JAPAN AND CHINA DURING THE WAR
The most urgent problem in China's relations with foreign powers is
Japanese aggression. Originally Japan was less powerful than China, but
after 1868 the Japanese rapidly learnt from us whatever we had to teach
in the way of skilful homicide, and in 1894 they resolved to test their
new armaments upon China, just as Bismarck tested his on Denmark. The
Chinese Government preserved its traditional haughtiness, and appears to
have been quite unaware of the defeat in store for it. The question at
issue was Korea, over which both Powers claimed suzerainty. At that time
there would have been no reason for an impartial neutral to take one
side rather than the other. The Japanese were quickly and completely
victorious, but were obliged to fight Russia before obtaining secure
possession of Korea. The war with Russia (1904-5) was fought chiefly in
Manchuria, which the Russians had gained as a reward for befriending
China. Port Arthur and Southern Manchuria up to Mukden were acquired by
the Japanese as a result of the Russo-Japanese war; the rest of
Manchuria came under Japanese control as a result of Russia's collapse
after the Great War.
The nominal sovereignty in Manchuria is still Chinese; the Chinese have
the civil administration, an army, and the appointment of the Viceroy.
But the Japanese also have troops in Manchuria; they have the railways,
the industrial enterprises, and the complete economic and military
control. The Chinese Viceroy could not remain in power a week if he were
displeasing to the Japanese, which, however, he takes care not to be.
(See Note A.) The same situation was being brought about in Shantung.
Shantung brings us to what Japan did in the Great War. In 1914, China
could easily have been induced to join the Allies and to set to work to
turn the Germans out of Kiao-Chow, but this did not suit the Japanese,
who undertook the work themselves and insisted upon the Chinese
remaining neutral (until 1917). Having captured Tsing-tau, they
presented to the Chinese the famous Twenty-One Demands, which gave the
Chinese Question its modern form. These demands, as originally presented
in January 1915, consisted of five groups. The first dealt with
Shantung, demanding that China should agree in advance to whatever terms
Japan might ultimately make with Germany as regarded this Chinese
province, that the Japanese should have the right to construct certain
specified railways, and that certain ports (unspecified) should be
opened to trade; also that no privileges in Shantung should be granted
to any Power other than Japan. The second group concerns South Manchuria
and Eastern Inner Mongolia, and demands what is in effect a
protectorate, with control of railways, complete economic freedom for
Japanese enterprise, and exclusion of all other foreign industrial
enterprise. The third group gives Japan a monopoly of the mines and iron
and steel works in a certain region of the Yangtze,[63] where we claim
a sphere of influence. The fourth group consists of a single demand,
that China shall not cede any harbour, bay or island to any Power except
Japan. The fifth group, which was the most serious, demanded that
Japanese political, financial, and military advisers should be employed
by the Chinese Government; that the police in important places should be
administered by Chinese and Japanese jointly, and should be largely
Japanese in _personnel_; that China should purchase from Japan at least
50 per cent. of her munitions, or obtain them from a Sino-Japanese
arsenal to be established in China, controlled by Japanese experts and
employing Japanese material; that Japan should have the right to
construct certain railways in and near the Yangtze valley; that Japan
should have industrial priority in Fukien (opposite Formosa); and
finally that the Japanese should have the right of missionary propaganda
in China, to spread the knowledge of their admirable ethics.
These demands involved, as is obvious, a complete loss of Chinese
independence, the closing of important areas to the commerce and
industry of Europe and America, and a special attack upon the British
position in the Yangtze. We, however, were so busy with the war that we
had no time to think of keeping ourselves alive. Although the demands
constituted a grave menace to our trade, although the Far East was in an
uproar about them, although America took drastic diplomatic action
against them, Mr. Lloyd George never heard of them until they were
explained to him by the Chinese Delegation at Versailles.[64] He had no
time to find out what Japan wanted, but had time to conclude a secret
agreement with Japan in February 1917, promising that whatever Japan
wanted in Shantung we would support at the Peace Conference.[65] By the
terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan was bound to communicate the
Twenty-one Demands to the British Government. In fact, Japan
communicated the first four groups, but not the fifth and worst, thus
definitely breaking the treaty;[66] but this also, one must suppose, Mr.
