Evening star., 1927-03-07
BY UPTON CLOSE.

A great diplomatic campaign is
now being fought out over China,
with the British taking the leading
role and the other interested powers
assuming the position of 'watchful
waiting" If one were to believe the
statements issuing from London, the
British are offering China practically
all it can ask and we are led to
expect an early settlement of all
| difficulties. But it is too soon to
| be optimistic. Americans, too,
| quickly accept the Presidents 1--WE
| have on concessions to protect" as
! implying we are out of the contro-
versy. The British charge that we
have "crawled behind British guns"
and accepted a share in every benefit
wrested from China is true. And
ness Immediately to give these up.
The real issue has not been
touched. All the offers SO far made
to China depend on further negoti-
atlons and arrangements. which will
preserve the fundamental basis of
privileges enjoyed by foreigners
under the old treaties. The young
leaders of the new Nationalist move
ment. on the other hand, have no
intention of accepting anything less
than complete sovereignty for China.
Says China Begs No Longer.
T. V. Soong, Alexander Hamilton of
the new nation, expresses terSely the
basic difference:
THE foreign powers are always
talking about what concessions they
can make or generosities they should
offer to an awakened China" he said.
They have got it all wrong. The
question now is what concessions
Nd 1r@
China allow to the powers who have
built up interests here never, in our
view, ethical
Mr.. Soong told me when l was in
Canton the basis of the Nationalist
position.
China demands" he said. that
the world admit our complete mas
terry in our own house, all treaty
grants made by our weak past gov
ernments, Notwithstanding. We pro-
pose that the disputes over foreign
governed territories and foreign
owned properties in our country be
settled on the basis of such gener-
osity as landowner might grant
an intruder who had built on his
land and had been allowed TO re-
main there many years unmolested."
The powers. including America. in
spite of their conciliatory talk, still
stand on the position that China
must remain in effect their ward until
she has demonstrated her interna-
tional coming of age by % unifica-
ton, i2) by inclination and ability
to protect foreign life and property.
(3l the provision of modern and
honest machinery of justice and "a
prompt payments on all foreign
debts.
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Cham
berlain. Secretary of State Kellogg
and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Shfdehara announce their willing
ness to conclude new pacts providing
a gradual termination to China's
Period of Wardship," imposed
since the opium war.
Powers Refuse to Face Main Issue
To the main issue, comple.s
abrogation of the old status, de-
manded by the Chinese Nationalists,
no power has yet assented. Presi-
dent Coolidge and his Secretary of
State, on the contrary, have made
ii plain that America has no inten-
tion to assent to sweeping into
oblivion the existing treaties.
1t is generally understood among
under officials of the State Department
that our "irreducible minimum" in
new negotiations would be a period
during which joint Chinese-foreign
courts would judge our citizens A
precedent exists in Siam, where the
United States gave up extraterritorial
rights in 1921 on condition that Amer
leans be tried before special courts
consisting of Siamese and foreign
judges. the latter appointed by the