This first self-defense movement was harshly suppressed and its leaders deported. That might have been the end of the story, except that it made Chinese communities more united, and Chinese-language education managed to flourish and develop out of sight of the authorities. By the outbreak of World War II there were more than 1,400 Chinese-language schools with over 120,000 students.
這波最早的保衛運動在當局嚴厲鎮壓下，運動領袖被驅逐出境而收場，但是華社卻因此更加團結，華文教育在夾縫中仍蓬勃發展；到二次大戰前，華校總計已有一千四百多所，學生超過 12 萬人。