Editing Wuchang Uprising (section)

=== Railway Protection Movement ===
{{main|Railway Protection Movement}}

After the [[Boxer Rebellion]], many Western powers saw railway investments as part of the consolidation in their spheres of influence over China. Railway constructions took place across [[Shandong]], [[Yangtze Valley]], [[Kunming]] and [[Manchuria]].{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=90}} Provincial governments, with permission from the Qing court, also began to construct their own railways. The [[Canton-Hankou Railway]] and [[Sichuan-Hankou Railway]] were under the oversight of [[Guangdong]], [[Hunan]], [[Hubei]] and [[Sichuan]].{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=96}} Faced with ongoing financial struggles, partly due to ongoing indemnity payments from the [[Boxer Protocol]], the Qing court turned to [[Sheng Xuanhuai]] in 1910, a "classic bureaucratic capitalist", and adhered to his policy of securing foreign loans through the nationalization of all railway lines.{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=99}} This policy was met with stiff resistance, particularly in Sichuan, and the resistance quickly turned into a movement  known as the ''Sichuan Railway Protection Movement''. In response, the Qing court suppressed the unrest by force, contributing to the declining popularity of its government.{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=89}} By August 11 there were massive strikes and rallies in [[Chengdu]]. On 7 September the [[Viceroy of Sichuan]], [[Zhao Erfeng]], was asked to "intervene vigorously", and he ordered the arrest of key leaders in the Railway Protection League, then ordered troops to open fire on the protesters.{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=98}} Subsequent fighting around Chengdu prompted the diversion of troops to Sichuan from [[central China]], which later became an important factor in the Wuchang Uprising's success.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Driscoll |first=Mark W. |title=The Whites are Enemies of Heaven: Climate Caucasianism and Asian Ecological Protection |date=2020 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4780-1121-7 |location=Durham}}</ref>{{Rp|page=287}}

Meanwhile, inaction toward nationalization of railway lines in both Hunan and Hubei were criticized by the local press. Confidence in the Qing government among the populace continued to deteriorate in response to the escalation of the railway crisis.{{sfn|Esherick|Wei|2013|page=13}}