Part 4 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration: Silk-reeling done in the open under the Walls of Peking.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Modern Peking: A Run on a Bank.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Re-opening of Parliament on August 1st, 1916, after three years of dictatorial rule.]
Moreover Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai had also shown in his selection and use of foreign Advisers, that he was determined to proceed in such a manner as to advertise his suspicion and enmity of j.a.pan. After the Coup d'etat of the 4th November, 1913, and the scattering of Parliament, it was an American Adviser who was set to work on the new ”Const.i.tution”; and although a j.a.panese, Dr. Ariga, who was in receipt of a princely salary, aided and abetted this work, his endors.e.m.e.nt of the dictatorial rule was looked upon as traitorous by the bulk of his countrymen. Similarly, it was perfectly well-known that Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai was spending large sums of money in Tokio in bribing certain organs of the j.a.panese Press and in attempting to win adherents among j.a.panese members of Parliament.
Remarkable stories are current which compromise very highly-placed j.a.panese but which the writer hesitates to set down in black and white as doc.u.mentary proof is not available. In any case, be this as it may, it was felt in Tokio that the time had arrived to give a proper definition to the relations between the two states,--the more so as Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai, by publicly proclaiming a small war-zone in Shantung within the limits of which the j.a.panese were alone permitted to wage war against the Germans, had shown himself indifferent to the majesty of j.a.pan. The j.a.panese having captured Kiaochow by a.s.sault before the end of 1914 decided to accept the view that a _de facto_ Dictators.h.i.+p existed in China. Therefore on the 18th of January, 1915, the j.a.panese Minister, Dr. Hioki, personally served on Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai the now famous Twenty-one Demands, a list designed to satisfy every present and future need of j.a.panese policy and to reduce China to a state of va.s.salage.
CHAPTER VI
THE TWENTY-ONE DEMANDS
Although the press of the world gave a certain prominence at the time to the astounding _demarche_ with which we now have to deal, there was such persistent mystery about the matter and so many official _dementis_ accompanied every publication of the facts that even to this day the nature of the a.s.sault which j.a.pan delivered on China is not adequately realized, nor is the narrow escape a.s.signed its proper place in estimates of the future. Briefly, had there not been publication of the facts and had not British diplomacy been aroused to action there is little doubt that j.a.pan would have forced matters so far that Chinese independence would now be virtually a thing of the past. Fortunately, however, China in her hour of need found many who were willing to succour her; with the result that although she lost something in these negotiations, j.a.pan nevertheless failed in a very signal fas.h.i.+on to attain her main objective. The Pyrrhic victory which she won with her eleventh hour ultimatum will indeed in the end cost her more than would have a complete failure, for Chinese suspicion and hostility are now so deep-seated that nothing will ever completely eradicate them. It is therefore only proper that an accurate record should be here incorporated of a chapter of history which has much international importance; and if we invite close attention to the ma.s.s of doc.u.ments that follow it is because we hold that an adequate comprehension of them is essential to securing the future peace of the Far East. Let us first give the official text of the original Demands:
j.a.pAN'S ORIGINAL TWENTY-ONE DEMANDS
Translations of Doc.u.ments Handed to the President, Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai, by Mr. Hioki, the j.a.panese Minister, on January 18th, 1915.
GROUP I
The j.a.panese Government and the Chinese Government being desirous of maintaining the general peace in Eastern Asia and further strengthening the friendly relations and good neighbourhood existing between the two nations agree to the following articles:--
Article 1. The Chinese Government engages to give full a.s.sent to all matters upon which the j.a.panese Government may hereafter agree with the German Government relating to the disposition of all rights, interests and concessions, which Germany, by virtue of treaties or otherwise, possesses in relation to the Province of Shantung.
Article 2. The Chinese Government engages that within the Province of Shantung and along its coast no territory or island will be ceded or leased to a third Power under any pretext.
Article 3. The Chinese Government consents to j.a.pan's building a railway from Chefoo or Lungkow to join the Kiaochou-Tsinanfu railway.
Article 4. The Chinese Government engages, in the interest of trade and for the residence of foreigners, to open by herself as soon as possible certain important cities and towns in the Province of Shantung as Commercial Ports. What places shall be opened are to be jointly decided upon in a separate agreement.
GROUP II
The j.a.panese Government and the Chinese Government, since the Chinese Government has always acknowledged the special position enjoyed by j.a.pan in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, agree to the following articles:--
Article 1. The two Contracting Parties mutually agree that the term of lease of Port Arthur and Dalny and the term of lease of the South Manchurian Railway and the Antung-Mukden Railway shall be extended to the period of 99 years.
Article 2. j.a.panese subjects in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia shall have the right to lease or own land required either for erecting suitable buildings for trade and manufacture or for farming.
Article 3. j.a.panese subjects shall be free to reside and travel in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia and to engage in business and in manufacture of any kind whatsoever.
Article 4. The Chinese Government agrees to grant to j.a.panese subjects the right of opening the mines in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia. As regards what mines are to be opened, they shall be decided upon jointly.
Article 5. The Chinese Government agrees that in respect of the (two) cases mentioned herein below the j.a.panese Government's consent shall be first obtained before action is taken:--
(a) Whenever permission is granted to the subject of a third Power to build a railway or to make a loan with a third Power for the purpose of building a railway in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia.