893.9111 R.R./7–1145: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Hurley) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 11—4:15 p.m.]
1143. Following report appeared in Central Daily News, Chungking, July 9:
“After the war Japan should be completely disarmed, Chinese territories occupied by Japan should be completely restored to China, [Page 132] and Japan should fully and substantially compensate China for her war losses, declared Dr. K. C. Wu, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the general meeting of the first plenary session of the Fourth People’s Political Council this morning.
Revealing China foreign policy in the future, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs said that China will cooperate more closely with her Allies in bringing about the unconditional surrender of Japan at an earlier date, that China will intensify her diplomatic relations with the United States, Britain, Russia and France, and that China will fully support the United Nations Charter in the hope that the Charter will become a perfect international constitution through gradual revision. Comparing the United Nations Charter with the old League Covenant, Dr. Wu pointed out that the Charter is better than the Covenant for the following reasons: Firstly, the Charter contains more detailed definitions and provisions than the Covenant; secondly, the Charter is of a more positive nature; thirdly, the United Nations Peace Organization is authorized to take quicker and more effective actions than the old League of Nations; fourthly, the power of the new world organization is more centralized and fifthly, the various setups of the United Nations are better organized than those of the old League. The Chinese Government has paid particular attention to the problems confronting overseas Chinese, Dr. Wu said. In signing new treaties with other nations, he pointed out, the Government always takes into consideration the rights and welfare of overseas Chinese living in the countries concerned and has negotiated with various other countries for abolition of those laws which provide for discriminatory treatment of overseas Chinese.
Regarding the repatriation of overseas Chinese to their overseas homes after their liberation, Dr. Wu stated, the Chinese Government has taken, and will take, the following measures: Firstly, to assign diplomatic personnel to travel with Allied Forces and set up Consulates as soon as the district or districts are liberated; secondly, to request the governments concerned to give overseas Chinese the same facilities accorded to them in prewar days; thirdly, to request the governments concerned to provide overseas Chinese with transportation facilities; fourthly, to request the governments concerned to give overseas Chinese the same relief as will be given to the natives living there; and fifthly, the execution of overseas Chinese traitors by Allied authorities should be carried out as far as possible in accordance with the suggestions of the Chinese Government.
Dr. Wu adds that Japan’s organizations for the invasion of China and other territories and those educational institutions which have been imparting the idea of militarism into the minds of the younger generation should be dissolved after the war, and that Japanese war [Page 133] criminals should be handed over to China according to the Black List prepared by China.
Reviewing China’s foreign relations with other nations, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs said that with the conclusion of the new treaty with Holland on May 29 this year,64 the abrogation of unequal treaties between China and other nations is nearing its final stage.
Germany and Austria, he said, were the first countries to lose their extraterritorial rights in China, because in 1917 China declared war on them which, according to international law, put an end to all their special rights in China. The signing of a new treaty with Russia in 192465 terminated Russia’s extraterritorial rights in China.
On January 11, 1943, new treaties were concluded with the United States66 and Britain,67 and these treaties provide for the relinquishment by these two countries of the extraterritorial rights and special privileges they hitherto exercised in China. Sweden signed a new treaty with China on April 5, 1943 [1945]68 with the abrogation of unequal treaties with China.
The unequal treaties with Italy and Japan were abrogated according to international law after China had declared war on them, Dr. Wu explained. After Denmark had recognized the puppet régimes in Nanking and the 4 Northeastern Provinces, China severed her diplomatic relations with Denmark. At present, he added, the Chinese Government is considering resuming diplomatic relations with her.
On February 22, 1943, Dr. Wu continued, the Vichy Government allowed Japanese armed forces to land at Kwangchowwan and in May of the same year transferred the French concessions in Tientsin, Hankow and Canton to the Japanese. The Chinese Government, therefore, sent a memorandum to the Vichy Government, declaring the abolition of her unequal treaties with China. The newly-established French Government has proposed to conclude a new treaty with China, but China is still considering this problem, he said.
Switzerland and Portugal have not yet relinquished their extraterritorial rights in China, but steps are being taken for abrogating their unequal treaties with China. After the abolition of unequal treaties between China and these two nations, Dr. Wu concluded, China will be free from the fetters of unequal treaties.
The P. P. C. members unanimously proposed at this morning’s meeting that China and Russia should cooperate more closely and that [Page 134] Russo-Chinese relations should be further cemented. They also advocated that the Chinese Government should fully protect overseas Chinese and that overseas Chinese should be treated on an equal basis with other nationals by the governments in which they live.”