During the Beijing government period, at the 19 19 Paris Peace Conference and the 192 1 Washington Conference, the representative of China raised the issue of recovering the leased land. However, due to Britain's obstinacy, coupled with the warlord melee at that time, the political situation was unstable and there was no diplomatic backing, which was seriously frustrated.
After the Revolution of 1911, in the declaration adopted by the first National Congress of the Chinese Nationalist Party, Dr. Sun Yat-sen clearly put forward the goal of abolishing the unequal treaties imposed by imperialism on China, among which the abolition of foreign concessions in China was placed in a prominent position.
Until the outbreak of the Pacific War, the National Government headed by Chiang Kai-shek never formally proposed to Britain to return the leased land in Kowloon. From 194 1 the outbreak of the Pacific War to1Japan's unconditional surrender in August, 945, there were two opportunities to recover the leased land in Hong Kong and Kowloon. However, Chiang Kai-shek's government implemented the wrong policy and missed two opportunities for recovery.
The return of Hong Kong is a great concept of "one country, two systems" and a successful practice of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong. The recovery of Hong Kong's history of more than 100 years has once again proved to us the irrefutable truth that backwardness is bound to be beaten and weak countries have no diplomacy, and that only socialism can finally realize the long-cherished wish of the Chinese nation for generations.
Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall. From the British occupation of Hong Kong Island in 184 1 to the return of Hong Kong to the motherland in 1997, China experienced the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China (including the Beijing government and the National Government) and the New China period. During the Republic of China, the Qing government, the Beijing government and the National Government all made efforts to recover Hong Kong. However, all these efforts failed. History shows that only the new China can finally realize the long-cherished wish of generations of Chinese people. Today, Hong Kong's return to China is just around the corner. A comprehensive review of the arduous course of China's recovery of Hong Kong in the past 100 years is helpful to truly understand the profound meaning of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and get the enlightenment from it.
When Britain occupied Hong Kong Island, the Qing government's plan to recover Hong Kong Island by force was dashed.
Since the British occupied Hong Kong Island by force in 184 1, the Qing government has launched a struggle to recover the island. In order to illustrate this struggle, we must first understand the process of British occupation of the island.
Today, there are still some writings and media describing how Britain occupied Hong Kong Island during the Opium War:1In August of 840, after the British occupied Dinghai, they arrived at Baihekou, Tianjin, and the panicked Qing government sent Qishan, the governor of Zhili, to Dagu to negotiate with the British plenipotentiary on an imperial law and a justice law. 184165438+1On October 25th, Qishan signed the infamous Draft Convention on Nasal Perforation with Britain, the first paragraph of which was to cede Hong Kong Island to Britain. The next day, British troops occupied Hong Kong Island. This statement seems to think that the British occupation of Hong Kong Island has a definite "treaty basis". In fact, Britain occupied the island without any treaty basis, and Daoguang Emperor had neither heard of it nor allowed it. As a result, there was a desperate move.