Lloyd George only discovered by chance when he got to Versailles.
China negotiated with Japan about the Twenty-one Demands, and secured
certain modifications, but was finally compelled to yield by an
ultimatum. There was a modification as regards the Hanyehping mines on
the Yangtze, presumably to please us; and the specially obnoxious fifth
group was altered into an exchange of studiously vague Notes.[67] In
this form, the demands were accepted by China on May 9, 1915. The United
States immediately notified Japan that they could not recognize the
agreement. At that time America was still neutral, and was therefore
still able to do something to further the objects for which we were
supposed to be fighting, such as protection of the weaker nations. In
1917, however, after America had entered the war for self-determination,
it became necessary to placate Japan, and in November of that year the
Ishii-Lansing Agreement was concluded, by which "the Government of the
United States recognizes that Japan has special interests in China,
particularly for the parts to which her possessions are contiguous." The
rest of the agreement (which is long) consists of empty verbiage.[68]
I come now to the events leading up to China's entry into the war.[69]
In this matter, the lead was taken by America so far as severing
diplomatic relations was concerned, but passed to Japan as regards the
declaration of war. It will be remembered that, when America broke off
diplomatic relations with Germany, President Wilson called upon all
neutrals to do likewise. Dr. Paul S. Reinsch, United States Minister in
Peking, proceeded to act with vigour in accordance with this policy. He
induced China first, on February 9, 1917, to send a Note of
expostulation to Germany on the subject of the submarine campaign; then,
on March 14th, to break off diplomatic relations. The further step of
declaring war was not taken until August 14th. The intrigues connected
with these events deserve some study.
In view of the fact that the Japanese were among the Allies, the Chinese
had not any strong tendency to take sides against Germany. The English,
French and Russians had always desired the participation of China (for
reasons which I shall explain presently), and there appears to have been
some suggestion, in the early days of the war, that China should
participate in return for our recognizing Yuan Shi-k'ai as Emperor.
These suggestions, however, fell through owing to the opposition of
Japan, based partly on hostility to Yuan Shi-k'ai, partly on the fear
that China would be protected by the Allies if she became a belligerent.
When, in November 1915, the British, French and Russian Ambassadors in
Tokyo requested Japan to join in urging China to join the Allies,
Viscount Ishii said that "Japan considered developments in China as of
paramount interest to her, and she must keep a firm hand there. Japan
could not regard with equanimity the organization of an efficient
Chinese army such as would be required for her active participation in
the war, nor could Japan fail to regard with uneasiness a liberation of
the economic activities of 400,000,000 people."[70] Accordingly the
proposal lapsed. It must be understood that throughout the war the
Japanese were in a position to blackmail the Allies, because their
sympathies were with Germany, they believed Germany would win, and they
filled their newspapers with scurrilous attacks on the British, accusing
them of cowardice and military incompetence.[71]
But when America severed diplomatic relations with Germany, the
situation for China was changed. America was not bound to subservience
to Japan, as we were; America was not one of the Allies; and America had
always been China's best friend. Accordingly, the Chinese were willing
to take the advice of America, and proceeded to sever diplomatic
relations with Germany in March 1917. Dr. Reinsch was careful to make no
_promises_ to the Chinese, but of course he held out hopes. The American
Government, at that time, could honestly hold out hopes, because it was
ignorant of the secret treaties and agreements by which the Allies were
bound. The Allies, however, can offer no such excuse for having urged
China to take the further step of declaring war. Russia, France, and
Great Britain had all sold China's rights to secure the continued
support of Japan.
In May 1916, the Japanese represented to the Russians that Germany was
inviting Japan to make a separate peace. In July 1916, Russia and Japan
concluded a secret treaty, subsequently published by the Bolsheviks.
