New-York tribune., 1919-02-09
Japanese Attitude
AT Peace Congress
Attacked i'm China
Shanghai Paper Urges Allies
to Accept Challenge Of
Obata; Rescnts the ''De-
mand to Gag Delegates

SHANGHAI, Feb. s (By The Associ-
ated Press The "China Press" prints
to-day an editorial attacking the policy
of Japan toward China's delegation at
the peace conference, as revealed by de-
mands made by Yukichi Obata, Japan
esc Minister at Peking.
A Peking dispatch. under Wcdnes-
days date, quoted semi official Chi
nese sources as declaring that at
tempts were being made by the
Japanese to induce thc Chinese gov
ernment to disavow the action of its
delegates at the peace conference for
the reason that they we're seriously
embarrassing Japan
minister Obata's startling demand
that China gag it's delegates at the
peace conference has done great ser
vice." the newspaper editorial says. at
has exposed effectively and oppor-
tunely to the whole world the issue of
the Far East The issue is whether
this hemisphere is Japan's domain or
whether China is still an independent
nation.
"Since August, 1914. the issue has
been gathering. From Japan's ulti-
matum to Germany to what Minister
Obata calls his friendly visit to the
Wal Chiao pu (Chinese Foreign Ofiee)
it's development has been thoroughly
and ruthlessly the logical sequence of
events-the taking of Tsingtao, the
widening Of that wedge until it in
cluded a large part of Shantung, the
sinister twenty-one demands, the Jap
anese contribution to the undoing of
uan Shih-kai, the steady encroach-
ments in Manchuria, the secret Russo
Japanese treaty, the blocking of
China's entry into the war eXcept un-
der Tokio's @gis, the underwriting of
the corrupt Northern militaristic party,
the series OF. nefarious loans that
turned over the resources of an Ell
civil administration in Shantung, the
arms alliance Of 1918, all thesother
secret agreements, the Lansing Ishji
paramount interest agreement, urtii
now we have the naked question, Is
China a Japanese colony?- rr .
Can there be any other meaning to
Minister Obata's demand? If China is
denied the right TO present its case
before the peace conference, if its dele
gates can speak only by and with the
consent of Japan's delegates, then it
has no identity as a nation. Then it
is Japanese dependency.
at is for the Allies to answer, and
the answer will be implicit in the spirit
that shall dominate the peace confer
ence and in the form of the peace
treaty. If President Wilson'S ideals
are really to prevail, if Old World poll
tics is to go, if the league be a vital
force, then now, once and for all, we
must set our faces against this sort of
imperialist Far East.
Allies Must Meet the Challenge
at ie for the Allies to accept Japan's
challenge. The whole noisome Chino
Japanese relations of the past four
years must be aired. The Chinese dele
gates must be fully heard. The twcn-
ty-one demands must be reexamined,
the secret treaties scrutinized, the il
legitimate ones cancelled. That to
which Japan is justified by the test of
the new international ethics, for which
millions of us died, let her have
nothing more.
"China's interest is not the primary
concern. 1t is the future peace of the
world. Baking pan-Germany will avail
US nothing if pan-Japan raises it's head
in Asia. Japanese dominance of China
would create new Balkans, Balkans
in which half continent would be the
theatre Of intrigue, diplomatic jugglery
and commercial rivalries. The key to
the world peace is the integrity of
China, its complete independence Of
Japan, as of every other power.
"Such an independence is impossible
unless the powers assembled at Paris
freely examine every question affect
ing China. Such an examination is i'm
possible unless Minister Obata's de-
mand receives a fat and unqualified
negative, not from China, but from the
world"