According to the records of Chinese and British archives, 1840 On August 30th, Yili went to Dagu, Tianjin, and submitted a personal letter from Viscount Bamaizun to the prime minister of the Chinese emperor, proposing to cede one or several islands along the southeast coast to Britain and other aggressive demands. According to the will of Daoguang Emperor, Qishan rejected the British invasion request and persuaded the British to return to Guangdong to continue the negotiations. A few months later, Qishan arrived in Guangzhou to continue negotiations with the British side. Daoguang Emperor explicitly instructed Qishan that if Britain persisted in its aggression, it would take decisive measures and resolutely use force against the aggressors. However, Qishan was afraid of British ships and made every effort to compromise. Because Daoguang Emperor's attitude was very tough, Qishan only agreed to compensate the price of cigarettes and refused to cede Hong Kong Island when negotiating with foreign countries and France. 184110/On October 7th, the British army brutally captured Dajiao and Shajiao at the Tiger Gate, and then demanded to occupy Shajiao. Qishan was forced by the British army to take pictures of the British side. If the British army returns Dinghai, Shajiao and other places, he can ask Daoguang Emperor to give "a place to stay" outside the Pearl River Estuary. 14 10/4 14, Yili proposed to divide Tsim Sha Tsui and Hongkong in Kowloon. Qi Shan replied that he could only choose a "berth", and once the British side selected it, he would broadcast the petition. On October 20, 65438/kloc-0, yilv suddenly announced that it had reached a "preliminary agreement" with Qishan, which contained four articles. The first article was to cede Hong Kong Island and port to the British king. On June 26th, 65438 10, the British army brazenly occupied Hong Kong Island without any treaty basis. 65438+1October 27-28, in order to force China to recognize its occupation of Hong Kong Island as legal, Liu Yi held talks with Qishan in Lianhua Mountain. The two men had a dispute over the important terms put forward by the British side, namely, the cession of Hong Kong Island and trade. Qi Shan said that the draft agreement drawn up by Yi Fa can only be withdrawn after reconsideration. From this, it can be seen that the "preliminary agreement" announced by Yifa on October 20, 65438/KLOC-0 is nonsense. On October 30th, 65438/KLOC-0, the British side did the same thing again. Berman, commander of the British Expeditionary Force Navy, took a note from Lord Ryan, deputy commander of China Dapeng Club, and once again lied that Yifa and Qishan "agreed on everything and handed over the whole island of Hong Kong to the British", demanding that China officers and men evacuate all parts of the island. Two days later, the British posted a notice on Hong Kong Island, falsely claiming that "it is well documented, and everything has been agreed with the imperial envoy Juege Bu Tang to cede Hong Kong and other places to the British host. So now residents in Hong Kong and other places are subjects of the King of England. " The historical fact is that Qishan, at the gunpoint of the British army, did allow the emperor to work for him and the British army to stay in Hong Kong. However, the word Hong Kong at that time did not refer to the whole Hong Kong Island, but only to the southwest of the island, which is now the corner of Aberdeen. On the other hand, the British side deliberately turned a corner into an entire island, "boarding boats" into occupation, and "thinking of others" into "agreeing with everything" and "having a written record". This fully shows how Britain, an old colonial empire, did everything in diplomacy.
After Britain invaded Hong Kong Island by force, the Qing government was extremely shocked and immediately made arrangements to take back Hong Kong Island by force. 184 1 On February 26th, 2008, Daoguang Emperor received a memorial from Guangdong Governor Yiliang about Qishan and the British making good use of the island and the British occupying Hong Kong Island. That is to say, the British occupation of Hong Kong Island was caused by Qishan's ultra vires and self-interest. The imperial edict said: "I rule the world and I rule the country. Isn't it owned by the country?" Lushan is good at trading with Hong Kong and dares to ask. " It is no accident that Daoguang Emperor severely punished Qi Shan. He had long been dissatisfied with Qishan's blind compromise with the British in Guangdong. 65438+1October 27th, Daoguang Emperor learned that the fortress in Dajiao and Shajiao had fallen, and immediately ordered Qishan to be handed over to the headquarters for discussion. Three days later, Yishan, the minister in charge of the imperial army, was appointed as General Jing Inverse, and Long Wen, the minister and Yang Fang, the magistrate of Hunan Province, were appointed as counselors to pacify the British invaders in the south. After the British invaded Hong Kong Island, recovering Hong Kong Island by force became an important goal for Yishan and others to go south. At that time, Yishan and others were still on their way south, and Daoguang issued a decree saying, "Even if there is no danger in Hong Kong, we should try our best to recover it as soon as possible and never give it to foreigners to avoid future troubles." Later, he issued a decree to recover Hong Kong Island one after another: "When Hong Kong is occupied by the rebel army, we must try our best to recover it, so that the rebel army will guard it forever and we will not be appointed." Although the number of Yishan Army ordered by Daoguang Emperor is several times that of the British army, they are all army, and they can only defend Guangzhou by land, but they cannot attack Hong Kong Island at all. 184 1 08 May 18, the British army almost rushed out to attack Guangzhou. Yishan was in a hurry, the Qing army was defeated, and the fortress outside Guangzhou was lost. Yishan was forced to conclude an "alliance under the city", pay 6 million reparations within a week and withdraw from Guangzhou. Afterwards, Yishan lied about the military situation and turned defeat into victory, which led Daoguang Emperor to mistakenly think that the British army returned to Hong Kong Island from Guangzhou after the conditions were met, which was the victory of China's conquest of Yingyi. As for Hong Kong Island, Daoguang Emperor accepted the new governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Suggest and agree to suspend plotting. It happened that there were two hurricanes on Hong Kong Island, and many British ships sank and were destroyed. When Daoguang Emperor learned this news, he immediately presented twenty pillars of Tibetan incense, and invited Yishan and others to the temple to thank the gods, mistakenly thinking that he would be "frightened and afraid to covet again" in the future.
