THE BRITISH AND LIANG JU-HAO

29 August 1923

[Text] We are now forced to sign an agreement on the Wei-hai-wei negotiations. The whole nation, except the people in Shantung, has not raised any
protest. What is the reason? Is it that the nation is too preoccupied in
the campaign for retroceding Port Arthur and Dairen and forgets the drive
for returning Wei-hai-wei? Or that the nation knows to hate only Japan but
not England; only that Japanese imperialists are making inroads in China
but not that the inroads made by British imperialists are far more severe
than those made by Japanese imperialists.

Two officials responsible for the Wei-hai-wei negotiations: one is Liang
Ju-hao [3009 1472 1185] and the other Ch'en Shao-ch'ang [7115 4801 0781].
According to the announcement made by Ch'i Szu-ts'ang at the Shantung
Residents Society in Peking, Mr Liang committed the following crimes:
"Commissioner Liang, who is a xenophile, made a suggestion to the British
to retain Liu-kung-tao [0491 0501 1497]. The return of Wei-hai-wei is
vital from the military point of view. Mr Liang is willing to sell out
national interests, transforming unconditional retrocession into continued
lease and again into permanent lease. This obviously stems from an exchange
for his personal interests." Mr Liang is resentful of the frustrating
scheme. He has, at the outset, asked somebody to buy my acquiescence with
promises of profits, stating that all my personal expenses can be reimbursed through me and that I may share the spoils upon conclusion of the
negotiations. After having repeatedly rejected the offer, I insisted that
the negotiations be made public. Noting that I cannot be moved by promises
of profits, he resorted to coercion. When our arguments came to an impasse,
he would often pound the desk and shout: "It is I who have full power to
conduct negotiations." Then he would order his guards to see me to the
door. I was greatly enraged and wanted to kill myself for national interests. One day I picked up an inkstand and tried to hit my forehead with
it. Upon seeing this, an Englishman was greatly astonished and persuaded
me not to do so. Mr Liang was not moved at all."

The draft agreement concluded by Liang Ju-hao and the British consists of
two parts and 23 articles. On 23 August the National Assembly in Tsinan
pointed out its salient terms that impair national interests as follows:

(1) Substitute leasing for ceding--The draft agreement allows England to
continue the lease for 10 years. It may extend the lease at the end of 10
years. In addition, the lease adds to the new lease the city of Wei-hai-wei
which has never been leased to England and is now designated as a special area.

(2) Impairs territorial land and territorial waters--The draft agreement
stipulates: (a) any local authority of China should grant original British
lease holders licenses of "permanent lease"; (b) no landing fees should
be charged in accordance with the common practice by foreigners who hold
permanent leases; and (c) China should not use the official land reserved
for England. China should recognize the land leased by England. This reveals how much territorial data has been yielded. The draft agreement
further stipulates: (a) China may use the anchorage in the Liu-kung-tao
waters only when the British navy is not using it; (b) the British navy
may send marines to Liu-kung-tao and practice drills and marksmanship; and
(c) the British navy may practice drills in the outer harbor of the anchorage of Liu-kung-tao. According to the provisions, England is to occupy Liukung-tao and the adjacent waters and its marine and naval detachments may
enter and leave our territorial land and waters at will.

(3) Gives away national sovereignty--The draft agreement stipulates that
the area between Liu-kung-tao and Wei-hai-wei be designated as a special
area. It should belong to neither Shantung authority nor the central Government. Our government may nominally appoint administrative officials, but
the police is directed by the British, finance controlled by the Customs
Inspectorate (British) and the city affairs is jointly conducted by a Sino-
British Committee composed of Chinese and Englishmen. The administrative
officials appointed by the Chinese Government are but titular ones and
their chief responsibilities are to repay the debts to the Englishmen and
raise funds for public expenses. Wei-hai-wei has thus become Hong Kong II.
Our national sovereignty has completely been undermined.

Compatriots having blind faith in the Washington Conference: What did the
Washington Conference do for us? Compatriots believing England is better
than Japan: In what way is England better than Japan? The return of Weihai-wei means only to turn it into Hong Kong II. England wants to renew
the lease of its settlements in Hankow and maintain upon the expiration of
their present leases; its request of connecting the Canton-Kowloon Railroad
and the Canton-Hankow Railroad is to put the upper reaches of the Yangtze
River and southwest provinces under the economic aggression of Hong Kong.
The tariff agreement is limited to discussing the likin issue only (28
August London dispatch). They have secretly removed their masks to suggest
joint administration of the railroads. Compatriots having blind faith in
the Washington Conference and believing England is better than Japan: What
did the Washington Conference do for us? In what way is England better
than Japan? The nation should rise immediately to oppose the pirate-like
British who have exposed their aggressive intention.

The nation should rise immediately to oppose traitor Liang Ju-hao!

HSIANG-TAO CHOU-PAO, No 38, Hsiang-tao Chou-pao Press, 29 August 1923