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Japanese Invasion of China

Puppet States in China

Provisional Government of China [Beijing 1937-1940]
Army flag
Regimental colour
Peking Four Suburbs Self Defence Regiments
Reformed Government of the ROC
- Water Patrol Force Ensign
Reorganized National Government of the ROC - Nanjing Puppet State (separate page)
Shanghai Puppet State (separate page)
Inner Mongolia (separate page)
Manchukuo (separate page)

See also:

Provisional Government of China [Beijing 1937-1940]

First flag of Beijing puppet state
image by Miles Li, 17 November 2021

Provisional Government of the ROC
National Flag - Five-Striped Flag.
Miles Li, 03 June 2015

The Five-Coloured Flag, proportions 3:5, image from 'Army Uniforms', Gazetted in Order Prov. Number 44, Provisional Government, 21 March 1938 (陸軍服制民國二十七年三月二十一日臨時政府臨字第四四號令公布):
Miles Li, 17 November 2021

Second flag of Beijing puppet state
image by Miles Li, 21 March 2014

There were several other pro-Japanese governments set up by the Japanese occupational troops. The first was in Beijing. They adopted the five color flag, and used a different national anthem. It was later changed to the flag used in Chung-ching, currently used in Taiwan.
Michael Yuh-horng Wang, 13 January 1997

Army Flag

image by Miles Li, 17 November 2021

'Apricot yellow' flag bearing at its centre the Five-Coloured Star, its size being "one-fourth the area of the flag" [sic]. Proportions 3:5.
Miles Li, 17 November 2021

Regimental Colour

image by Miles Li, 17 November 2021

A silk flag 80 cm by 96 cm, the fly two-thirds being the 'National Flag', the hoist one-third being the 'Army Flag', with a silk white square at the lower hoist stamped with the Seal of the Generalissimo of the Armed Forces [note: the Seal shown on the flag image is a reconstruction]. A silk white vertical strip 80 cm by 11.2 cm at the hoist, bearing the name of the regiment. A blue fringe 12.8 cm long. A red flag pole 240 cm long by 6.4 cm diameter, with a bronze spearhead finial 22.4 cm long, a red tassel 22.4 cm long, and a bronze spearhead base 16 cm long.
Miles Li, 17 November 2021

Peking Four Suburbs Self Defence Regiments

(Reconstruction)
image by Miles Li, 18 November 2021

An auxiliary force raised in Peking (now Beijing) in 1938, these 'regiments' were infamously armed with only wooden poles.

The colours on the flag image is an educated guess based on numerous black-and-white photographs: A white flag with the Five-Coloured Flag in the canton and two red five-pointed stars arranged horizontally in the fly (the top points being level with the bottom of the canton). A yellow vertical strip at the hoist, bearing the name of the regiment in black letters. Approximate proportions 3:4 without the yellow strip, 2:3 with the yellow strip. A blue (?) fringe one-tenth the width of the flag. A red flag pole with a bronze spearhead finial, a red tassel, and a bronze spearhead base.
Miles Li, 18 November 2021

Reformed Government of the ROC

image by Miles Li, 22 March 2014

Prior to World War II, the Japanese set up a puppet state in Hopei. The flag used was the Chinese five striped flag.
Jaume Ollé, 23 March 1998

National Flag - Five Striped Flag. There was also a purported variant, possibly fictitious, with a red flame at the centre above the slogan "Peaceful National Construction" (和平建國) in black Chinese letters on the white stripe.
Miles Li, 03 June 2015

Water Patrol Force Ensign

Reconstruction:
image by Miles Li, 19 November 2021

The Water Patrol Force, founded in June 1939, became the core of the Navy of the Reorganized National Government in 1940.

The Water Patrol Force Ensign is known only from a couple of black-and-white photographs. The colours on the flag image derive from my hypothesis that the Water Patrol Force found it expedient to modify several flags of the Manchukuo Navy Minister.
Miles Li, 19 November 2021