1841August 2 1 day, Britain sent troops to replace Pu Dingcha, who expanded the war of aggression against China, leaving a few army troops and five warships in Hong Kong and personally leading the main force northward. Daoguang Emperor believed that if the British main force went north, Hong Kong Island would be empty, which was a good opportunity to recover Hong Kong. He warned Yishan: "If we can manage to recover Hong Kong, we can make up for our past mishandling." Since then, he has repeatedly asked Yishan and others to train Xiang Yong and seize the opportunity to recover Hong Kong. After the defeat in Guangzhou, Yishan knew the strength of the British army and attacked and suppressed it on land, not to mention crossing the sea to recover Hong Kong Island. In addition, the battery inside and outside Humen has been razed to the ground and there is no danger of being captured. The navy has no boat or gun. He believes that the only solution today is to strictly guard the land to prevent burning and looting. Although Daoguang has repeatedly ordered the recovery of Hong Kong, it must not wait and see, but Guangdong still goes its own way, tolerates peace and does not seek to attack and suppress. 184 1 10 In June, the British army successively captured Dinghai, Zhenhai and Ningbo in Zhejiang, and China and Britain began to fight on land. Daoguang Emperor believed that land warfare was the strength of the Qing army. He appointed Yi Jing as General Yangwei, mobilized troops from all over the country, and prepared to defeat the British army in one fell swoop and recover lost ground. He once again ordered Yishan and others to take advantage of the fact that there are few British ships along the coast of Guangdong and Hong Kong is empty. But the Qing army was defeated again on land, and General Yang Wei fled to Hangchow. The hard facts prove that the Qing army could not fight at sea and was unreliable on land. However, the British occupation of Hong Kong is still a heart disease of Daoguang Emperor. 1On March 27th, 842, the Qing government appointed an old citizen as the general of Hangzhou. 1 1 On April 27th, the Qing government made him an imperial minister of customs defense. On May 18, the British army captured Zhapu. At this critical moment, on May 25th, Daoguang unexpectedly ordered Jane Ying to take an imperial envoy Guan Fangchi to Guangzhou as a general, and ordered him to say, "Hong Kong cannot be occupied by foreigners for a long time. Now, if the fortifications such as the Guangdong Fort are ready, we can take the opportunity to advance, attack openly and defend secretly, and recover Hong Kong to extend our national prestige. " This is the last decree we can see to recover Hong Kong. However, after 10 days, Daoguang had to change his mind, ordered Yong Ying to suspend his trip to Guangdong, and determined that Ying Cha people were active in Zhejiang to deal with the detention of Britain. At this time, shackles have actually become synonymous with begging for surrender. When the British captured Wusong and Shanghai and arrived in Zhenjiang, Emperor Daoguang even authorized the hometown association to act cheaply and decided to surrender. Later, the British army captured Zhenjiang, and on August 4, the enemy arrived at the gates of Nanjing. My husband and Ibrahimovic accepted the terms of the British peace proposal, and on August 29th, they signed the "Alliance under the City-China-Britain treaty of nanking", and finally ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain.
