Japan and Vietnam's Caodaists: A Wartime Relationship (1939–45)
The study describes an asymmetric relationship between Vietnamese Caodaists, followers of the Cao Dai religion, and the Japanese during World War Two. The Caodaists maintained a pro-Japanese stance throughout the occupation, based on their judgement that they could in this way advance the nationalist cause and achieve independence from French rule. The position of the Caodaists immediately after the end of World War Two was adversely affected as a result of their wartime collaboration.
The Japanese Period in Indochina and the Coup of 9 March 1945
For the greater part of the period from 1940 to 1945, French Indochina occupied a peculiar place in the Co-Prosperity Sphere of Great East Asia. Following the capitulation of France before the German army in June 1940, the northern part of Indochina became the first area in Southeast Asia to admit Japanese troops — at that stage, as an extension of the Japanese campaign in southern China. In July 1941 the Japanese advance into southern Indochina marked the first step towards a full-scale attack on European and American possessions in the whole region, which materialized in December 1941. But this military advance into Indochina, precisely because it took place before the general assault on Southeast Asia and the Pacific, had to be achieved by means of agreements and treaties with an established government. These were possible only because the French in Indochina decided to recognize the pro-German government at Vichy, so that the Japanese were able to apply diplomatic pressure both in France and at Hanoi. Once the agreements had been made, the Japanese saw no need to change the basis of their occupation of Indochina even after December 1941; they were by then preoccupied with establishing their presence in other areas. Consequently they continued to recognize the French administration in Indochina and to maintain diplomatic relations with it, so long as diplomatic pressure was sufficient to ensure that Japanese military needs were fully met.
Effects of the mineral phase and valence of vanadium on vanadium extraction from stone coal
The influence of roasting on the leaching rate and valence of vanadium was evaluated during vanadium extraction from stone coal. Vanadium in stone coal is hard to be leached and the leaching rate is less than 10% when the raw ore is leached by 4 mol/L H2SO4 at 90°C for 2 h. After the sample is roasted at 900°C for 2 h, the leaching rate of vanadium reaches the maximum, and more than 70% of vanadium can be leached. The crystal of vanadium-bearing mica minerals decomposes and the content of V(V) increases with the rise of roasting temperature from 600 to 900°C, therefore the leaching rate of vanadium increases significantly with the decomposition of the mica minerals. Some new phases, anorthite for example, form when the roasting temperature reaches 1000°C. A part of vanadium may be enwrapped in the sintered materials and newly formed phases, which may impede the oxidation of low valent vanadium and make the leaching rate of vanadium drop dramatically. The leaching rate of vanadium is not only determined by the valence state of vanadium but also controlled by the decomposition of vanadium-bearing minerals and the existence state of vanadium to a large extent.