Chapter 43 Four two, fiasco!Chinese Diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference

In January 1919, the Paris Peace Conference officially opened.Since China was also one of the victorious countries, it was naturally included in the invitation. The government of the Republic of China was also elated, and then sent a special envoy headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lu Zhengxiang. Wang Zhengting, the representative of the southern military government, Hu Weide, the minister in France, Yan Huiqing, the minister in Denmark and other European and American diplomats provided backup. Before leaving, President Xu Shichang, Prime Minister Qian Nengxun and Duan Qirui all placed high hopes on the special envoy, hoping to take the opportunity of the peace meeting to cancel the rights and interests of Germany and Austria in China and withdraw from the foreign countries. The military and police in China, the abolition of consular jurisdiction, the return of leased land, and independent customs duties are legitimate demands.

Didn't President Wilson of the United States say in the "Fourteen Points" declaration that this will be an open and peaceful conference, and an international federation will be organized to maintain world justice... What a good idea, what a wonderful blueprint ! Not only that, President Wei also sent notes to the government of the Republic of China through the diplomatic department many times, hoping that China will cooperate fully with the United States in the peace conference.With the guarantee from the President of Weida, wouldn't things be much easier to handle.But the excitement is the excitement, and the people of the country should pour cold water on their backs at this time and drink ice to meditate... Domestic peace talks are so difficult, so how can the international peace conference be smooth sailing?

On January 18th, the Paris Peace Conference officially opened. The meeting publicly elected French Prime Minister Clemenceau as the chairman, and four people as the vice-chairmen: US Secretary of State Lansing, British Prime Minister Lloyd George, Italian Prime Minister Orlando, and Japanese Marquis Saizonji; A ten-member committee composed of two representatives from each of the five countries, Britain, the United States, France, Italy, and Japan, served as the deliberation and decision-making body of the peace conference.As for the number of delegates to the Congress, they are also classified according to size: 5 seats from big countries, 1 to 3 seats from small and medium countries...China has 2 seats.

When the Chinese representative was full of hope that the peace conference would be able to deal with legitimate demands such as "withdrawal of troops and independent tariffs", those big countries said that such demands had nothing to do with the peace conference and that they had to be discussed at another meeting. On January 27, when the five major powers were discussing the handling of Germany’s overseas colonies, Japan suddenly proposed to inherit Germany’s rights and interests in Shandong, and insisted that the Shandong issue should not be included in the discussion agenda, intending that Japan would monopolize the former German rights and interests.

Since this issue involves China, the "Ten People's Committee" temporarily notified the Chinese representatives to come and state their opinions.Lu Zhengxiang and others were very surprised when they learned about it, because Japan had repeatedly stated that it would return Qingdao to China. Why did it suddenly go back on its word and want to monopolize the original German rights in Shandong? Speaking of the Shandong issue, it is a long story.As early as 1897, a teaching case occurred in Caozhou, Shandong Province. Two German missionaries were beaten to death by a group of unidentified people. As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II immediately ordered the Far East Fleet to head straight to the Shandong Peninsula in a murderous manner. , occupied the Jiaozhou Bay area without saying a word, and then forced the Qing government to sign the "Sino-German Jiaozhou Lease Treaty" on the pretext of the teaching plan. Germany thus obtained the 99-year lease of Jiaozhou Bay, the right to lay the Jiaozhou-Jinan Railway and its Shandong has also become the sphere of influence of Germany with regard to the rights of mineral development within 30 miles along the railway line.

After the outbreak of World War I, Japan declared war on Germany under the pretext of taking over the Qingdao and Jiaoji Railways, which had been operated by the Germans for nearly 20 years, and pretended to be its new owner.Before the Hongxian monarchy, Japan suddenly threw out the "Twenty-One" and forced Yuan Shikai to admit that Japan had inherited all the rights and interests of Germany in Shandong.Once this matter was made public, the whole country was in an uproar, and the world was astonished. But at this time, because the European War was in full swing, Britain, France, and Italy reached an understanding in private in order to win Japan's support. The Shandong issue clause in the "Twenty-One" and the private understanding reached between Britain, France, Italy and Japan are important reasons for the Japanese representative to inherit the rights and interests of Germany.Therefore, after Japan raised this argument, Britain, France, and Italy knew that they had ghosts in their hearts, so they kept silent and refused to offend Japan because of China. Only the representative of the United States expressed dissatisfaction with Japan's plot to dominate China ( They are competitors), and they are willing to "speak out of justice" and say a few good things for China.