The above facts show that after the British occupation of Hong Kong Island, the Qing government tried to recover it by force, and Daoguang Emperor made dozens of imperial edicts for this purpose. Some government officials also played music and consulted Yishan, demanding the recovery of Hong Kong Island by force. But in the end, the Qing government not only failed to recover Hong Kong Island, but ceded Hong Kong Island in the form of a treaty, which shows that the Qing government has been unable to defend the territorial integrity and sovereign independence of the country. The backwardness of the country and the corruption of the ruling class fundamentally determine this outcome. 1860, Britain forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-British Beijing Treaty by force, and occupied the southern tip of Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island. 1898, in the frenzy of western powers to carve up China, Britain took advantage of the fish in troubled waters, forcing the Qing government to sign the Sino-British Special Provisions on Expanding Hong Kong's Border, seizing the 99-year "lease right" of a large area of land in Xin 'an County and surrounding 235 islands and vast waters, renamed it "New Territories" and incorporated it into the British colony of Hong Kong.
China's efforts to recover the leased land in Kowloon before the Revolution of 1911 and the Pacific War.
After the Revolution of 1911, the government and people of China made unremitting efforts to recover Hongkong.
At the 19 19 Paris Peace Conference, the representative of China raised the issue of recovering the leased land (including the leased land in Kowloon) with the Peace Conference according to the instructions of the Beijing government. As the Peace Conference was dominated by Britain and France, the two victors of World War I, they both occupied the leased land in China and were unwilling to give up their vested interests at all. French Prime Minister Kerry Duhamel Du Monceau, chairman of the Peace Conference, said that China's proposal was "beyond the scope of the Peace Conference" and should be considered by the League of Nations in the future, so he easily rejected it. As is known to all, this Peace Conference, which flaunts the establishment of "international justice" and aims at "creating permanent peace in the world", unfairly treats China. Through the resolution of ceding Germany's aggressive rights and interests in Shandong to Japan, it triggered the May 4th Movement in China and prompted China's representatives to refuse to sign the Peace Conference with Germany.
19211On February 3rd, China put forward a new proposal on behalf of Gu Weijun to abolish foreign concessions in China. The bill lists the fact that foreign powers' concessions in China destroyed China's territorial and administrative integrity, endangered China's national defense, dragged China into the whirlpool of conflicts among foreign powers, and were used by foreign powers to establish their own spheres of influence, demanding that these concessions be cancelled or abolished as soon as possible. At that time, it was at the climax of the post-war national liberation movement in the world. Driven by the May 4th Movement, China set off a wave of people's "foreign struggle for state power" and the abolition of unequal treaties. At the same time, the United States and Japan are competing for each other's advantages in the Far East. The United States is trying to contain Japan's aggressive expansion momentum, and there are also many contradictions among other big countries. The above two factors prompted Britain and Japan to agree to give up the leased land in Ahava and Jiaozhou respectively. However, on the issue of abolishing the concessions in Kowloon (that is, the New Territories of Hong Kong) and Luda, the representatives of China met with strong opposition from the representatives of Britain and Japan. Belfo, the British representative at the meeting, the chairman of the Privy Council and known as a "bloody man", resolutely refused to return it on the pretext that "without the Kowloon Concession, Hong Kong could not defend itself". On February 7th, 65438, Gu Weijun refuted Belfo's fallacy in far eastern commission. Belfo turned a deaf ear to this, the Japanese representative remained silent, and the American representative was indifferent. Since then, the issue of Kowloon Concession has not been discussed at the Washington Conference. China's just demand to recover the Kowloon Concession was seriously frustrated by Britain's stubborn refusal and the scuffle between domestic warlords at that time, unstable political situation and lack of diplomatic backing.
