793.003/5578/9
Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson)5
On his own initiative this afternoon Dr. Frank Lee, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, raised the question of extraterritoriality. He asked me how the negotiations were progressing and referred to the fact that I had seen the Minister for Foreign Affairs yesterday. I said that my conversation with Dr. Wang had been about quite another matter but that so far as I knew the negotiations at Washington were proceeding satisfactorily. I said that the negotiations involved a discussion of legal guarantees. Dr. Lee asked me whether it was true as he had heard that the American terms were the same as the British. He said that the British negotiations contained a demand that the four ports of Shanghai, Tientsin, Hankow and Canton be excluded from Chinese jurisdiction, and that practically everything had been settled except this question and the question of criminal jurisdiction. [Page 803] I said that the American terms were the same as the British, that we had asked for the exclusion of the four ports in question in order that a transition time might be afforded for American interests in those places to adjust themselves to the new conditions about to be imposed.
Dr. Lee stated that he knew that Dr. C. T. Wang had informed Sir Miles in all seriousness that he could not take to the Government any proposal for the exclusion of all four areas from Chinese jurisdiction but that he was prepared to put before the Government a proposal for the exclusion of Shanghai and that he thought that something might be accomplished in regard to this.
He said that Dr. Wang had his back to the wall and that the fifth of May would have to see something accomplished; that if Dr. Wang could not present signed treaties of a satisfactory character by that time he would have to resign.
I told Dr. Lee that insofar as Americans were concerned they were very much worried as to the future; that all they heard from the Chinese side in connection with what was being done in preparation for the relinquishment of extraterritorial rights were threats as to what would happen if the foreign powers did not yield to Chinese desires in the matter of extraterritoriality.
Dr. Lee stated that he did not believe there would be any hostile action such as boycotts, et cetera, that if treaties were not signed the Chinese Government would either on May 5th or the day before act unilaterally by denouncing the extraterritorial provisions of the treaty and setting up the necessary judicial machinery for handling foreign cases.
Dr. Lee asked me whether the United States would be prepared to go as far as the British and I said I was sure that we would; that it was my hope that the two nations might sign identical treaties on the same day. Dr. Lee expressed himself as being very gratified to hear that, although he said that it had been his hope that we would lead the way and sign first. He said that the French Minister had informed Dr. Wang that France would follow Great Britain, that France was already negotiating to put the Mixed Court in the French Concession on the same footing as the court in the International Settlement. He expressed the belief that if Great Britain, the United States and France signed agreements then Japan could not hold out. Dr. Lee once more emphasized the fact that Dr. Wang had his back to the wall and that something would have to be accomplished before 5th May.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister without covering despatch; received June 11. Substance reported to the Department by the Minister in par. 1 of telegram of April 21, 1931, 6 p.m., infra.↩