Industrial Association and the Politics of the Republic of China: A Study of the Chinese Staff Association of Chinese Maritime Customs Service,1927—1931

The Chinese Staff Association of Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMCS) established before the Northern Expeditionary Army marched into Shanghai was an industrial association jointly established by Chinese staffs indoor and outdoor Shanghai Customs.Its biggest appeal was to change the long-standing status quo of unequal powers and unequal treatment of CMCS with the help of domestic anti-imperialist patriotism,and then seek to recover customs power.After its establishment,the association regarded itself as a revolutionary organization.After its establishment,the association regarded itself as a revolutionary organization.On the one hand,it cooperated with the revolutionary diplomacy of the Nanjing National Government,participated in various political gatherings and political propaganda,and actively participated in the movement for tariff independence.On the other hand,it hoped to reform the old personnel and administrative system of the CMCS through tariff independence,so as to improve the group treatment.However,with the realization of the “tariff autonomy” of the Nanjing National Government,the “customs system reform” of CMCS also ended up maintaining the old foreign inspector system,and the political demands of the Chinese customs officers were covered by the wave of political evolution,and their organizations ended up disbanded.With the establishment of the National Government in Nanjing and the tightening of social control,various social organizations that arose before and after the Northern Expedition with anti-imperialist patriotic claims as their main demands gradually turned into registered associations,and various independent political activities also tended to decline.The Chinese Staff Association could be regarded as a typical case.