Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, May 2 – 8, 1940
May 2, 1940: Japan says it pursues a policy of ‘non-involvement’ in the European war
May 3, 1940: Japanese forces advancing in China’s Anhui province reportedly met by counteroffensive
May 4, 1940: Artists perform at ‘Night of Nights for China’, a show at New York’s Center Theater to raise money for Chinese refugees and war orphans
May 5, 1940: Japanese forces launch offensive in China’s Hubei province
May 6, 1940: Japan says trade pact with Uruguay has taken effect, hoping to recover commerce lost due to war with China
May 7, 1940: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders US Pacific Fleet to move from San Diego to Pearl Harbor to deter Japan from further expansion
May 8, 1940: US gunboat Tutuila, part of the Yangtze Patrol, runs aground and is damaged at Chinese wartime capital of Chongqing
