China chose to stay out of it at first.
1965438+On August 6th, 2004, the Beijing government declared its neutrality, hoping that the European war would not affect China. In order to prevent the great powers from going to war in China, the Beijing government has also promulgated Article 24 of the Rules of Neutrality Outside the Republic of China: "A belligerent country may not occupy or engage in war with China's territorial waters; All the land and sea in China are not allowed to rely on it as a base for attacking the enemy. The troops, armaments and materials of the belligerent countries shall not pass through the territory and territorial waters of China. Those who violate the provisions of the preceding paragraph should listen to China officials to disarm. " "If a belligerent country violates China's rules and regulations, it will not be regarded as a provocative act if China stops it in various ways." Obviously, the regulations of the Government of China fully comply with the principle of neutrality in international law. If all parties respect the principles of international law, China's sovereignty should be protected.
So, what are the advantages of choosing neutrality? Judging from the international and domestic situation at that time, it was a natural choice for China to remain neutral, which was in line with China's national conditions. First, the war has nothing to do with China. No matter Germany, Austria, Britain and France, there is no humanity and justice. They were all robbers who invaded China. China didn't need to serve the great powers, and China's participation in the war had no direct benefit. Second, China is weak, and it has no power to join any side's war, nor to stop any side from running amok in China. The third is fear of war with western powers. In modern times, in the war against the invasion of foreign powers, China suffered repeated defeats and setbacks, and the powerful country humiliated the country again and again, which made China people have a potential fear of western powers and avoid them.
However, whether it is to participate in the war or to be neutral, it needs ability. As China has no strength to participate in the war, it is difficult to safeguard its own interests through neutrality. In an era of the law of the jungle, it is wishful thinking for China to stay out of it.
Although both European and European sides have a small number of troops in China, the distance between China and the European battlefield will not have a significant impact on the outcome of the war, so China's restrictions on the war zone have been recognized by both sides. It stands to reason that since both sides in Europe and the war have this will, the war in the Far East seems to be over. However, China's hope of restricting the war zone met with Japanese opposition. At this time, the powers were involved in the European war and had no time to look east. Japan hopes that the war will spread to Asia as soon as possible and take the opportunity to expand its aggression against China.
On the night of August 7, the Japanese cabinet passed the decision to participate in the war. On August 8, the day after China declared its neutrality, the Japanese fleet appeared on the coast of JIAOZHOU bay in the German concession, which was huge and ready to fish in troubled waters. /kloc-In August of 0/5, Japan issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that Germany hand over the leased land in Jiaozhou to Japan before August 23rd. On August 23rd, Japan declared war on Germany. On September 2, the Japanese army landed in Longkou, the northern shore of Shandong Peninsula, far from Jiaozhou Bay.
In order to limit the spread of the war in China, the weak China government gave in again and was forced to delimit a war zone on its own territory, limiting the scope of Japanese activities. On September 3rd, the Beijing government issued a statement to foreign ministers, and designated Longkou and Laizhou near Jiaozhou Bay as "war zones".
However, Japan turned a deaf ear to this. The first Japanese army to land moved westward along the railway, occupied Jinan, controlled Ji Jiao Railway, and finally captured Qingdao on165438+1October 7. In the face of China's protest, Japan even warned the Japanese government: "Any resistance by China will be regarded as an enemy of aiding Japan, and China must bear all the serious consequences arising therefrom." At this point, all the efforts of the China government went up in smoke, and the desire to avoid war finally went up in smoke, and it fell into a situation of "being neutral but unable to stand".
The China administration's judgment that the confrontation between Britain, France, Russia and Germany, Austria and Italy has the greatest influence on China's interests is full of variables. At that time, Japan's covet for Shandong was obvious.
According to Mo, a reporter of the British Times in Beijing, Yuan Shikai predicted that Japan might seize Jiaozhou Bay and the railway by war. In order to avoid this result, Yuan Shikai proposed to John Newell Jordan, the British ambassador to China, to participate in the war, and was willing to provide 50,000 troops to besiege Qingdao with the allied forces to recover the Jiaozhou Bay and the Ji Jiao Railway. However, John Newell Jordan thought it was unnecessary to cooperate with China, and rejected China's request to join the war. Of course, the cunning Japanese knew nothing about China's intentions, and they were firmly opposed to this plan.
Why did Japan strongly oppose China's participation in the war? Because if China goes to war and besieges the Germans in Jiaozhou Bay, it will hinder the Japanese attempt to capture Qingdao and then control Shandong; At the same time, Yuan Shikai's government, which has long been pro-Anglo-American, will be closer to Britain and other countries. This is obviously not conducive to the expansion of Japanese aggression against China.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takashi Kato warned China's ambassador to Japan, Lu, that since the region is limited and China is neutral, there is no reason to go to war. Takayuki Kato also told a lie, "This is to maintain peace in East Asia forever, and there is no ambition to occupy land. Besides, I sincerely express my friendship with China, so I'd like to announce it first. I deeply hope that the Japanese government sincerely trusts the Japanese government. In case of trouble, it is lucky to push sincere business. " Blinded by British opposition and Japanese intimidation, and the outbreak of the national defense movement in Yunnan, Yuan Shikai was anxious to settle down, so he no longer considered the issue of participating in the war.
China's idea of going to war for the first time was stillborn.
With the continuation of the war, the British, French and Russian allied forces realized that the war could not end in a short time and faced many difficulties in winning it. Therefore, in order to unite more countries against Germany and expel Germany's interests in China, the Allies wanted to urge China to participate in the war against Germany. 1915438 2005+065438+17 October, British Minister John Newell Jordan and Russian Minister Kupensky proposed to China that China should provide arms exports to its allies on the condition that it would lend China money to help China expand its arsenal.