The Chinese representative was originally extremely optimistic about the peace conference. He never thought that there would be such a troublesome "Shandong issue", and he panicked for a while.In detail, if Japan mentions "21", the Chinese representative still has the reason of "forced by the situation" to argue, but he is surprised to see the private understanding between Britain, France and Italy and Japan, because this is obviously a secret diplomacy , It is contrary to the open diplomacy that President Wilson said! The Japanese representatives thought they had the acquiescence of Britain, France and other countries, so it was no longer a problem to inherit Germany’s rights in Shandong. After hearing the counterargument of the Chinese representatives, they said sarcastically that Japan had contributed a lot to eradicate the German forces. The sacrifice is great, what has China done?But sending a few laborers, digging a few trenches, and transporting a few buckets of grain, how can it be compared with Japan's contribution?Now that the German-Austrian Concession has been returned, China has already gained a lot of benefits, so how can we fight for Qingdao back?Ignore it!

Under the mediation of the representative of the United States, the ten-member meeting was adjourned again, and the representative of China was allowed to set another time to state the reasons.In fact, before coming to Paris, Lu Zhengxiang had a brief stay in Japan and met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida. Uchida also said at the time that he would return the rights and interests of Shandong to China according to the previous statement, but he had to wait for Japan to obtain it from Germany according to the legal procedures. After that, it will be returned to China Yunyun.But after this peace meeting, the Japanese representative never said anything about repayment, but insisted on occupying all the rights and interests of Germany in Shandong, which made Lu Zhengxiang feel that the situation was serious and should not be underestimated.

Subsequently, Chief Lu convened a meeting of representatives of the Special Mission to discuss solutions to the problem.After deliberation, the delegates decided that Gu Weijun would be the main narrator to express China's attitude and defense reasons to the "Commission of Ten".Gu Weijun graduated from Columbia University, studied under the famous American law professor Goodnow and obtained a doctorate degree. After returning to China, he was appreciated by the then Prime Minister Tang Shaoyi and became the son-in-law of the Tang family.Although Gu Weijun is the youngest among the missions, his eloquence and foreign language skills are the best, so it is most suitable for him to be the main speaker.

After careful preparation, Gu Weijun elaborated on Shandong's history, race, religion, customs, culture and many other aspects in the subsequent meeting that China should unconditionally and directly take back Germany's rights and interests in Shandong.At the meeting, Gu Weijun started a verbal war with Japanese representative Makino, and Makino was finally refuted speechless. The "Ten People's Association" also believed that Gu Weijun's defense was very convincing, and the situation began to turn in China's favor. At this time, the representative of Japan threw out the exchange letter of the "Jishun Gaoxu Railway Loan Contract" in the "Nishihara Loan", which clearly recorded the reply of Zhang Zongxiang, the representative of the Beijing government, saying that "the Chinese government is very concerned about the Japanese Suggestion, gladly agree" in large characters.