This treaty constituted a separate alliance, binding each to come to the
assistance of the other in any war, and recognizing that "the vital
interests of one and the other of them require the safeguarding of China
from the political domination of any third Power whatsoever, having
hostile designs against Russia or Japan." The last article provided that
"the present agreement must remain profoundly secret except to both of
the High Contracting Parties."[72] That is to say, the treaty was not
communicated to the other Allies, or even to Great Britain, in spite of
Article 3 of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which provides that "The High
Contracting Parties agree that neither of them will, without consulting
the other, enter into a separate agreement with another Power to the
prejudice of the objects described in the preamble of this Agreement,"
one of which objects was the preservation of equal opportunity for all
Powers in China and of the independence and integrity of the Chinese
Empire.
On February 16, 1917, at the very time when America was urging China to
sever diplomatic relations with Germany, we concluded an agreement with
Japan containing the following words:--
His Britannic Majesty's Government accedes with pleasure to the
request of the Japanese Government, for an assurance that they
will support Japan's claims in regard to the disposal of
Germany's rights in Shantung and possessions in the islands north
of the equator on the occasion of the Peace Conference; it being
understood that the Japanese Government will, in the eventual
peace settlement, treat in the same spirit Great Britain's claims
to the German islands south of the equator.
The French attitude about Shantung, at the same time, is indicated by
Notes which passed between France and Japan at Tokyo.[73] On February
19th, Baron Motono sent a communication to the French and Russian
Ambassadors stating, among other things, that "the Imperial Japanese
Government proposes to demand from Germany at the time of the peace
negotiations, the surrender of the territorial rights and special
interests Germany possessed before the war in Shantung and the islands
belonging to her situated north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean."
The French Ambassador, on March 2nd, replied as follows:--
The Government of the French Republic is disposed to give the
Japanese Government its accord in regulating at the time of the
Peace Negotiations questions vital to Japan concerning Shantung
and the German islands on the Pacific north of the equator. It
also agrees to support the demands of the Imperial Japanese
Government for the surrender of the rights Germany possessed
before the war in this Chinese province and these islands.
M. Briand demands on the other hand that Japan give its support
to obtain from China the breaking of its diplomatic relations
with Germany, and that it give this act desirable significance.
The consequences in China should be the following:
First, handing passports to the German diplomatic agents and
consuls;
Second, the obligation of all under German jurisdiction to leave
Chinese territory;
Third, the internment of German ships in Chinese ports and the
ultimate requisition of these ships in order to place them at the
disposition of the Allies, following the example of Italy and
Portugal;
Fourth, requisition of German commercial houses, established in
China; forfeiting the rights of Germany in the concessions she
possesses in certain ports of China.
The Russian reply to Baron Motono's Note to the French and Russian
Ambassadors, dated March 5, 1917, was as follows:--
In reply to the Note of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
under the date of February 19th last, the Russian Embassy is
charged with giving the Japanese Government the assurance that it
can entirely count on the support of the Imperial Government of
Russia with regard to its desiderata concerning the eventual
surrender to Japan of the rights belonging to Germany in Shantung
and of the German Islands, occupied by the Japanese forces, in
the Pacific Ocean to the north of the Equator.[74]
It will be observed that, unlike England and France, Russia demands no
_quid pro quo_, doubtless owing to the secret treaty concluded in the
previous year.
After these agreements, Japan saw no further objection to China's
participation in the war. The chief inducement held out to China was the
hope of recovering Shantung; but as there was now no danger of this hope
being realized, Japan was willing that America, in more or less honest
ignorance, should unofficially use this hope for the persuasion of the
Chinese. It is true that Japan had reason to fear America until the last
days of the Peace Conference, but this fear was considerably diminished
by the conclusion of the Lansing-Ishii Agreement in November 1917.
Meanwhile Japan had discovered that the question of China's entry into
the war could be used to increase internal strife in China, which has
been one of the aims of Japanese policy ever since the beginning of the
revolutionary movement.[75] If the Chinese had not been interfered with
at this time, there was some prospect of their succeeding in
establishing a stable democratic government. Yuan was dead, and his
successor in the Presidency, Li Yuan Hung, was a genuine
constitutionalist. He reassembled the Parliament which Yuan had
dismissed, and the work of drafting a permanent constitution was
resumed. The President was opposed to severing diplomatic relations,
and, of course, still more to declaring war. The Prime Minister, Tuan
Chih-jui, a militarist, was strongly in favour of war. He and his
Cabinet persuaded a considerable majority of both Houses of the Chinese
Parliament to side with them on the question of severing diplomatic
relations, and the President, as in duty bound, gave way on this issue.