After the Washington Conference, the people of China were very disappointed with the outcome. The abolition of unequal treaties has increasingly become the common demand of all political parties and people from all walks of life throughout the country. 1924 65438+ 10, with the support and help of China * * * production party, Dr. Sun Yat-sen presided over the first national congress of the Chinese Kuomintang. In the Declaration of Congress adopted on 23rd of the same month, the goal of abolishing the unequal treaties imposed on China by imperialism was clearly put forward, among which the abolition of foreign concessions in China was placed in a prominent position. The declaration reads: "All unequal treaties that infringe on China's sovereignty, such as foreign concessions, consular jurisdiction, foreign customs rights and foreigners exercising all political rights in China, should be abolished and new treaties of equality and mutual respect for sovereignty should be signed." This passage became the guiding principle of China's diplomacy.
After the establishment of the National Government headed by Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing, although it relied heavily on imperialism, especially Britain and the United States, in order to consolidate its position, it had to consider the urgent desire of the general public and Dr. Sun Yat-sen's last wish of "freedom and equality in China", put forward the diplomatic policy of "amending unequal treaties" and repeatedly asked foreign powers to abolish concessions and concessions. However, this time, the diplomacy of amending the treaty, except for tariff autonomy, recovered several concessions and recovered Weihaiwei leased land according to the British promise of 1930, achieved little effect. Until the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Nanjing National Government never even formally proposed to Britain to return the Kowloon leased land.
Contrary to the National Government, the British Government and the British authorities in Hong Kong have always been concerned about the future of the Kowloon Concession, and are nervously watching the trend of the National Government and China public opinion on this issue. Governor Jin not only resolutely opposed the return of this leased land, but also repeatedly suggested that his government formally carve it up in exchange for the return of Ahava, or deliberately provoked conflicts with China to create opportunities for merger. After the full-scale outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, another governor, Geoffry Northcote, also tried to take advantage of the crisis. In 1938, he suggested that China urgently needed foreign loans to support its currency. He might as well take this opportunity to exchange the loan for the concession in Kowloon or extend the lease term. However, the suggestions of the above two governors were not adopted by the British government, which tended to adopt a policy of procrastination, silence and avoidance. As long as China doesn't mention it, he will never take the initiative to deal with this problem.
Although the British government was very strict with China on the issue of land lease in Kowloon, it didn't realize that its policies were bringing fatal danger to its rule in Hong Kong. Over the years, Britain has been pursuing a policy of appeasement, pandering and connivance towards Japan, fantasizing about reaching a compromise with Japan to safeguard its colonial interests in the Far East and Southeast Asia. Who knows that this policy not only failed, but also encouraged Japanese militarism to move southward, which led to the outbreak of the Pacific War. Japan occupied the whole Hong Kong area and shot itself in the foot. As an Australian scholar said, "In this period, it can almost be said that the threat to Hong Kong is even greater ... not so much from the people of China as from the British Foreign Office."
1942 The Sino-British negotiation to return the leased land in Kowloon lost two good opportunities to recover Hong Kong.
194 1 At the end of the year, the Pacific War broke out and Japanese invaders attacked Hong Kong. At that time, Britain was busy with the European war and defending its homeland, and its resistance in Hong Kong was weak. Only 18 days left. On Christmas Day of the same year, Hong Kong Governor Yang surrendered to Japan, and Britain's century-long rule over Hong Kong was replaced by Japan. At the same time, the British ace warships "Prince of Wales" and "Enemy" were attacked and destroyed by the Japanese in the Malay Sea, and the British colonial system in the Far East and Southeast Asia quickly collapsed. By June of 1942, the British troops had gradually withdrawn from Malaya, Singapore, Myanmar and other places, and the Japanese troops were on the India-Myanmar border, forming a trend of going straight to India. The past glory of the British empire has gone. The rout of Britain in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia marked the complete destruction of the international balance of power in the Far East established by the great powers through the Washington Conference after the First World War. At this time, China, the United States and Britain have become allies against Japanese aggression. This situation forced Britain to consider China's request to abolish the unequal treaties.
