ethically correct, because it fears that it cannot rely upon Han Fu Chu, Sung Che Yuan, Feng Yu Hsiang, Liu Hsiang and possibly others to maintain an attitude of support. 3. Sent to the Department, Peiping and Canton. ATCHESON 893.00/13693: Telegram The Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Atcheson) to the Secretary of State NANKING, September 7, 1936-1 p. m. [Received September 7-9:40 a. m.] 261. My 260, September 5, noon. 1. I am informed by responsible official of the Foreign Office that the impasse with the Southwest has been practically dissolved. Government mandates dated September 6th appoint Li Tsung Jen Pacification Commissioner of Kwangsi and Pai Chung Hsi member of the standing committee of the Military Affairs Commission and Huang Shao Hsiung Chairman of Chekiang. My informant states that word of Pai's acceptance of new post has not been received but his acceptance is assumed and he will proceed to Canton to meet with Chiang Kai Shek and discuss other details to be settled. 2. To Department and Peiping. Repeated to Canton by mail, to Hankow, Shanghai. ATCHESON 793.94/8129: Telegram The Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Atcheson) to the Secretary of State NANKING, September 9, 1936-2 p. m. [Received September 9-1:52 p. m.] 94 262. Penultimate paragraph of Canton's September 8, 11 a. m.94 1. Japanese Embassy states that it has no details other than that a Japanese merchant, the only Japanese resident of Pakhoi who has lived there many years and has a Chinese wife, was killed several days ago at Pakhoi by a Chinese mob. (Reuter's at Canton quoting the Japanese Consulate General there gives the date of the alleged murder as September 3.) Suma intimated this morning to a foreign news correspondent that the affair involved members of the former 19th Foreign [Route] Army part of which is reported to have been in occupation of Pakhoi on behalf of the Kwangsi rebels. He said that this was one more instance of anti-Japanism and is equivalent to the 94 Not printed. Chengtu incident in importance and he mentioned the Shanghai murders as previous instances concerning which Japan had shown great patience. He said that Japanese patience was now exhausted and it would be "immediately necessary" for the Chinese Government to take adequate steps to suppress the vicious anti-Japanese feeling which the Government had allowed to grow throughout the country. 2. He said that he opened yesterday preliminary negotiations with the Minister for Foreign Affairs over the Chengtu incident but the conversation was general, he had offered no demands or proposals for settlement and the Japanese Government had not yet formulated its demands. He said he told Chang Chun that the suppression of anti-Japanese feeling in China was essential to a settlement of the Chengtu murder and to the adjustment of Sino-Japanese relations. He said the date of Kawagoe's arrival in Nanking had not yet been set. 3. I am informed by responsible official of the Foreign Office that the Chinese Government has not yet received any official information of the Pakhoi incident. 4. To Department and Peiping. Repeated to Canton, by mail to Shanghai, Tokyo. ATCHESON 793.94/8128: Telegram The Consul at Hankow (Jarvis) to the Secretary of State HANKOW, September 9, 1936-5 p. m. [Received September 9-10:05 a. m.] There are now six vessels of the Japanese Yangtze River forces (11th Squadron) at Hankow (the Ataka, Katata, Atami, Toba, Futami and Kotaka) and two at Chungking (the Hozu and Hira). Five of the six vessels at Hankow arrived on September 7th, 8th and 9th. The 11th Squadron numbers 12 vessels. 2. Chaucer Wu, the Foreign Office's special delegate for Szechuan and Sikang, flew through Hankow yesterday on his way from Chengtu to Nanking to report. 3. In Chengtu, according to a reliable foreign source there, the authorities are trying to curb anti-Japanese expressions, there is now little evidence of anti-foreign feeling, and students are politer than they have been for years. Sent to Peiping, Nanking, Shanghai. JARVIS 793.003 Manchuria/11 The Belgian Ambassador (Van der Straten-Ponthoz) to the D. 5038 [Translation] WASHINGTON, September 9, 1936. MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: By direction of the King's Government, I have the honor to avail myself of Your Excellency's kindness with a view to ascertaining, if possible, the sentiment of the American Government with regard to the declaration made, on July 1st last, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Hsinking, concerning the status of foreigners residing in Manchuria. The matter under discussion relates in particular to those belonging to countries still enjoying the privilege of extraterritoriality in Manchuria, as a consequence of the fact that they have it in China. The declaration in question appears to take the form of an invitation to a group of powers to engage in pourparlers with respect to the status of their nationals in the new empire. The enclosed note sets forth the different considerations which have received the attention of my Government. It would be happy to learn the intentions of the American Government as to the action to be taken on the overtures of the Manchukuo Government. The King's Government would especially appreciate it if it could receive such information as soon as possible. I avail myself [etc.] R. v. STRATEN [Enclosure-Translation] The Belgian Embassy to the Department of State NOTE The following points will certainly not have escaped the attention of the American Government. The King's Embassy states them here only to define clearly the circumstances under which the Belgian Government would be interested in ascertaining the intentions of the United States Government as to the action to be taken on