As the 20th century opened, China was in turmoil. Corruption was widespread. OPM addiction was endemic. Rebellion, drought, and famine claimed the lives of 60 million Chinese. Foreign nations had divvied up the empire into spheres of influence. Areas where one country had exclusive rights to trade, invest, and had special political rights. With a cooling base in the Philippines, just 400 miles from China, American businesses hope to take advantage of China's vast resources and sell to her vast market. John Hay, then US Secretary of State, had a brilliant idea. He sent letters to all the foreign powers, suggesting an open door policy in China. This policy would help US businesses by guaranteeing equal trading rights for all, preventing one nation from discriminating against another. At the same time, the open door policy maintained the territorial integrity of China, an idea that appealed to anti-imperialists at home. Other powers politely put hay off, saying that while an open door policy is a good idea in principle, they had no way of enforcing it. However, hay, despite the debate, boldly announced that everyone had agreed to the policy. Everyone that is... except China. Su Xi, Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, was eager to rid her empire of these foreigners. In northern Shandong Province, a secret society known as the Fists of Wrench's Harmony attracted thousands of followers. They, too, wanted to rid China of foreign influences, but they also sought to throw off the yoke of the corrupt Chinese government. Foreigners called members of this society boxers, because they practiced martial arts. Boxers believed that through meditation and discipline, they could cloak themselves in a mystical shield, so foreign bullets could not harm them. The Empress welcomed the boxers as China's defenders, and turned their fury squarely against the foreign community. In June 1900, the boxers began their bloody campaign. They murdered hundreds of foreign missionaries and Chinese Christian converts, destroying millions of dollars worth of property. About 900 foreigners blockaded themselves in their embassies for nearly two months, repelling waves of boxers. Ammunition food and medical supplies were almost gone, then shortly before dawn, loud explosions run the city. Wearing defenders, daggers of the barricades, expecting a final, overpowering boxer attack. But instead, relief had arrived. Troops from Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the US fought their way into Peking to free their countrymen and put down the rebellion. The boxers, believing they were impervious to bullets, were cut down by the thousands. On September 7, 1901, China and 11 other nations signed the boxer protocol, snuffing out the rebellion.