CHINA JOINS THE FIGHTING DEMOCRACIES
The circumstances connected with the entrance of the Republic of China
into the World War were as follows: On February 4, 1917, the American
Minister, Dr. Reinsch, requested the Chinese Government to follow the
United States in protesting against the German use of the submarine
against neutral ships. On February 9th Pekin made such a protest to
Germany, and declared its intention of severing diplomatic relations if
the protest were ineffectual. The immediate answer of Germany was to
torpedo the French ship Atlas in the Mediterranean on which were over
seven hundred Chinese laborers. On March 10th the Chinese Parliament
empowered the government to break with Germany. On the same afternoon a
reply was received from the German Government to the Chinese protest,
of a very mild character. The reply produced a great deal of surprise
in China.
A Chinese statesman made this comment on the German change of attitude:
“The troops under Count Waldersee leaving Germany for the relief of
Pekin were instructed by the War Lord to grant no quarter to the
Chinese. On the other hand, the latter were to be so disciplined that
they would never dare look a German in the face again. The whirligig
of time brings its own revenge, and today, after the lapse of scarcely
seventeen years, we hear the _Vossische Zeitung_ commenting on the
diplomatic rupture between China and Germany, lamenting that even so
weak a state as the Far Eastern Republic dares look defiantly at the
German nation.”
The breaking off of relations with Germany led to trouble between the
President of the Republic and the Premier. The Premier desired to break
off relations without consulting Parliament. The President insisted
that Parliament should be consulted, which was actually done. The next
move was to declare war, but here the Chinese statesmen hesitated, and
their hesitation arose through their feeling toward Japan.
They sympathized with the Allies, but to Chinese eyes Japan had stood
for all that Germany, as depicted by its worst enemies, stood for. The
Japanese Government was professing friendliness to China, but that
profession the Chinese could not reconcile with Japan’s action in
the Chino-Japanese War, and on many other occasions since that war.
In Chinese hearts there was a strong feeling of distrust, fear and
hatred for their Japanese neighbor. There were other reasons also why
they hesitated to declare war. Indeed the devotion to peace, which is
deep-rooted in the nation, would be a sufficient reason in itself.
Moreover, China, like other neutral nations, was a strong center
for German propaganda. German consuls and diplomatic officers, who
were scholars in Chinese literature and philosophy, and who also had
sufficient funds to entertain Chinese officials as they liked to be
entertained, were actively endeavoring to influence Chinese statesmen.
The Chinese Government, however, was determined to declare war, and
to secure support the Chinese Premier summoned a council of military
governors to consider the question. The majority of the conference
agreed with the Premier, but a vigorous opposition began to develop. On
May 7th the President sent a formal request to Parliament to approve of
a declaration of war. Parliament delayed and was threatened by a mob.
The Premier was accused of having instigated the riot and support began
to gather for Parliament, and an attack was made on the Premier as
being willing to sell China.
Day by day the differences between the militants and democrats became
more bitter. The question of war was almost lost in the differences of
opinion as to the comparative powers of Parliament and the Executive.
A demand was made that the Premier resign. He refused to resign and
was dismissed from office by the President, who was supported in his
action by the Parliament. This was practically a success of the
Parliamentary party, when suddenly several of the northern generals
and governors declared their independence, and the movement gradually
developed into a revolution in favor of the restoration of the Manchu
Dynasty. This revolution was finally suppressed.
The Japanese declared themselves, not the enemies, but the protectors
of China in terms that suggested the appearance of a Monroe Doctrine
for Asia. They pledged themselves not to violate the political
independence or territorial integrity of China, and declared strongly
in favor of the principle of the open door and equal opportunity.
On August 14th China formally joined the Allies and declared war on
Austria and Germany. She took no great part in the war, except to
invade the German and Austrian settlements in Tientsin and Hankow,
which were taken over by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese officials
also seized the Deutsche Asiatische Bank which had been financing
agent in China for the German Government, and fourteen German vessels
which had been interned in Chinese ports. Thousands of Chinese coolies
were sent to Europe to work in the Allied interests behind the battle
lines, and China has in all respects been faithful to her pledges.
The official war proclamation of China which was signed by President
Feng-kuo-chang reviewed China’s efforts to induce Germany to modify
her submarine policy. It declared that China had been forced to sever
relations with Germany and with Austro-Hungary to protect the lives and
property of Chinese citizens. It promised that China would respect the
Hague Convention, regarding the humane conduct of the war, and asserted
that China’s object was to hasten peace.
On July 22d Siam officially entered the war and all German and Austrian
subjects were interned and German ships seized. The Prince of Songkla,
brother of the reigning monarch, declared that natural necessity and
moral pressure forced Siam into the war on the side of the Entente.
Neutrality had become increasingly difficult, and it had become
apparent that freedom and justice in states which were not strong from
a military standpoint were not to be secured through the policy of
the Central Powers. Sympathy for Belgium and the popular aversion to
Teutonic methods had left no doubt as to the duty of Siam. The motive
of Siam had a curious fitness, though there was a certain quaintness in
her expression of a desire to make, “the world safe for democracy.”
The native name of Siam is Muang-Thai, which means the Kingdom of the
Free. Siam is about as large as France, and has a population of about
eight millions. Its people, who are of many shades of yellowish-brown,
have descended into this corner of Asia from the highlands north of
Burma and east of Tibet. The tradition among these people was that the
further south they descended the shorter they would grow, that when
they reached the southern plains they would be no larger than rabbits,
and that when they came to the sea they would vanish altogether. As a
fact the northern tribes are much taller than the southern.
The original population of the Siamese peninsula was a race of black
dwarfs, remnants of whom still dwell in caves and nests of palm
leaves, so shy that it is almost impossible to catch a glimpse of
them. The literary and religious culture of Siam comes mainly from
southern India. Buddhism is the dominant religion, but there are many
Mohammedans also.
The accession of Siam to the ranks of the Allies did not make any great
difference from a military point of view, but it was another evidence
of the general world feeling with regard to the Germans and their
encroachments in all parts of the world. Germany had tried its best
to keep these nations from participation in the war, but not only had
her propaganda failed but the feeling of these Oriental peoples was
strongly anti-German. Much of this feeling, it is readily seen from
their statements and their private letters, comes from a personal
resentment of the boorish attitude of the individual German. By the end
of 1918 the Teuton influence in the Orient had completely disappeared.