At that time, the anti-fascist wars in the East and the West were linked together, and China's war of resistance was integrated with the battles of the Allies. The changes in the international situation are not only conducive to the victory of China people War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, but also provide a good opportunity to recover Hongkong. The U.S. government, headed by Roosevelt, is well aware of the huge containment effect of the battlefield in China. In order to make the Kuomintang government insist on fighting against Japan and fill the vacuum that Britain may leave in the Far East after the war, it also started to criticize Britain's practice of retaining colonial privileges in China and not returning Hong Kong to China from its own interests. The attitude of the United States is undoubtedly a kind of pressure on Britain and an inspiration to the national government, prompting it to take action.
1942 At the end of August, the National Government formally requested the United States to hold negotiations with China to abolish the unequal treaties, so as to urge Britain to hold similar negotiations with China. When the British Foreign Office learned of this incident, it panicked and quickly instructed Ambassador Mu Xue to "take the initiative". 101October10, respectively, the United States and Britain issued statements, preparing to negotiate a treaty with the government of China to "immediately give up its extraterritorial jurisdiction in China and solve related problems". Negotiations between China and the United States and between China and Britain on the abolition of unequal treaties and the establishment of new covenants began immediately. This negotiation includes giving up the concession in China. The National Government thinks that concession and concession belong to the same category, so it is natural that they should be returned to Kowloon Concession (that is, Hong Kong New Territories).
Since then, the United States and Britain have put forward the draft New Testament for consideration. The Sino-British talks were held in Chongqing, with Song Ziwen and Mu Xue, Foreign Ministers of the National Government, representing the two countries respectively. Britain's draft includes the abolition of extraterritorial jurisdiction over China, the termination of the 190 1 year "Love Ugliness Treaty" and the return of some concessions to China. However, although Britain knows that China is most concerned about recovering Hong Kong (at least in the New Territories), it deliberately does not mention this issue in the draft. On June165438+1October 10, British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill personally declared that "I am not the king's prime minister in charge of the liquidation of the British Empire" and said that "I will never give up any territory of the British Empire", thus indicating that Britain insists on a stubborn position on the issue of colonial rule in Hong Kong.
1 13 10/0/3, the national government proposed an amendment to the British draft, adding the content of abolishing the special clause of 1898 on the expansion of Hong Kong's border: "The administrative right of the British leased land in Kowloon, together with its official assets and debts, will be handed over. It should be said that it is a compromise to only return the leased land in Kowloon, but not the whole Hong Kong area. At that time, the public opinion in Chongqing was fierce and opposed to any foreign country's continued occupation of China's territory. American public opinion also sympathizes with and supports China's just demand. The situation is favorable for China.
After receiving China's revised draft, Britain hurried to study countermeasures. Clark, Director of the Far East Department of the British Foreign Office, proposed three options: (1) Accept the request; (2) flatly refused; (3) try to delay. He thinks that the first option is not feasible, because the New Territories are very important to Hong Kong's economy and strategy. The second plan will not work either, and it will cause dissatisfaction and criticism from the United States (Britain has great dependence on the United States in wartime). So he thinks we should choose the third option, which can be delayed. Regarding the Secretary's proposal, Foreign Minister Aidan thought it was neither firm nor clear, and strongly opposed it. He tends to adopt the second option, that is, categorically declare that the leased land in Kowloon does not fall within the scope of this treaty and refuse to return it. Aiden's idea was strongly supported by Churchill, and the corresponding resolution 165438 was made at the British wartime cabinet meeting on June 30. Britain's policy towards Kowloon leased land is determined by big decisions.
165438+1On October 30th, Mu Xue announced to Song Ziwen that Britain was not prepared to negotiate with China on the Kowloon Concession. Song Ziwen has repeatedly reiterated China's principled position of recovering leased land. There was a dispute between the two sides, and there was no result. Knowing this, Chiang Kai-shek said that if the Sino-British New Testament did not include the recovery of the New Territories, he refused to sign the treaty. The negotiations are deadlocked.
