The Irish standard., 1917-11-17
Did lshii Fool Lansing?
(San Francisco Monitor

NodA AduC1SCO H.
Secretary Of State Lansing and Wis
count Ishii of the special Japanese
Commission to the United States have
entered into mutual understanding
about the future of China and have
both agreed to the "open door" policy
there while recognizing that Japan has
special interests in China, whatever
that may mean. The amazing feature
OF this Lansing-Ishii agreement is
that the new Republic of China was
not consulted as to her rights and
wishes, and was treated by both dip
lomats as if they were a coroner's
jury holding an inquest over a corpse.
To the disinterested outsider the en-
tire transaction looks like a scheme
to give Japan a free hand and allow
her to gobble up China, under promise
that she will render greater assistance
to the European Allies. So far her
main contribution has been to enrich
her merchants and to gain control of
the shipping trade of the Pacific.
Japan declares herself in favor of
the integrity and independence of
China and for the enforcement of
Monroe Doctrine in the Orient, or for
what Lansing calls the Pan-American
idea in the East. Ng Poon Chew, the
Chinese editor Of San Francisco, has
studied this question from China's
point of view and he warns us that
Japan's conception of the Monroe
Doctrine is Cali Asia for Japan"
In an interview with the Sacra-
mento Bee this gifted Chinese writer
says that China has no faith or con-
fidence in Japan's promises or declara-
tons to safeguard the independence
of China and to maintain the open
door.
Japan is the Prussia of Asia, says
the Chinese editor, and treaties in
her eyes are mere scraps of paper"
for her duplicity in the past casts
doubt on her good faith in the future.
Japan made three treaties with Ko-
rea, giving solemn guarantees of the
integrity and independence of that
nation. Today Korea appears on the
map as Chosen, province of Japan
Japan's war against Russia twelve
years ago was undertaken ostensibly
to drive the Car out of Manchuria
and to restore that province to China.
Today Japan occupies larger por-
ton of Manchuria than Russia ever
claimed, and has closed the door
there to other spheres of influence in
favor of Japanese monopoly. Japan
took Kiao Chiau from Germany in the
present war to give it back to China.
China hasn't got it yet.
In January, 1915, Japan made twen-
ty-four demands upon China which if
acceded to, would have ended forever
the independence of China and placed
its government under the hegemony of
Japan. The indignation Of other pow
erful nations compelled Japan to mod
crate her demands. At present she
is the dominant power in the East
and the war has presented the psyche
logical moment for completing her
plans to subjugate China, as the Eu-
ropean nations are too busy to inter-
fere.
Ng Chew says that it is not in the
interest of the world to permit Japan
to have a free hand in China, which
Lansing's note on its face gives, for
promised assistance in the European
war. China is also one Of the Allies
and wants Japan to let her alone to
work out her own salvation as an in
dependent nation. IF Japan" Chew
concludes, "is allowed a free hand to
dispose of China, the war now being
fought at such terrible cost in Eu-
rope must be fought all over again in
Asia"-presumably in the interests of
democracy and the right Of the Chi
nese people to guide their own destiny
as a free republic.