711.933/133: Telegram
The Minister in China (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
811. The following has been received from Nanking as the English translation of a rejoinder under date of September 5 to our note of August 10 re extraterritoriality. An examination of the Chinese text, however, seems to indicate that the English is the original text of which a somewhat inexpert translation was made into Chinese (paragraphs lettered for reference):2
- (a)
- “I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note of August 10 in which you are good enough to transmit to me the views of your Government in regard to the request of the Chinese Government, contained in my note of April 27th, for the removal of restrictions on Chinese jurisdictional sovereignty.
- (b)
- The Chinese Government is pleased to be reminded by the American Government that it has, for some time past, given constant and sympathetic consideration to the national aspirations of the people of China and that it has repeatedly given concrete evidence of its desire to promote the reason [realization] of those aspirations. The traditional friendship between China and America has not only a common material basis, but is also deeply rooted in the idealism which is common to the Chinese and the American people. The American people, with their love of liberty, [their] zeal for justice, their desire to further [the] advance of civilization and their sympathy for the aspiration[s] of nations in their spiritual rebirth, all of which reveals unmistakably the noble attitude of the American mind, have aroused the admiration and won the love of the Chinese people. This idealism has manifested itself in the abolition of slavery, the growth of democracy, and the endeavor to establish a regime [reign] of universal peace, which has given a new hope to the human race. It is this idealism that accounts for the steadfastness of the American Government and people in their friendship for China through all the vicissitudes of her fortune. It is again this idealism that has prompted the American Government to give sympathetic consideration to the desire of the Chinese Government in connection with the question of jurisdiction and to decide to enter into negotiations for the devising of a method leading to the eventual abolition of extraterritorial privileges.
- (c)
- It seems to me, however, from a careful consideration of your note that the American Government is not yet free from misgivings as to the safety of American life and property after the abolition of extraterritoriality. The American Government is undoubtedly aware of the fact that the liberty of American citizens and the security of their property rights do not so much depend upon the [Page 605] continued exercise of jurisdiction by their own consular courts, as upon the timely removal of hindrances to the free and full assertion of China’s sovereign rights. Extraterritorial privileges, while apparently beneficial to foreigners in China in giving them the impression of security and safety, have really had the most injurious effect on their relations with the Chinese by producing in the latter [the] feeling of humiliation and the sense [of] resentment which have always caused mutual suspicion and the consequent loss of mutual confidence, thus undermining the very foundations of friendly relations and not infrequently giving rise to complications and conflicts. Such conflicts and complications could be easily avoided were there none of those special privileges. In this connection, it may be pointed out that towards nationals of certain countries who have lost their extraterritorial privileges and have submitted to the jurisdiction of China, the Chinese people entertaining [entertain] the mostly [most] friendly feelings and repose in them great confidence, a valuable asset, it will be admitted, in the intercourse, commercial or otherwise, of any two peoples. Such marked difference in the relations between the Chinese and the nationals of extraterritorial powers on the one hand and those between the Chinese and the nationals of non-extraterritorial powers on the other will, as long as the extraterritorial system is retained, become more and more pronounced, and much as the Chinese Government may try to discountenance this difference of attitude on the part of its citizens, it will not be within its power to control the natural expression of their feelings.
- (d)
- In the event, however, of American citizens relinquishing their extraterritorial privilege[s], they may rest assured that they will enjoy the same confidence of the Chinese people and hence the same material benefit as the nationals of nonextraterritorial powers. Moreover, the Chinese Government will continue to exercise, in accordance with the well-established principles of international law, due diligence in preventing any possible violation[s] of the private rights of American citizens and perform its duty, in the fullest possible measure, in all matters relating to the redress of wrongs.
- (e)
- In your note under acknowledgment reference is made to the report of the Commission on Extraterritoriality submitted to the interested Governments pursuant to a resolution adopted at the Washington Conference. The American Government must be aware of the fact that since the completion of that report conditions in China have greatly changed, and in particular both the political and judicial systems have assumed a new aspect. To pass judgment on the present state of laws and judicial administration in China in the light of what is contained in the report of 1926 is doing no justice to the steadfast policy of the National Government.
- (f)
- At this point, it may be worth while to recall the circumstances under which the American Government renounced its rights under the capitulations with Turkey. The Chinese judicial system, it will be admitted, does not suffer the least in comparison with that of Turkey at the time of the abolition of the capitulations. And yet the American Government, realizing that the Turkish people with legitimate aspirations and under the guidance of a new and strong government could accomplish great things in a short space of time, had the wisdom and foresight to relinquish its special privileges [Page 606] similar to those enjoyed hitherto by its nation[als] in China and has had the satisfaction to find that the life and property of American citizens in Turkey have subsequently received full and adequate protection. The American Government which did full justice to the Turkish people in the matter of jurisdiction without any apprehension[s] and with satisfactory results will no doubt solve the problem of extraterritoriality in China in the same friendly and sympathetic spirit.
- (g)
- It has been perhaps brought to the knowledge of the American Government that the Chinese Government has recently concluded treaties with several other powers which have agreed to relinquish extraterritorial privileges on January 1st, 1930. If it had appeared to the Governments of those powers, as it appears to the American Government, that there did not yet exist in this country a judiciary capable of rendering justice to their nationals and body of laws adequate to give protection to their lives and property, they would certainly have refused to give up their privileged position and enter into the engagements they have made. Now that many of the powers which participate[d] in the discussions of extraterritoriality at the Washington Conference have already shown by an overt act that that system has outlived its usefulness and should be replaced by one in harmony with the actual state of things, there is no reason why the United States, upon which fell the honor of initiating the labors of that conference, should not act in unison with those powers, thus removing the difficulty which the Chinese Government might otherwise encounter in extending jurisdiction over all foreign nationals.
- (h)
- It is the hope of the Chinese Government that whatever misgiving[s] and apprehension[s] the American Government may have in considering the subject under discussion will be now dispelled, and that, in the further examinations of this subject, it will be actuated by much weightier considerations, namely, the enhancement of friendship between the Chinese and the American people, and hence the promotion of the material interests of both. It is with this last object in view that the Chinese Government [now] requests the American Government to enter into immediate discussions with [the] authorized representative of the Chinese Government for making the necessary arrangement[s] whereby extraterritoriality in China will be abolished to the mutual satisfaction of both Governments.
- (i)
- I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your Excellency the assurance of my highest consideration.
2. Chinese Secretaries inform me that the numerous differences in detail between English and Chinese texts represent assumptions of force and lapses into weakness to which no real significance can be assigned. Chinese text and variant translations follow by mail despatch.
MacMurray