The truth of history often lies in the scrutiny of details.What is going on with this "Jishun Gaoxu Railway Loan Contract" exchange?What is Japan's suggestion?Why did representative Zhang "graciously agree"? This has to start with the Jiaoji Railway.After the Germans forcibly leased Jiaozhou Bay, they built a new city, Qingdao, here. However, the German appetite is not limited to Jiaozhou Bay, but to designate Shandong as its area of ​​interest, the most important of which is The move was to build a railway from Qingdao to Jinan.Some people say that it is a good thing that Germans help us build the railway!Why should we object? Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century when the strong preyed on the weak, not to mention that the Germans came to Shandong purely as robbers, even ordinary foreign capital always had various political conditions attached to investing in China. This Jiaoji Railway is a German It is true that the Germans invested in the construction, but the right of way of the entire railway and the mining development rights along the line were also seized by the Germans. This kind of investment is not just an investment.For example, the Jiaoji Railway is on Chinese territory, but if China wants to use this road to transport troops, the Germans must agree to it. The law and order of the country are all in the hands of the Germans!Are you saying that you are angry or not? A hungry wolf was chased away, and a vicious tiger came later, and the Japanese drove the Germans away, so they thought to themselves, since the monk can touch it, why can't I touch it?Since the Chinese can endure the privileges of Germany, they should endure the privileges of Japan!Therefore, the Japanese representatives at the peace conference followed this logic. They thought the Chinese were really unreasonable. However, from the perspective of international law, Germany was driven away and even defeated. The previously signed "Sino-Germany Jiao-Australia Lease Treaty" is actually invalid. If Japan wants to inherit the rights and interests of Germany, it must sign a new treaty, otherwise it will be illegal. .Even if Japan coerces China to admit that Japan has inherited all the rights and interests of Germany in the "21", where is the treaty between China and Japan?There is still no direct legal basis!Besides, Japan claimed before sending troops that it was sending troops on behalf of China, and that it should return Qingdao and related rights and interests to China in the future. How can it live up to its words? Therefore, the Japanese set up a small trap, which is the "Jishun Gaoxu Railway Loan Contract".On the surface, the Chinese government borrowed 20 million yen from the Industrial Bank of Japan, the Bank of Taiwan, and the Bank of Korea to build the two branch lines from Jinan to Shunde and from Gaomi to Xuzhou.During the negotiation process, the Chinese side proposed that the Japanese troops along the Jiaoji Railway be withdrawn to Qingdao, while Japan proposed that the withdrawal is possible, but a small part must be left in Jinan, and all the others should be mobilized to Qingdao; the security along the Jiaoji Railway is determined by the China is responsible, but the patrol headquarters and other departments must employ Japanese; after the ownership of the Jiaoji Railway is confirmed, it will be jointly run by China and Japan. Duan Qirui's cabinet, who presided over the matter at the time, felt that the loan provided by the Japanese was quite favorable, and also agreed to withdraw the Japanese troops along the Jiaoji Railway to Qingdao (the railway and Qingdao were controlled by the Germans before), isn't this a double win? Is it a good thing?Although Qingdao is still controlled by the Japanese, they have also stated that they will return it after the war is over, which is why Zhang Zongxiang replied "with pleasure". But what Duan Qirui and others did not expect was that the Japanese actually used borrowed money to withdraw their troops as a bait in exchange for China's tacit approval of Japan's occupation of Qingdao and the inheritance of German rights and interests in official documents...Since you "happyly agreed" to the Japanese army from The Jiaoji Railway was withdrawn to Qingdao. Doesn't that mean that their control of Qingdao was approved by the Chinese official document?Although Japan has actually controlled the Qingdao and Jiaoji Railways before, they have not been officially and directly recognized by the Chinese side. This is good, and the Chinese side has been tricked by the Japanese... This little Japan is really insidious of. This is good, and the US representative can no longer speak for China. After their request to hand over Germany’s rights and interests in Shandong to international co-management was rejected by the Japanese side, the US representative’s position also began to soften, and in turn persuaded China to accept the reality. .At this time, Italian Prime Minister Orlando withdrew from the peace conference angrily because his request for Fiume territory was not met. Japan also took the opportunity to exert pressure, claiming that if the Shandong issue could not be resolved satisfactorily, Japan would follow in Italy's footsteps and withdraw from the peace conference. Under the threat of Japan, the representatives of Britain, the United States, and France panicked, because if Italy and Japan withdraw at the same time, the Paris Peace Conference will inevitably end in failure. The