On the issue of declaring war, however, public opinion was different. It
was President Wilson's summons to the neutrals to follow him in breaking
off diplomatic relations that had given force to the earlier campaign;
but on June 5th the American Minister, acting on instructions, presented
a Note to the Chinese Government urging that the preservation of
national unity was more important than entry into the war, and
suggesting the desirability of preserving peace for the present. What
had happened in the meantime was that the war issue, which might never
have become acute but for President's Wilson's action, had been used by
the Japanese to revive the conflict between North and South, and to
instigate the Chinese militarists to unconstitutional action. Sun Yat
Sen and most of the Southern politicians were opposed to the declaration
of war; Sun's reasons were made known in an open letter to Mr. Lloyd
George on March 7th. They were thoroughly sound.[76] The Cabinet, on
May 1st, decided in favour of war, but by the Constitution a declaration
of war required the consent of Parliament. The militarists attempted to
coerce Parliament, which had a majority against war; but as this proved
impossible, they brought military force to bear on the President to
compel him to dissolve Parliament unconstitutionally. The bulk of the
Members of Parliament retired to the South, where they continued to act
as a Parliament and to regard themselves as the sole source of
constitutional government. After these various illegalities, the
military autocrats were still compelled to deal with one of their
number, who, in July, effected a five days' restoration of the Manchu
Emperor. The President resigned, and was succeeded by a person more
agreeable to the militarists, who have henceforth governed in the North,
sometimes without a Parliament, sometimes with a subservient
unconstitutional Northern Parliament. Then at last they were free to
declare war. It was thus that China entered the war for democracy and
against militarism.
Of course China helped little, if at all, towards the winning of the
war, but that was not what the Allies expected of her. The objects of
the European Allies are disclosed in the French Note quoted above. We
wished to confiscate German property in China, to expel Germans living
in China, and to prevent, as far as possible, the revival of German
trade in China after the war. The confiscation of German property was
duly carried out--not only public property, but private property also,
so that the Germans in China were suddenly reduced to beggary. Owing to
the claims on shipping, the expulsion of the Germans had to wait till
after the Armistice. They were sent home through the Tropics in
overcrowded ships, sometimes with only 24 hours' notice; no degree of
hardship was sufficient to secure exemption. The British authorities
insisted on expelling delicate pregnant women, whom they officially knew
to be very likely to die on the voyage. All this was done after the
Armistice, for the sake of British trade. The kindly Chinese often took
upon themselves to hide Germans, in hard cases, from the merciless
persecution of the Allies; otherwise, the miseries inflicted would have
been much greater.
The confiscation of private property during the war and by the Treaty of
Versailles was a new departure, showing that on this point all the
belligerents agreed with the Bolsheviks. Dr. Reid places side by side
two statements, one by President Wilson when asking Congress to agree to
the Declaration of War: "We shall, I feel confident, conduct our
operations as belligerents without passion, and ourselves observe with
proud punctilio the principles of right and fairplay we profess to be
fighting for"; the other by Senator Hitchcock, when the war was over,
after a day spent with President Wilson in learning the case for
ratification of the Versailles Treaty: "Through the Treaty, we will yet
get very much of importance.... In violation of all international law
and treaties we have made disposition of a billion dollars of
German-owned properly here. The Treaty validates all that."[77] The
European Allies secured very similar advantages from inducing China to
enter the war for righteousness.
We have seen what England and France gained by the Chinese declaration
of war. What Japan gained was somewhat different.
