"At this time," the editorial read, "the highest military official for Hebei was absent. Civil and military officials at all levels had been ordered to just stay in their positions, so they were even more cautious and restrained than usual. It is inconceivable that the local Chinese forces would have dared to spark an incident during the night maneuvers by the Japanese forces.
「此際冀察最高當局請假在籍，平津冀察軍政各級長官受命維護地方，愈益小心翼翼，下至士兵，自皆重受約束，謂於夜間日軍演習之時，敢於出而滋事，揆諸情理，殆直不可想像，… …，綜合此種情形，純係日方放肆要挾，有意尋釁。