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The Shakee Massacre occurred on June 23, 1925 and resulted in over two hundred casualties due to gunfire by British, French and Portuguese forces in Shaji (called ''Shakei'' in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
), Canton, China. On June 21, 1925, workers in Hong Kong and Canton went on strike in support of the
May Thirtieth Movement The May Thirtieth Movement () was a major labor and anti-imperialist movement during the middle-period of the Republic of China era. It began when the Shanghai Municipal Police opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai's International Settl ...
in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
. Two days later, on June 23, over 100,000 people convened in Eastern Jiaochang (today, the
Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium The Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 15,000 people. The stadium is best reached by taking Guangzhou Metro Line 1 to Mart ...
), announcing their plans to expel the foreign powers, cancel the
unequal treaties Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...
and walk to the Shakee in protest. At 3 am when the protest had moved to the west bridge, the conflict began. British and French soldiers, perceiving gunshots being fired at them, began to fire on the protesters. In addition, British warships fired on the north coast of
Shamian Shamian (also romanized as Shameen or Shamin, both from its Cantonese pronunciation) is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. The territory ...
(then spelled ''Shameen''). Over 50 were killed and more than 170 people were seriously injured. Among the dead there were 20 civilians and 23 cadets and military personnel from
Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...
. The death toll included one woman and four minors under 16. One estimate listed the dead at 52. After the massacre, the national government in Canton (now ''Guangzhou'') appealed to the British and French consulates, requesting a formal apology, punishment of related military officers, the removal of warships, the return of Shamian to the national government and reparations for the families of the dead. The request was rejected by the consulates. On October 29 Hong Kong made a counter strike, in which 130,000 from Hong Kong moved back to Canton. On July 11, Canton held a public memorial ceremony for the casualties of the massacre. The next year, a memorial and a road were built in memory of Shakee. The road was named 六二三 (Six two three) Road—the numeric date of the event.


See also

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Liao Chengzhi Liao Chengzhi (; 25 September 1908 – 10 June 1983) was a Chinese politician. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1928, and rose to the position of director of the Xinhua News Agency; after 1949, he worked in various positions related to ...
, a survivor of the Shakee Massacre


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“沙基惨案”亲历见闻
{{coord missing, Guangdong History of Guangzhou 1925 in China Massacres in 1925 June 1925 events Massacres in China Massacres committed by France Massacres committed by the United Kingdom Mass murder in 1925 1925 murders in China