The Northern military faction, which controlled the Peking Government,
was completely dependent upon Japan, and could do nothing to resist
Japanese aggression. All the other Powers were fully occupied with the
war, and had sold China to Japan in return for Japanese neutrality--for
Japan can hardly be counted as a belligerent after the capture of
Tsingtau in November 1914. The Southern Government and all the liberal
elements in the North were against the clique which had seized the
Central Government. In March 1918, military and naval agreements were
concluded between China and Japan, of which the text, never officially
published, is given by Millard.[78] By these agreements the Japanese
were enabled, under pretence of military needs in Manchuria and
Mongolia, to send troops into Chinese territory, to acquire control of
the Chinese Eastern Railway and consequently of Northern Manchuria, and
generally to keep all Northern China at their mercy. In all this, the
excuse of operations against the Bolsheviks was very convenient.
After this the Japanese went ahead gaily. During the year 1918, they
placed loans in China to the extent of Yen 246,000,000,[79] _i.e.,_
about £25,000,000. China was engaged in civil war, and both sides were
as willing as the European belligerents to sell freedom for the sake of
victory. Unfortunately for Japan, the side on which Japan was fighting
in the war proved suddenly victorious, and some portion of the energies
of Europe and America became available for holding Japan in check. For
various reasons, however, the effect of this did not show itself until
after the Treaty of Versailles was concluded. During the peace
negotiations, England and France, in virtue of secret agreements, were
compelled to support Japan. President Wilson, as usual, sacrificed
everything to his League of Nations, which the Japanese would not have
joined unless they had been allowed to keep Shantung. The chapter on
this subject in Mr. Lansing's account of the negotiations is one of the
most interesting in his book.[80] By Article 156 of the Treaty of
Versailles, "Germany renounces, in favour of Japan, all her rights,
title, and privileges" in the province of Shantung.[81] Although
President Wilson had consented to this gross violation of justice,
America refused to ratify the Treaty, and was therefore free to raise
the issue of Shantung at Washington. The Chinese delegates at Versailles
resisted the clauses concerning Shantung to the last, and finally,
encouraged by a vigorous agitation of Young China,[82] refused to sign
the Treaty. They saw no reason why they should be robbed of a province
as a reward for having joined the Allies. All the other Allies agreed to
a proceeding exactly as iniquitous as it would have been if we had
annexed Virginia as a reward to the Americans for having helped us in
the war, or France had annexed Kent on a similar pretext.
Meanwhile, Young China had discovered that it could move Chinese public
opinion on the anti-Japanese cry. The Government in Peking in 1919-20
was in the hands of the pro-Japanese An Fu party, but they were forcibly
ejected, in the summer of 1920, largely owing to the influence of the
Young China agitation on the soldiers stationed in Peking. The An Fu
leaders took refuge in the Japanese Legation, and since then the Peking
Government has ventured to be less subservient to Japan, hoping always
for American support. Japan did everything possible to consolidate her
position in Shantung, but always with the knowledge that America might
re-open the question at any time. As soon as the Washington Conference
was announced, Japan began feverishly negotiating with China, with a
view to having the question settled before the opening of the
Conference. But the Chinese, very wisely, refused the illusory
concessions offered by Japan, and insisted on almost unconditional
evacuation. At Washington, both parties agreed to the joint mediation of
England and America. The pressure of American public opinion caused the
American Administration to stand firm on the question of Shantung, and I
understand that the British delegation, on the whole, concurred with
America. Some concessions were made to Japan, but they will not amount
to much if American interest in Shantung lasts for another five years.
On this subject, I shall have more to say when I come to the Washington
Conference.
There is a question with which the Washington Conference determined not
to concern itself, but which nevertheless is likely to prove of great
importance in the Far East--I mean the question of Russia. It was
considered good form in diplomatic circles, until the Genoa Conference,
to pretend that there is no such country as Russia, but the Bolsheviks,
with their usual wickedness, have refused to fall in with this pretence.