In this case, China's chief representative Song Ziwen wavered. In order to break the deadlock in the negotiations, he is prepared to make a principled deal and make concessions to Britain on the issue of land lease in Kowloon. But he was afraid to tell Chiang Kai-shek what he thought, so he asked Gu Weijun, a senior diplomat and ambassador to Britain who was returning home at that time, to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to make concessions to Britain. Entrusted to go, Gu Weijun told Chiang Kai-shek that he "understood the chairman's meaning and said that the gift would be given once, but Britain was willing to give it twice". In my opinion, it is better to accept the first gift first, which can imply that we are waiting for the arrival of the second gift, so as not to cause any misunderstanding. Moreover, the "unity" between wartime allies is "extremely important". Gu Weijun's persuasion played a considerable role in Chiang Kai-shek.
In the subsequent negotiations, the British side continued to adhere to the stubborn position of colonialism. In order to prevent the complete breakdown of the negotiations, Song Ziwen asked the British side to issue a statement expressing its intention to return the leased land in Kowloon in the future. Therefore, China will never urge Britain to return the leased land in Kowloon before the end of the war, and at the same time, he emphatically announced that China will not sign the treaty if Britain does not even express this will. In this regard, Britain only agreed to "discuss the future of leased land after winning the war", unwilling to make any commitment to return leased land after the war, and even threatened that Britain would "refuse to sign the New Testament". Just then, Japan, which was carrying out bloody and brutal aggression against China, proposed to "revoke" Japan's concession and extraterritoriality in China as soon as possible in order to disturb people's hearts, provoke allied relations, show "Sino-Japanese goodwill" and sign a contract with Wang Puppet before China, the United States and China. Under the double pressure of Britain's refusal to sign the New Testament and the possibility that Japan and Puppet could preempt the signing of the New Testament between China and Britain, Chiang Kai-shek made fundamental concessions to Britain. 1942, 12, 3 1, he instructed the national government to formally agree not to merge the issue of recovering leased land in Kowloon with the issue of abolishing extraterritorial jurisdiction. In his diary that day, he wrote: "It takes a lot of effort to diplomacy with Britain" and "the issue of the return of Kowloon (leased land) is unwilling to be solved at the same time in the New Testament", so he had to "endure it for a while" and agreed to sign the Sino-British Treaty; "After I sign it, I will explain to him in writing that I will temporarily return the Kowloon issue so as to continue the negotiations in the future and serve as the basis for future negotiations." He also vowed that as a "last resort", he was prepared to "recover the Kowloon leased land by military means" after the war. Then, although he was cunning, there was nothing he could do. "
Chiang Kai-shek's original intention was to sign the Sino-American and Sino-British New Testaments on New Year's Day 1943 before the Japanese puppet regime. However, due to the delay of Britain, these two treaties were not signed until 1943 65438+ 10/(the Japanese-puppet treaty was signed on June+10/0/). The Treaty on Abolishing British Extraterritoriality and Privileges in China, signed in Chongqing on the same day, made no mention of the Kowloon Concession. On the same day, Song Ziwen sent a note to Mu Xue, stating that the China government "reserves the right to discuss the land lease in Kowloon in the future". During the war, China's negotiations to recover the leased land in Kowloon ended in failure in China.
1942 is a favorable opportunity for China to abolish the treaty of privileges and inequalities of great powers in China. Undeniably, although the National Government headed by Chiang Kai-shek relied heavily on Britain and the United States, it really wanted to seize the opportunity to recover the rights of foreigners in China as much as possible. China passed the Sino-British New Testament in June 1943, abolished Britain's extraterritoriality in China and the humiliating treaty of 190 1 year, recovered the administrative power of the Beijing embassy concession, the Shanghai and Xiamen concessions, and the British concessions in Tianjin and Guangzhou, etc. It happened in 100, when the British gunboats opened the door to China and forcibly signed the Sino-British treaty of nanking. It was a historical coincidence that China began to be semi-colonized. This is a great event in the history of the Chinese nation's struggle to abolish unequal treaties. Fundamentally speaking, this achievement should be attributed to the people of China who are fighting bloody battles with the Japanese aggressors.
