Chapter 81 8. "Peace Messenger" Litton Investigation Team

The Lytton Investigation Team, that is, the international investigation team sent by the League of Nations for the Japanese occupation of Northeast China.This investigation team represented the opinions of the European and American powers at that time, so it was given great expectations by the Chinese side. After the "September 18th" Incident, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Xueliang and other high-level Chinese officials pursued a policy of non-resistance, pinning their hopes of recovering Northeast China on the intervention of foreign powers.At the repeated request of the Chinese representative, on December 10, 1931, the Council of the League of Nations passed a resolution, deciding to send a League of Nations investigation team to the Far East to investigate the "September 18th" incident on the spot.The mission of the investigation team was limited to studying the background of the dispute between China and Japan and submitting a report to the League of Nations. It had no right to interfere in the military actions of the two countries or suggest direct negotiations between the two sides.

It dragged on for more than a month, and on January 21, 1932, the League of Nations investigation team was formally established.The investigation team is composed of representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany and Italy.The leader is Sir Lytton, an Englishman, so it is also called the Lytton Investigation Team.During the British colonial rule of India, Lytton served as the governor of Mumbai and the acting governor of India.The U.S. representative was General McCoy, a former governor of the Philippines.The French representative was General Henry Claude, who had served as the commander of the French West African Army.The German representative was Dr. Enrique Heaney, formerly the Governor of German East Africa.The representative of Italy was Earl Marcody, who had been arbitrarily stationed in South American countries.China sent former foreign minister Gu Weijun as a representative to work with the members of the Litton investigation team. The "participating member" sent by the Japanese side was Yisaburo Yoshida, who was once the consul general in Shenyang.

Before the investigation team left, the Executive Yuan of the League of Nations stipulated that they should not only investigate the Manchuria issue caused by Japan's "September 18" incident in China, but also investigate the general situation in China.Because Japan claimed at the time that due to China's political situation, the Chinese government could no longer fulfill its responsibilities and could not protect foreign interests, especially Japan's treaty rights in Manchuria, so Japan sent troops to the Northeast. However, this highly anticipated trip of the Lytton investigation team did not first go to China, which was ravaged by the Japanese army, but first went to Japan, visited Japanese Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Inukai Takeshi, etc., and even fed deer in Nara for entertainment, which seems to have foreshadowed the appeasement nature of its mission. On March 14, the Litton investigation team arrived in Shanghai, China. They were still not in a hurry to go to the Northeast. They just arranged to meet with Chinese political leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Song Ziwen, and then traveled around Wuhu, Jiujiang, Hankou, Chongqing, Yichang, Jinan, Tianjin and other places. Only arrived in Shenyang on April 21.At this time, the Japanese invaders had already concocted the Puppet Manchukuo. Under the brutal suppression of the Japanese army, the resistance forces in the Northeast suffered heavy losses, and almost all major cities had fallen.Obviously, at this time, it has become an extremely difficult task for the Japanese militarists to spit out the Northeast that has fallen into their tiger's mouth.

When the Litton investigation team arrived in Northeast China, Honjo Shigeru, the commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and Pu Yi, the ruler of the Puppet Manchukuo, met with them successively, and repainted all the places they passed to create the atmosphere they needed. However, the people of the three northeastern provinces still tried their best to express their patriotic stance to the members of the Litton investigation team.When Wang Tinglan, the father of Xiao Hong’s ex-fiancé Wang Enjia, went to Qiqihar to secretly meet with the Litton investigation team, he was caught by the Japanese secret agents because of the betrayal of a traitor. Shu Litton asked him to meet him in his control area.Their efforts forced the investigation team to admit that the people in Northeast China "almost undoubtedly believe that Japan is carrying out acts of aggression."

The Litton investigation team finally completed the investigation report on September 4, 1932. The content is very intriguing. On the one hand, the report determined that the Northeast is part of Chinese territory and its sovereignty belongs to China; on the other hand, it believed that China boycotted The movement of Japanese goods was "an important cause of the conflict between China and Japan", and the "current spread of communism" in the Soviet Union was the most important factor that caused the "September 18th" Incident. In this regard, neither China nor Japan is satisfied, and they are all scolding.The Chinese are more hopeful and disappointed. They feel that the Litton investigation team is vague and confused, and there is no minimum justice; while the Japanese think that they have already become one of the great powers, and the Litton investigation team emphasizes China’s sovereignty in the Northeast. It is "dwarfing" and "suppressing" Japan.

Although the statement is a matter of principle, the most important thing is the solution. The report of the Litton investigation team advocated that the status quo of "Manchukuo" should not be recognized, and Japan should withdraw its troops. state, but should be co-administered by the Western powers.From a benevolent point of view, this is putting the Northeast under the jurisdiction of the "United Nations peacekeeping force". In its original intention, the proposal in the Lytton report may not have the intention of using the Northeast as a buffer zone between China, Japan and Russia to isolate all parties.

However, this is simply an impossible solution.First of all, the Northeast was originally under the jurisdiction of China, and in the blink of an eye it became a place where China had no say.It is absolutely impossible for China to give up its actual governance over the Northeast and tolerate such a resolution of betraying China's national sovereignty; secondly, the Japanese invading forces have been coveting the resources of the Northeast for a long time, and once they succeed, they will never give up.In particular, it took more than a year for the League of Nations to come to a resolution. At this time, Japan has consolidated its occupation, and it will not withdraw its troops because of a dead letter without sanctions.

Sacrificing the interests of weak countries and overestimating their own influence and authority, the appeasement policies and problems of the East and the West are exactly the same. On February 24, 1933, with 42 votes in favor and Japan 1 vote against, the League of Nations General Assembly passed the resolution of the 19-nation committee on accepting the "Letton Survey Report" and reiterated that it would not recognize the puppet Manchukuo.On March 28, Japan announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations on the grounds of protesting against the report, making Lytton's investigation report virtually a dead letter.

Facts have proved that the activities of the League of Nations and the "Report of the Lytton Investigation Team" cannot stop the Japanese imperialist aggression against Northeast China.The activities of the Lytton Investigation Group of the League of Nations demonstrated the truth that a weak country has no diplomacy, and it also made more Chinese people abandon the illusion of expecting others to uphold justice and devote themselves to the cause of resisting Japan and saving the nation.