Their existence constitutes an embarrassment to America, because in a
quarrel with Japan the United States would unavoidably find themselves
in unwilling alliance with Russia. The conduct of Japan towards Russia
has been quite as bad as that of any other Power. At the time of the
Czecho-Slovak revolt, the Allies jointly occupied Vladivostok, but after
a time all withdrew except the Japanese. All Siberia east of Lake
Baikal, including Vladivostok, now forms one State, the Far Eastern
Republic, with its capital at Chita. Against this Republic, which is
practically though not theoretically Bolshevik, the Japanese have
launched a whole series of miniature Kolchaks--Semenov, Horvath, Ungern,
etc. These have all been defeated, but the Japanese remain in military
occupation of Vladivostok and a great part of the Maritime Province,
though they continually affirm their earnest wish to retire.
In the early days of the Bolshevik régime the Russians lost Northern
Manchuria, which is now controlled by Japan. A board consisting partly
of Chinese and partly of reactionary Russians forms the directorate of
the Chinese Eastern Railway, which runs through Manchuria and connects
with the Siberian Railway. There is not through communication by rail
between Peking and Europe as in the days before 1914. This is an extreme
annoyance to European business men in the Far East, since it means that
letters or journeys from Peking to London take five or six weeks instead
of a fortnight. They try to persuade themselves that the fault lies with
the Bolsheviks, but they are gradually realizing that the real cause is
the reactionary control of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Meanwhile,
various Americans are interesting themselves in this railway and
endeavouring to get it internationalized. Motives similar to those which
led to the Vanderlip concession are forcing friendship with Russia upon
all Americans who have Siberian interests. If Japan were engaged in a
war with America, the Bolsheviks would in all likelihood seize the
opportunity to liberate Vladivostok and recover Russia's former position
in Manchuria. Already, according to _The Times_ correspondent in Peking,
Outer Mongolia, a country about as large as England, France and Germany
combined, has been conquered by Bolshevik armies and propaganda.
The Bolsheviks have, of course, the enthusiastic sympathy of the younger
Chinese students. If they can weather their present troubles, they have
a good chance of being accepted by all vigorous progressive people in
Asia as the liberators of Asia from the tyranny of the Great Powers. As
they were not invited to Washington, they are not a party to any of the
agreements reached there, and it may turn out that they will upset
impartially the ambitions of Japan, Great Britain and America.[83] For
America, no less than other Powers, has ambitions, though they are
economic rather than territorial. If America is victorious in the Far
East, China will be Americanized, and though the shell of political
freedom may remain, there will be an economic and cultural bondage
beneath it. Russia is not strong enough to dominate in this way, but may
become strong enough to secure some real freedom for China. This,
however, is as yet no more than a possibility. It is worth remembering,
because everybody chooses to forget it, and because, while Russia is
treated as a pariah, no settlement of the Far East can be stable. But
what part Russia is going to play in the affairs of China it is as yet
impossible to say.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 63: On this subject George Gleason, _What Shall I Think of
Japan?_ pp. 174-5, says: "This paragraph concerns the iron and steel
mills at the city of Hanyang, which, with Wuchang and Hangkow, form the
Upper Yangtze commercial centre with a population of 1,500,000 people.
The Hanyeping Company owns a large part of the Tayeh iron mines, eighty
miles east of Hangkow, with which there are water and rail connections.
The ore is 67 per cent. iron, fills the whole of a series of hills 500
feet high, and is sufficient to turn out 1,000,000 tons a year for 700
years. [Probably an overstatement.] Coal for the furnaces is obtained
from Pinghsiang, 200 miles distant by water, where in 1913 five thousand
miners dug 690,000 tons. Japanese have estimated that the vein is
capable of producing yearly a million tons for at least five
centuries....
"Thus did Japan attempt to enter and control a vital spot in the heart
of China which for many years Great Britain has regarded as her special
trade domain."
Mr. Gleason is an American, not an Englishman. The best account of this
matter is given by Mr. Coleman, _The Far East Unveiled_, chaps. x.-xiv.
See below, pp. 232-3.]
[Footnote 64: See letter from Mr. Eugene Chen, _Japan Weekly Chronicle_,
October 20, 1921.]
[Footnote 65: The Notes embodying this agreement are quoted in Pooley,
_Japan's Foreign Policies_, Allen & Unwin, 1920, pp. 141-2.]