plans for a new world order will all go bankrupt, which is not what they want.As a result, these oligarchs decided to make concessions to Japan. As for China's interests, it was not within their consideration. On April 22, the giants of Britain, the United States, and France invited Lu Zhengxiang and Gu Weijun to announce the plan they had reached a consensus with Japan.U.S. President Wilson first complained that China had the "Twenty-One" in 1915, and then the exchange of "agreeable" notes in 1918, and now it was impossible to help; then he persuaded China to accept their "best plan": "Japan obtained the Jiaozhou leased land and all the rights and interests stipulated in the Sino-German Treaty, and then Japan returned the leased land to China, but after returning it still enjoyed all economic rights, including the Jiaoji Railway." When Gu Weijun retorted that the 1915 treaty was the result of coercion, while the 1918 exchange of letters was based on the former agreement, Wilson asked disapprovingly: "Although the former agreement was coercion, Japan did not coerce in the latter treaty. Why? What about 'agreeing with pleasure'?" Gu Weijun was at a loss for words for a moment... This damn little Japan not only dares to threaten and coerce, but their lures are also very powerful.At that time, it was just to covet the 20 million loan, that's why he quenched his thirst by drinking poison! At this time, British Prime Minister Lloyd George also came to help, and asked whether China was willing to accept this "best plan" or whether it was willing to abide by the previous secret agreement between China and Japan.When Lu Zhengxiang and Gu Weijun expressed that neither of these two proposals could be accepted, Wilson practiced Taijiquan again, saying that this matter is not easy to resolve, and it is better to wait until the League of Nations is established before making plans. up.Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Clemenceau also echoed. They knew they had a guilty conscience, so they hurriedly adjourned the meeting and ran away without waiting for the Chinese representative to make an argument. After working for a long time, President Wilson Williams, who has always been regarded as an upright "good man in the world", turned out to be a silver-like wax gun... "Wei Da Pao" is also! On April 30, without the consent of the Chinese representative, the highest body of the Paris Peace Conference made a final ruling on the Shandong issue, recognizing that Japan inherited all the rights and interests of Germany in Shandong (that is, Articles 156, 157, and 158).As for the issue that Japan must return the rights and interests of Shandong to China, the Japanese side is only willing to make verbal promises and opposes express provisions in the peace treaty. Therefore, these three clauses are extremely unfavorable to China. After learning of the final ruling, the Chinese representatives made a strong protest to the peace conference on May 4: "In order to maintain the peace conference, the three-nation conference actually used China as a funeral object. China's fate is due to its gradual entry into the League of Nations. Instead, it will become an exchange of interests for the League of Nations. This kind of unbelief and unrighteous treatment is really hard to admit!" However, the big powers turned a deaf ear to China's protests, and they still announced the "Versailles Peace Treaty" on May 6 according to the original plan. Since joining the newly established League of Nations at that time had to sign the Versailles Peace Treaty, this meant that China had to be in a dilemma. Make a choice: If you want to join the League of Nations, you must sign; if you don't sign, you cannot join the League of Nations.As a result, China's diplomacy at the Paris Peace Treaty has been declared a complete failure. The most absurd thing is that China, as a victorious country, was treated as a defeated country at the peace conference that advertised "justice and justice", which really poured cold water on the heads of the Chinese people.This heart of our Chinese people is really injured this time, wow and cool ... Is this the so -called "international axiom"? To put it bluntly, the disastrous defeat of Chinese diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference can only illustrate one problem, that is... "The peace conference still depends on combat power, how can justice defeat power?" The so-called "weak country has no diplomacy", the voice of a country at the negotiating table is often determined by the strength of its fists. If you are a poor country, a weak country and a small country, even if you shout your throat, who will talk to you? Woolen cloth? After learning of the failure of China's diplomacy, Chen Duxiu, editor-in-chief of "New Youth", published a short article titled "Two peace conferences are useless": "In the peace conference in Shanghai, both parties focused on the rights of the parties. What is the disarmament?" The abolition of governors is just to talk nicely and to save face. In fact, how can they do it. The peace conference in Paris, all countries focus on their own rights, what axioms, what eternal peace, what President Wilson's 14-point declaration, that's it. It's worthless empty words." In the end, Mr. Chen couldn't help sighing: "These two spoils conferences are separated from the eternal peace of the world and the true happiness of mankind by more than a hundred and eight thousand miles!"