317476429. en.
  4. Tokunaga. Kiyoyuki. 1940. Kyoto University Economic Review. 15. 1 (31). 30–44. 0023-6055. 43216843. The Progress of Monetary Unification in the Meng Chiang Provinces.
  5. Book: Zhang, Fo. 论伪蒙疆银行. Hebei University. 2007. Hebei, China. 12–14. Chinese. On the Pseudo-Mongol Bank. (二)蒙疆“中央银行”没有主题资格. (2) The "Mengjiang Central Bank" Did Not Have a Solid Foundation.