[Footnote 66: On this subject, Baron Hayashi, now Japanese Ambassador to
the United Kingdom, said to Mr. Coleman: "When Viscount Kato sent China
a Note containing five groups, however, and then sent to England what
purported to be a copy of his Note to China, and that copy only
contained four of the groups and omitted the fifth altogether, which was
directly a breach of the agreement contained in the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance, he did something which I can no more explain than you can.
Outside of the question of probity involved, his action was unbelievably
foolish" (_The Far East Unveiled_, p. 73).]
[Footnote 67: The demands in their original and revised forms, with the
negotiations concerning them, are printed in Appendix B of _Democracy
and the Eastern Question_, by Thomas F. Millard, Allen & Unwin, 1919.]
[Footnote 68: The texts concerned in the various stages of the Shantung
question are printed in S.G. Cheng's _Modern China_, Appendix ii, iii
and ix. For text of Ishii-Lansing Agreement, see Gleason, op. cit. pp.
214-6.]
[Footnote 69: Three books, all by Americans, give the secret and
official history of this matter. They are: _An American Diplomat in
China_, by Paul S. Reinsch, Doubleday, Page & Co., 1922; _Democracy and
the Eastern Question_, by Thomas F. Millard, Allen & Unwin, 1919; and
_China, Captive or Free?_ by the Rev. Gilbert Reid, A.M., D.D. Director
of International Institute of China, Allen & Unwin, 1922.]
[Footnote 70: Millard, p. 99.]
[Footnote 71: See Pooley, _Japan's Foreign Policies_, pp. 23 ff;
Coleman, _The Far East Unveiled_, chap, v., and Millard, chap. iii.]
[Footnote 72: Millard, pp. 64-66.]
[Footnote 73: Reid, op. cit. pp. 114-5; Cheng, op. cit., pp. 343-6.]
[Footnote 74: See Appendix III of Cheng's _Modern China_, which contains
this note (p. 346) as well as the other "documents relative to the
negotiations between Japan and the Allied Powers as to the disposal of
the German rights in respect of Shantung Province, and the South Sea
Islands north of the Equator."]
[Footnote 75: The story of the steps leading up to China's declaration
of war is admirably told in Reid, op. cit. pp. 88-109.]
[Footnote 76: Port of the letter is quoted by Dr. Reid, p. 108.]
[Footnote 77: Reid, op. cit. p. 161. Chap. vii. of this book,
"Commercial Rivalries as affecting China," should be read by anyone who
still thinks that the Allies stood for honesty or mercy or anything
except money-grubbing.]
[Footnote 78: Appendix C, pp. 421-4.]
[Footnote 79: A list of these loans is given by Hollington K. Tong in an
article on "China's Finances in 1918" in _China in_ 1918, published
early in 1919 by the Peking leader, pp. 61-2. The list and some of the
comments appear also in Putnam Weale's _The Truth about China and
Japan_.]
[Footnote 80: Mr. Lansing's book, in so far as it deals with Japanese
questions, is severely criticized from a Japanese point of view in Dr.
Y. Soyeda's pamphlet "Shantung Question and Japanese Case," League of
Nations Association of Japan, June 1921. I do not think Dr. Soyeda's
arguments are likely to appeal to anyone who is not Japanese.]
[Footnote 81: See the clauses concerning Shantung, in full, in Cheng's
_Modern China_, Clarendon Press, pp. 360-1.]
[Footnote 82: This agitation is well described in Mr. M.T.Z. Tyau's
_China Awakened_ (Macmillan, 1922) chap, ix., "The Student Movement."]
[Footnote 83: "Soviet Russia has addressed to the Powers a protest
against the discussion at the Washington Conference of the East China
Railway, a question exclusively affecting China and Russia, and declares
that it reserves for itself full liberty of action in order to compel
due deference to the rights of the Russian labouring masses and to make
demands consistent with those rights" (_Daily Herald_, December 22,
1921). This is the new-style imperialism. It was not the "Russian
labouring masses," but the Chinese coolies, who built the railway. What
Russia contributed was capital, but one is surprised to find the
Bolsheviks considering that this confers rights upon themselves as heirs
of the capitalists.]