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The Laws of War on Land,
Being the Hague Regulations


Section 1 - On Belligerents.

Chapter 1 - On the Qualification of Bellingerents.

Article 1. The laws, rights and duties of war apply not only to armies but also to militia and volunteer corps fulfilling the following conditions:

  1. To have at their head a person responsible for his subordinates;

  2. To have a fixed distinctive emblem recognizable at a distance;

  3. To carry arms openly; and

  4. To conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.


Note : The Chinese soldiers who hid themselves in the Safety Zone had taken off their uniforms into civilian clothes (violation of 2), and hid huge amounts of weapons there (violation of 3). In addition, the top commanders headed by Tang Shengzhi decamped their men just before the arrival of the Japanese, never issuing an order to the subordinates to surrender to the Japanese (violation of 1).