the overtures of the Manchukuo Government. For more than three years, the Japanese military party sought to obtain the elimination of the privilege of extraterritoriality for Japanese nationals in Manchukuo, but always encountered a strong opposition on the part of the civilian elements who dreaded this change and preferred to remain subject to their own consular and judicial authorities, knowing that the final consequence of elimination of the privilege would be a considerable increase of the taxes and imports that they would have to pay, and the largest part of which they had succeeded in eluding up to the present, under the protection of the privilege. On its part, the military element saw in the subjection of Japanese nationals to the laws of Manchukuo a means of increasing the budgetary receipts of the new Empire which it has created, and thus indirectly, the participation of the latter in the military expenses of the Japanese army in Manchuria, so burdensome for the home government. The two parties finally arrived at a compromise, as shown by the conclusion of the Treaty of June 10, 1936, signed by His Excellency Mr. Chang Yen Ching, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Manchukuo and His Excellency General K. Uyeda, Ambassador of Japan at Hsinking, concerning the residence and the taxation of Japanese subjects in Manchukuo; this treaty is accompanied with an Interpretative Accord of the same date. As these acts went into force on July 1st, it is therefore officially from that date that the Japanese and Koreans ceased to enjoy extraterritoriality in Manchuria. Thus, as the United States Government is aware, the elimination of extraterritoriality will be gradual and will be effected in three stages. Beginning with July 1st of this year, Japanese nationals will be subject to taxes collected by the various Manchu authorities, but on the basis of a reduced schedule. As a second stage, on a date not yet fixed, Japanese and Korean persons and firms will be subject to Manchu laws on industry and commerce. The third stage, the time for which is also undetermined, will place Japanese nationals entirely under the jurisdiction of the laws and courts of the Manchu Empire. With respect to the application of legal penalties, a comparative scale of the various Japanese and Manchu terms of imprisonment has been published, which permits the assumption that Japanese prisoners will serve their prison terms in Japanese penitentiaries, whether in Manchukuo or Japan. It is estimated that the accomplishment of this whole program will not exceed a period of five years. But while the elimination of the privilege is only to be effected very gradually, on the other hand, the advantages that will result therefrom for Japanese nationals will be immediate; hereafter, they will have the right to reside and travel, engage in commerce, industry and agriculture, to own lands and real estate throughout the Manchu Empire. They already had these rights de facto, but they now obtain legal sanction of them. These reforms are the result of labors of various commissions which have held sessions either at Hsinking, or Tokio, since March, 1933. As the special zone of the South Manchurian Railway enjoys a special régime, which it is also necessary to eliminate gradually, the Japanese Government has published a series of regulations which will remain in force until January 1, 1938, on which date the administration and police rights will be transferred to the Hsinking Government. With a view to subjecting the inhabitants of this zone to the same taxes as those imposed on the inhabitants of the Manchu territory, the Japanese Government has established four new taxes by these regulations, on wheat flour, tobacco, alcoholic beverages and cement. The Treaty will not affect Japanese jurisdiction over Kwantung Leased Territory, in which the Cities of Dairen and Port Arthur are situated. On July 1, the very day on which the new treaty went into force, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Hsinking made a declaration concerning the status of foreigners residing in Manchuria and belonging to a country still enjoying the privilege of extraterritoriality in Manchuria, as the result of that which they still have in China. 95 Although by the note addressed, on March 12, 1932, by Manchukuo to seventeen countries, and to which there has been no reply, the new Government undertook to respect the obligations contracted by the Republic of China toward these different countries, the fact is now established that in principle, at least, it refuses to continue to respect one of them. According to certain commentaries, it takes as a basis the circumstance that by their failure to reply, these same powers have reduced this declaration to the level of a unilateral act, and that they cannot claim to continue enjoying a privilege by virtue of a document which they do not recognize as a communication from an independent state. Nevertheless, the Manchukuo Government will continue, as a favor, and pending a solution of the question, to apply with certain restrictions, to the nationals of those countries, a treatment similar to that which they would have enjoyed if they still really had the privilege of extraterritoriality. In comparison with the number of Japanese subjects-about 300,000 Japanese and 1,000,000 Koreans-the number of such foreigners in Manchukuo is insignificant; indeed, it must not be forgotten that the Russians (40,000), the Poles (4,000), the Germans, the Austrians, the Czechoslovaks, the Estonians, Latvians, etc., do not have this privilege, either because their countries lost it as a consequence of the World 95 For text of note, see telegram of this date from Mr. Hsieh Chieh-shih, Foreign Relations, 1932, vol. III, p. 579. |