When the Japanese got the news, they panicked and used almost all means and strength to prevent China from participating in the war. Kaya Hioki Yi, the Japanese ambassador to China, was immediately ordered to ask questions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China. The Beijing government balked and dared not answer truthfully and directly. Instead, he replied to Japan that "after investigation, this matter is not true, and Britain and Russia have not made any suggestions." Later, although it was admitted that Russia really hoped that China could provide it with arms, it refused because it hindered neutrality.
In the face of Japan's inquiry, in order to avoid losing Japan's support at a critical moment, Britain also indicated that it did not negotiate with China to enter the war. Subsequently, Japan declared to the governments of Britain, Russia and France that Japan was in a special position in China, and the three western countries had to obtain Japan's consent to take action on the China issue. Finally, the Allies not only refused China's direct participation in the war, but also allowed Japan to dominate the Far East policy of the Allies.
China's second war ended in failure.
19 17 At the beginning of this year, Germany announced that ships of both belligerent and neutral countries would be attacked by German submarines, which was called unrestricted submarine warfare in history. Germany's policy of expanding the war harmed the interests of the United States overseas. 1965438+On February 3, 2007, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany and informed China of this situation, hoping to take concerted action. This move by the United States once again brought the topic of China's participation in the war to the table.
This time, the Japanese attitude changed greatly, and even urged China to break diplomatic relations with Germany. On the day of China's protest to Germany, the Japanese Foreign Minister told the Japanese ambassador to China that there was no need to protest first, and there was no need to wait for Germany's reaction to the protest, so he could directly announce the breaking of diplomatic relations and strongly encouraged China to participate in the war as soon as possible.
Why did the Japanese fundamentally change their attitude towards China's participation in the war? First, Yuan Shikai died, and the real power of China government was in the hands of warlord Duan. Duan is a pro-Japanese faction. If China enters the war, Japan can strengthen its influence in China through Duan. Second, Japan has been promised by western powers to inherit German interests in Shandong, and it is in favor of China's participation in the war in exchange for further recognition by the powers.
When the great powers overwhelmingly supported China's participation in the war, there was a great debate in China. Diplomats, politicians, military generals and all walks of life participated in the debate. Although there are different opinions, the mainstream opinion still suggests that China participate in the war, thinking that China participated in the war against Germany in order to deal with Japan and occupy a place in the post-war peace conference; In the long run, it is to join the international community and go international, so that China can have a say in the new world order.
19 17 August 14 After about half a year of struggle and argument, the German government declared war on China. At this time, after World War I, there are still less than1.91.81.00.1.00. ..
Although China is a participating country, it has not sent combat troops to Europe. 1917 September 14, China officially announced its willingness to send troops to France to participate in the war, suggesting that China could send 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers to France within six weeks. However, since Japan did not send a single soldier to the European battlefield for the Allies, Japan did not want China to send troops. Due to the strong obstruction of western powers including Japan, China finally failed to send troops to participate in the war.
During World War I, China sent a large number of laborers to the European battlefields, which made an important contribution to the victory of the Allied Forces. Because China failed to send troops to participate in the war, it was called "declaring without fighting". As for the allies, some people ridiculed China as a "theoretical participant". The Japanese delegates to the Paris Peace Conference even accused China of "not sending troops, declaring war, inviting no guests or setting seats".
Although China did not send troops to participate in the war, it "replaced soldiers with workers" and sent a lot of labor to the European battlefield and a lot of food to some countries of the Allies, which made an indelible and significant contribution to the victory of the war. It is said that China was a special participant in World War I because it did not get due respect and treatment as a victorious country, and the purpose of China's participation in the war was never achieved. Is a humiliating participant, even a humiliating winner.
In the modern history of China, the Japanese have always played an extremely bad role. It is the number one demon among the great powers that bully China and the most dangerous enemy of China. After the outbreak of World War I, Japan seized the rights and interests of Shandong in the name of declaring war on Germany and realized its expansion ambition. On the issue of China's participation in the war, the Japanese repeatedly blocked China's participation in the war. China tried to solve the Shandong problem by participating in the war, and made great contributions to the victory of World War I, but he was humiliated at the Paris Peace Conference and failed to recover Shandong's sovereignty, which was also rooted in Japan. In today's China, we should still be alert to the Japanese.
Any sovereign country should have the right to choose where to go in the face of war. China's participation in World War I was not decided by itself, but was dominated by foreign powers, and its fate was in the hands of others. The road to war is tortuous, difficult and long, which makes people sad, sighing and thought-provoking. Weak countries have no diplomacy and have no right to speak in international affairs. We must always remember this. History tells us that prosperity is the last word, and the weak are bullied and the backward will be beaten. Only when China becomes a powerful country can it safeguard its territorial sovereignty and national unity, get along with other countries on an equal footing and occupy its due position on the world stage.
Although China's participation in the war contained conformity factors, he was not treated equally at the Paris Peace Conference and did not achieve the intended goal. However, China's choice itself is positive and groundbreaking. By participating in the war, all unequal treaties with Germany and Austria were abolished, which opened a precedent for China to abolish imperialist privileges in China in modern times. The suspension or postponement of interest payments on loans from boxer indemnity and other countries to China has, to some extent, lightened the burden on the German people. Broadly speaking, China won the admission ticket to the international community, participated in the rearrangement of the international relations system as a victorious country for the first time, became a founding member of the League of Nations, and established closer institutional ties with the international community.