[Speech of Wu Ting-Fang, Chinese Minister to the United States, at
the annual dinner of the New York Southern Society, New York City,
February 22, 1899. William M. Polk, the President of the Society,
occupied the chair. Minister Wu responded to the sentiment, "To our
newest and nearest neighbor on our Western border, the most ancient
of Empires, which until now has always been in the Far East, and to
her distinguished diplomatic representative--_persona grata_ to our
Government and to this Society."]
MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN:--It is never too late to learn, and
since I have been here I have learned that my ancient country, which has
always been known as an Eastern country, has now turned to be a Western
country. I do not regret to hear this, because Western countries have
always been looked on as very powerful nations. [Applause.] In that
sense I would not be sorry to see my own country assume the position
that your Western countries have always taken. I do not know whether you
would wish to have your great Nation become an Eastern country in the
sense in which Eastern countries are popularly known.
When the invitation to dine with you on this occasion was conveyed to me
I gladly accepted it because the occasion occurred on the anniversary of
the birth of George Washington, who is widely and popularly known as the
Father of your country. Long before I came to the United States as the
representative of my country, even when I was a boy, I had heard of
George Washington, and from what I could learn about him I formed a
profound respect for his name and memory. At this banquet you
appropriately recall to mind the noble character of your Washington,
his great deeds, and his unselfish devotion to his country.
It is interesting to know that time changes not only the opinions of
individuals and parties, but also the traditional policy of a nation. I
understood when I was a boy that the policy of George Washington was to
confine his attention and his ambition to the country in which he
governed. That policy has been followed by all of his successors up to
very recently. [Laughter and applause.] But the recent momentous events
have necessitated a new departure. You have been driven to a position
that you never dreamed of before. You have entered the path of
Expansion, or, as some call it, Imperialism.
If I understand your chairman correctly, Imperialism practically means
the power and wisdom to govern. This is not the first time that I have
heard such a definition of imperialism. I once heard an eminent American
divine say that imperialism meant civilization--in an American sense.
[Laughter.] He also added the word liberty, and with your permission I
would like to make a still further addition: that is, fairness, and just
treatment of all classes of persons without distinction of race or
color. [Cheers.] Well, you have the Philippines ceded to you, and you
are hesitating whether to keep them or not. I see in that very fact of
your hesitation an indication of your noble character. Suppose a
precious gift entailing obligations is tendered to a man; he would
accept it without any thought or hesitation if he were wholly lacking in
principle; but you hesitate because of your high moral character, and
your sense of responsibility. I express no opinion as to whether or not
you should keep the Philippines. That is for you to decide. I am
confident that when this question has been thoroughly threshed out, you
will come to the right decision. I will say this: China must have a
neighbor; and it is my humble opinion that it is better to have a good
neighbor than an indifferent one.
Should your country decide to keep the Philippines, what would be the
consequences? A large trade has been carried on for centuries between
those islands and China. Your trade would be greatly increased and to
your benefit. Aside from this the American trade in China has been
increasing largely in the last few years. I have often been asked
whether we Chinamen are friendly to America. To show you how friendly we
are, I will tell you that we call your nation a "flowery flag" and that
we call your people "handsome." Such phrases clearly show that we are
favorably disposed toward you. If we did not like you, we would not have
given you such nice names. The officials of China, as well as the
people, like Americans, and our relations, officially and commercially,
are cordial.
There is, however, one disturbing element--one unsatisfactory feature--I
refer to your Chinese Immigration law. Your people do not know and do
not understand my people. You have judged all of my people from the
Chinese in California. Your Chinese exclusion law has now been in
operation for fifteen or sixteen years, but it cannot be said to have
been satisfactory even to yourselves. Those laws were intended to keep
the Chinese cheap labor out of your country, but they have also kept out
the better class of my countrymen whom I am satisfied the laws did not
intend to exclude. I desire to throw no blame on any of your officials
for their zeal in enforcing the laws. They simply do their duty. But I
want to point out to you that those laws do not bring about the results
intended by your legislators. Besides, their existence gives the
impression in our country that your people do not like our people. I
personally know that is not so, but I would like to see this disturbing
element removed by a modification of the laws. Once remove that
disturbing element and our people would welcome your Americans to China
with open arms.
As to the character of our people I can refer you only to those who have
been in China. I will refer you to the opinion of a man who for a great
many years was in China at the head of the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank.
After twenty-five years' service, he resigned, and on the eve of his
departure he was given a banquet by foreigners, not by Chinese, mind;
and in the course of his speech he went out of his way to speak of his
relations with Chinese merchants. As I remember, the substance of his
speech was that during all those years in China, he had had dealings
with Chinese merchants aggregating hundreds of millions of dollars, and
he said that, large as were those dealings, he had never lost a cent
through any Chinese merchant. That testimony was given unsolicited by a
man long resident in China, and shows indisputably the character of our
merchants.
Now that you have become our neighbor, and if you want to deal with
China, here is the class of people you have to deal with; and if you see
your way clear to modify the only obstacle that now stands in the way of
respectable Chinese coming here, and doing away with the false
impression in the minds of our people, I have no doubt that such a step
would redound to the benefit of both parties. If you look at the returns
furnished by your consuls or by our customs returns, you will find that
your trade in China has increased to a remarkable degree. China is
constructing a railway from north to south, and she is practically an
open door for your trade purposes. There is a great field for you there;
and with all our people favorably disposed toward you, I am sure you
will receive further benefits through the means of still further
increased trade. [Loud applause.]