However, it should be pointed out that the failure to recover the leased land in Kowloon in this negotiation is indeed the incompetence of the National Government. In the announcement issued the day after the signing of the Sino-American and Sino-British New Covenants, the National Government declared that China was "completely independent, equal and free" with other countries, which was an exaggeration. China's failure to recover the Kowloon leased land was caused by Britain's persistence in colonialism, but it was also directly related to the weak struggle and attitude of the National Government. As mentioned above, the international and domestic conditions for recovering the leased land in Kowloon are very good. In order to succeed, we should seize the opportunity, argue and stick to the principle. Even if Britain stubbornly refuses, it might as well refuse to sign tomorrow's New Testament. Even so, Britain cannot accuse China of undermining the unity of its allies. On the contrary, Britain, as an ally of China, is obsessed with the privilege of leasing land in China, which is harmful to the unity of its allies. So the treaty failed, and the unreasonable place is still in the British side. In the world anti-fascist war at that time, the wave of national liberation was unprecedented and the collapse of the imperialist colonial system was irreversible. Even if the New Testament is not signed for the time being, can Britain retain its privileges and concessions in China for a long time after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War? As the chief representative of China, Song Ziwen was short-sighted and weak-willed, trying to gain "unification" with Britain by making concessions. As a result, the more China retreated, the more Britain advanced, which eventually led to China's rational frustration and Britain's unreasonable victory. Song Ziwen can't be blamed. As for Chiang Kai-shek, although he wanted to recover the Kowloon Concession and made some efforts to this end, in the face of Britain's diehard stance, he finally failed to persist and finally compromised with Britain, which made the recovery of the Kowloon Concession fall short and missed the opportunity.
1945 After Japan surrendered unconditionally in August, the good opportunity to recover Hong Kong came again. However, because Chiang Kai-shek pursued the wrong policy of aiming at home, resolutely opposing * * *, and eager to snatch the fruits of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he had long forgotten the oath of renegotiating after the war and "retaking the Kowloon Concession from the Japanese by force". On the contrary, he hastily announced to Britain that he had "no ambition" for Hong Kong. As a result, Britain occupied Hong Kong first. Not only that, Chiang Kai-shek, as the supreme commander of the Allied China War Zone (Hong Kong belongs to the China War Zone), had the right to accept the Japanese surrender in Hong Kong, but in the end, even this surrender right was actually taken away by the British. This is the second time that the National Government missed the opportunity to recover Hong Kong. It is a great irony to China, one of the "Top Four" countries, and it is also the sorrow of its history.
1949 The establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) declared the end of China's semi-colonial era and laid a solid foundation for the first return of Hong Kong. With the strengthening of China's national strength, the imminent expiration of the lease of the New Territories in Hong Kong and the favorable changes in the international situation, the recovery of Hong Kong was put on the agenda in the early 1980s. 1984 the sino-British joint declaration finally solved the problem of hong kong's return in principle. According to the Basic Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) SAR, not long ago, the first Chief Executive of the SAR was elected and principal officials of the SAR government were appointed. The smooth return and transition of Hong Kong is predictable. This is the great concept of "one country, two systems" and the successful practice of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong. A century of humiliation is about to vanish, and all China people are proud of it and full of confidence in Hong Kong's prosperity and stability after its return.
While celebrating the imminent return of Hong Kong, we must not forget the long and arduous process of recovering Hong Kong, and think that today's achievements are hard-won. The recovery of Hong Kong's more than 100-year history has once again proved to us an irrefutable truth: backwardness is bound to be beaten, and weak countries have no diplomacy. It also proves that a country with closed doors, no innovation, internal instability, weak national strength and backward corruption can never maintain its independence and territorial integrity, nor can it be required to "clean up the old mountains and rivers." Only under the leadership of the Chinese Production Party, which faithfully represents the interests of the people of all ethnic groups in China, can we adhere to socialism and finally realize the long-cherished wish of the Chinese nation for generations. Only through reform and opening up, maintaining stability and unity, striving for self-improvement, striving for strength and constantly enhancing national strength is the only way to defend and prosper the country.