BRITAIN IN CHINA

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 241, 12 October 1942, Page 4

BRITAIN IN CHINA

END OF AN ERA

TERRITORY RETURNED

A colourful and unique page in world history came to an end on Saturday, the 31st anniversary of the Chinese Republic, with tne announcement that Great Britain and the United States of America had decided to renounce their extra-territorial rights in China. Up to that date for practically a century these countries with France and Japan enjoyed certain privileges in China, such as had existed nowhere else, except in Turkey and Korea, and there only for short periods. Apart from the right of trial of their citizens by their own officials, they owned "concessions" or "settlements" in China which were practically miniature colonies of the nations concerned.

The list of countries owning these territorial concessions in China was at one time a long one, comprising Great Britain, the United States of America, Germany, France, RuAsia Austria-Hungary, Italy. Belgium and Japan. Gradually, since China's entry into the war of 1914-1918 on our side the nations gave up their territories in China for one reason or another until, up to last Friday, only Britain' America, France and Japan remained in the field. To-day only France and Japan remain, the "former with but shadowy right?, the latter in control of ail the area concerned. Prior to 191-1 Tientsin, the gateway to t lie then capital, Peking was the main happy hunting ground of the concession-seeking countries a large portion of the city being divided into the miniature colonies of foreign Powers. Here, side by side, were pocket handkerchief overseas possessions of Britain, America Germany, Russia, France, Italy fiel' gium and Japan. All these, with the exception of the American, which was included in the British with American right ol repossession at any time, maintained their own -i stems of municipal government police, lire brigades, and indeed in the case of the French and Belgian electric tramways. Cosmopolitan Territory To walk from one to the other wa.-> to cross the face of Europe in T pe short space of an hour or two W ltn Chinas declaration of war against Germany and Austria-Hun-gaiy in 1918 those two countries automatically lost their colonies in t and . °^ her .P arls of China. Latei, Soviet Russia and Belgium voluntarily renounced theirs Again prior to 191S, France bp'iH t'-n.jgiiiy, Italy and Japan held colonic- at Tongku, at the mouth of the Tientsin River. Thev ranged_ in size from the French Much ooastcd a naval dockyard and and a gunboat, the Peiho ;' 'j' l • " hcn feeling fit enough, would an nvn tlle 20-mile river Hnn a i 10 Pe ! iin S- to the AustroHungarian. and Italian, which con- ■ i-ted f,i d nver front plot the r^" a ' e ?, Iei I ' sth . of a medium-sized >'/ ' Hl 5S Wlt!l a i'-"'ntage of oft'he V le n l ' w ThG l ° tal P° Dulat ion r , and Italian colon at I ongku consisted in each -° two , marines, who lived in Linn est mud huts. British concessions elsewhere ore n w l VV ,nkian » aud Canton, the in ] r )°7 if,'2r°ri . I ' ever l t . in .g to China d ' ei Chiang Kai-shek's vic,V.ff u n nortnwards. At Hankow, also, prior co 1918 were German, Russian, French and Jananese concessions.

In Canton, as well as the British mentV 6 1 and Ja i 3ane - se h*d settle-'

Biitioh and American concessions at Shanghai and Chefoo were later neu , - v - foi ' m cd international p ; t;5, as v " as tlie case of the Li ilisn on.? at Amoy. 'J n n , Will be seen that Britain Chin , I? 5 v 11 ricncioi ' l ' id territory'in Chma at Tientsin, Ciimkiang and H"h s a,° ? vi - h edonliMnt Vnoy - s 'ianghai. Chefoo and