Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 17.djvu/212

 OHINA 196 CHINA

kiin, war lord of the Chihli party, with head- War, plus the value of the improvements added by ouarters at Pao-ting-fu; and Wu Pei-fu, former Japan, making allowance for depreciation. Japan chief lieutenant of Tsao-kim, in charge of the promised to withdraw all her military forces from Yang-tze' regions. The main factor in the south is Shan-tung, as soon as China sent her own troops the Canton povernment under Dr. Sun Yat-sen. to guard the railway there. Great Britain offered Another political division exists in the three south- to return her concessions, Wei-hai-wei, and France, west provinces of Yun-nan, Kwei-chou and Kwang-chou-wan. Other matters concerning China's Sze-chwan, but these are fluctuating between Dr. welfare were also settled in the Conference. Under Sun and Wu Pei-fu. the nine-power treaty of 4 February, a complete

Foreign Relations. — Soon after the outbreak of revision of China's revenues was made, and instead the European War, China proclaimed her neutrality of the arrangement adopted in 1843 under which by a Presidential Mandate of 6 August, 1914. A China was technically to receive a 5 per cent week later Japan delivered an ultimatum to Ger- quota of the revenues, but under which she actually many demanding the surrender of the leased ter* received a scant 3% per cent ad valorem, a new ritoiy of Kiao-chou ''with a view to eventual arrangement was effected so that China will receive restoration of the same to China." Failing to 5 per cent of the revenues and a surtax of 2^^ receive a reply to her ultimatum, Japan declared per cent on some goods; and the likin will be war on Germany, 23 August, 1914. The first con- abolished. The nine-power pact also declared for tingent of Japanese troops, 20,000 strong, despatched the integrity of Chinese sovereignty and for equal to attack Tsmg-tao, landed unexpectedly at Lung- opportunity in trade intercourse. Each of the khau, and on their way across the peninsula to powers (United States, Belgium, the British Efnpire, Kiao-chou, occupied cities and towijs en route, China, France, Italy, Japan, Holland, and Portugal) even Wei-Hsien and Tsi-nan. With the help of was pledged to refrain from seeking any unfair or the British they forced the Germans to siirrender special advantages, to respect Chinese neutrality, the bombarded Tsing-tao and their garrison on and to come together in a conference with China, 8 November, 1915. Eight days later they entered if any situation should rise to involve the applica- the city. Seeing that with the complete surrender tion of the stipulations of the treaty. China, on of the Germans, hostilities had terminated and mili- her part, undertook not to alienate or lease any tary measures had been abandoned, the Chinese portion of her territory or littoral to any power, demanded the withdrawal of the Japanese from China was requested to reduce her armies and to the interior of Shan-tung to Tsing-tao, but the reveal all her secret treaties (one of these was a latter had assumed possession of all administrative secret treaty of alliance with Russia in 1896). authority exercised by the Germans, had taken There are plans to finance China's present trans- possession of the Shan-tung railway, and had ex- portation needs by an International Consortium, tended their authority to certain cities outside and formed by the baiters of the United States, Great leased territory. At this time (18 Januaxy, 1915), Britain, France, and Japan, as the coimtiy is too the Japanese government, to the dismay of China, large to be financed by one power, presented twenty-one demands, including the fol- The World War.— At the outbreak of the World lowing: China was to give full assent to all mat- War China preserved the strictest neutrality, but ters upon which the Japanese government may with the entrance of the United States into the hereafter agree with Germany, relating to the dis- struggle, China sided with that ooimtry in her

Position of all rights, interests, and concessions in protest against the submarine warfare and declared han-timg. Negotiations lasted until 7 May, when war against Germany and Austria-Hungary on 14 Japan sent an ultimatum to China, demanding a reply August, 1917. The allies responded by a^preeing to within forty-ei^ht hours. In face of the increasing the postponement of the Boxer indemmty for a Japanese garrisons in Manchuria and Shantung, period of five years, commencing from 1 January, China was forced to yield. In the treaty signed on 1918, Russia, however, consenting to the suspension 25 May, 1915, she agreed never to alienate any ter- of only one-third of its annual share. The internal ritory on or near the coast of Shan-tung to a foreign condition of China forbade anything like active power, to give the Japanese a free hand in South participation, but in the end China joined the Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, to extend Allied Expedition to Siberia to stem the tide of the leases of Port Arthur and Dairen for a period Bolshevism and the Interallied Railway Technical of ninety-nine years, also the leases of the South Commission to help reorganize Russia's railways. Manchurian Railway, and the Antung-Mukden In January, 1918, Peking concluded with Tokio the Railway. At the Peace Conference at Versailles socalled Arms Pact under which Japan agreed to in 1919, Japan claimed, on the ground of conquest, supply China with arms and ammunition to the the leased territory of Kiao-chou and all Ger- amoimt of 40,000,000 yen— the ostensible object many's economic privileges in Shantung; whereas bein|; to equip the Chinese expedition to Europe, China asked the Conference for a settlement which but m reality both the proceeds and arms went to would secure to her the restitution of the leased help the Northern militarists to crush the Consti- territory and the cancellation of Germany's eco- tution-defending South. Gne month before the nomic privileges. Japan, however, obtained recog- Armistice, on 3 October, 1918, the Republic ex- nition of her claim in the treaty, which China flathr tended its recognition to the Czechoslovaks oper- refused to sign, the indignation of the whole ating in Siberia, and allowed them passage on the nation being promptly expressed by a boycott of Chinese Eastern Railway. If circumstances such Japanese goocu. as a lack of transportation facilities prevented the

The controversy was brought up again at the Chinese soldiers from serving in France, their place Washington Disarmament Conference in 1922. In was nobly taken by the Chinese laborers, of whom a treaty signed between the two powers, China two thousand perished in France. They aJso served and Japan, on 4 February, 1922, Snan-tung with in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and South Africa, in all, all the former German properties, concessions, rail- no less than 150,000. China signed the Treaty of way, port, mining, maritime customs, and other Peace with Germany on 10 May, 1921 • the Bul- rights, was finally returned to China, who was to garian Peace treaty at Neuilly on 27 November, pay the assessed value of the properties taken by 1919; the Hungarian Peace Treaty at Trianon on the Japanese from the Germans during the World 4 June, 1920.