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보/고/서

ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 4326

FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 0004)　13 October 1950

PW was very cooperative and intelligent. PW was in good mental and physical condition. Reliability-fair.

Dec 38 - Dec 42 - Student, resided in LUNGCHING (龍淸).

Dec 42 - Aug 45 - Student, resided in HARBIN.

Aug 45 - Jun 48 - Medical officer with the CCF in HARBIN.

Jun 48 - Jul 49 - Medical officer with the CCF in CH'ANG-CH'UN (長春).

Jul 49 - Repatriated to North KOREA.

a. Relief: The city is situated on a flat plain along the southern banks of the SUNGALI River.

b. Drainage:

SUNGALI River: The river flows from east to west along the northern outskirts of HARBIN and width of actual water flow measured 1 kilometer. On either side of the river, there are gently sloping sandy banks which extend 1 kilometer to the edge of the water. Average depth of the river is about 2.5 meters, but there are places where the water is 5 meters deep. The river bottom is a mixture of coarse sand and mud and is extremely soft. The current is comparatively slow and rate of flow is about 5 kilometer per hour. There is no point in the vicinity of HARBIN where the river is fordable.

The river beings to freeze in the latter part of November and ice reaches the maximum thickness in January. In January, the ice is usually 2 meters thick. Between the latter part of December and the latter part of February, the ice is thick enough to support vehicular traffic. The river begins to thaw in the middle of March and thaws completely by the early part of April.

c. Soil: The composition of topsoil in the area is sand and red clay. The soil is sufficiently firm and seepage is sufficient, to permit vehicular traffic in all weather. The topsoil measures 79 cm in thickness, below which the sand content increases. The ground begins to freeze in the middle of November and by January, the ground freezes to a depth of 1.5 meters. The ground begins to thaw in early April and thaws completely by late May.

d. Vegetation: There are no trees in the area surrounding HARBIN, but there is a verdant growth of grass which, although short in growth, affords excellent fodder for livestock. Type of grass, unknown. Types of crops grown are corn, soy beans, and millet.

e. Climate

Mar - May: During the spring there are high winds which usually blow in a southwesterly direction, with a cooling effect in the area. There is very little rain. Average temperature is about -10℃, low: -5℃, high: -20℃.

Jun - Aug: There is very little wind. The rainy season lasts for three weeks between the latter part of July and mid-August. Average temperature is about -20℃, low: -10℃, high: -25℃. The area is very arid.

Sep - Nov: There are high winds which usually blow from a northwesterly direction. There is very little rain. Average temperature is about -15℃, low: -5℃, high: -20℃.

Dec - Feb: There is very little or no wind. Period of snowfall is between early December and late January. Average depth of snow is about 1 meter. Snow begins to thaw in late March and thaws completely by late April. Average temperature is about -20℃, low: -40℃, high: -15℃.

a. Railway: The city is the hub of all rail communications in the area and all traffic from north to east, etc, pass through the city. Rail communications in the area have not been affected by the war and there has been no changes made since the end of World War II. No new facilities were constructed and existing facilities were not improved. Rail equipment was of Japanese manufacture and communications are being facilitated by scrapping damaged equipment and using the undamaged parts to repair the usable machinery. No new equipment such as locomotives and box cars were seen. Standard Japanese rail gauge was used throughout MANCHURIA.

1. Locomotive Repair Shop:

Location: S km N of HARBIN. All locomotives in the HARBIN Area were repaired at the above shop. Details of the shop were unknown. The shop also repaired box cars. PW heard that the efficiency of the shop has dropped since the Chinese gained Control

The HARBIN RR station handles six outgoing trains and six inbound trains each day.

b. Bridges:

1. RR Bridge, single track

Location: Approx 2 km N of HARBIN RR Station|(Spans SUNGALI River)

Length: Approx 1.5 km

Width: 2 meters

Type: Steel truss, continuous span.

2. RR Bridge, single track

Location: Approx 4 km NE of HARBIN RR Station|(Spans SUNGALI River)

Length: Approx 1.5 km

Width: 2 meters

Type: Steel truss, continuous span.

The population of the city is estimated at 700,000, of which 99% were Chinese. The remaining 1% were Koreans, White Russians, and Japanese. Immediately following the Japanese surrender, the Japanese were repatriated with the exception of a few technicians. Most of the White Russians living in the city were arrested by the Russians and sent to SIBERIA. The Koreans were left unmolested.

Approximately 80% of the population were small businessmen and 20% were common laborers. All the former aristocracy have fled before the Communist advances. Social prestige was measured by the amount of wealth, but politically, the laborer had much more influences than the wealthier businessmen. The government favors those who produce to those who deal in merchandise already produced. There is a daily decrease in the number of businessmen and increase in the number of laborers because most of the smaller enterprises are being forced out of business by the government operated shops which offer goods and services for a lower cost. The present aristocracy of the city are a few leaders dispatched from the central government to control the administration of the city.

The County court of PINCH’ANGHSIEN (浜江縣) County is situated in HARBIN. All criminal cases within the County are tried at the court. The judges are appointed by the administration of the city.

There were no travel restrictions (even in 1950) and the people were allowed to travel freely throughout MANCHURIA and CHINA. All residents above the age of 18 have identification cards bearing name, age, address, occupation, names of family members and photograph of the bearer. All persons are required to have the card on his person at all times.

City sanitation is fair and there have been no epidemics since the end of World War II. All residents were required to receive free immunization against Cholera, Typhus, Plague and Small Pox. There has been no rodent control program established and there has been isolated cases of Pest during the winter months.

a. Personalities:

Name: CHANG, Hsueh Ssu (張商思)

Age: Unknown

Position: Head of Manchurian (Northeastern)Administration

a. Agriculture:

1. Crops: Principal farm products were corn, soy beans and millet. Sufficient vegetables to meet local consumption was also grown in the area. Types of vegetables grown included cabbage, radishes, carrots and Irish potatoes. Crops grown were sufficient to meet local demand and items such as soy beans were shipped to CHINA Proper. No details are available on quantity of harvest or acreage of farmland.

All crops were harvested once a year in October. Planting season was in April. No additional labor was necessary during planting and harvesting seasons since the farmers were allotted 1.5 acres per every two persons in the family. The farmers planted whatever crops they wished. There were no mechanical farm implements. There were no instances of crop failures. There was no irrigation system since there was sufficient rainfall.

2. Livestock: There was little or no livestock in the area

3. Forest Products: There were no forests in the vicinity of HARBIN.

b. Solid Fuels:

a. Coal: The principal fuel used in HARBIN was coal from the KIAMUSZE (佳木斯) Coal Mines. All families used coal for heating and cooking purposes. Details of the KIAMUSZE Coal Mines, unknown

c. Electrical:

THERMO Electric Power Plant

Location: Approx 3 km S of HARBIN RR Station.

No details of the plant are available except that electrical power is used within HARBIN only. There were no other power plants in the city. Coal was used as fuel. There were two 30 meter high smokestacks. Area of the power plant was about 1 square kilometer and was enclosed by a barb wire fence.

There were no limitations or restrictions in the use of electricity. All types of electrical appliances could be used. Cost of electricity is not known.

d. Miscellaneous Industries:

Tobacco Factory

Location: 2 km E of HARBIN RR Station.

This factory was known as the ROPARTO Tobacco Factory.

Quantity of production, etc, unknown. Source of raw tobacco, unknown. Structural details of the plant to include size of building is not known.

Ref ADVATIS Interrogation Report No. 0936

Airfield:

Location: 6 km SE of HARBIN RR Station

Details of the airfield, unknown, except that all hangars were destroyed. The runways were surfaced with asphalt, dimensions unknown, and were in good condition.

Sociological

In 48, the population of the city was about 40,000 but by Jul 49, it had decreased to 20,000 because all persons who did not own a legitimate enterprise and who were not laborers were sent to the farms in the areas surrounding the city. The movement was accomplished on a compulsory basis and no one was allowed to refuse. Most of those affected by the policy were brokers and shop keepers.

100% of the residents were Chinese. Living standards were extremely low and the majority of the people were illiterate. There were no educational facilities except one Primary School.

There were no industrial installations in the city and PW believed that the city was being built into an administration center for the adjacent farming regions.

For the Commanding Officer: