§ 26. Mr. LOOKERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the nature of the forces available at Tientsin for the protection of the British community there in the event of the city being occupied by Nationalist troops; and whether any arrangements have been made for strengthening such forces without delay should necessity render such a course advisable?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINThe following troops are at present at Tientsin:
300 Italian and 700 Japanese reinforcements are being sent, but have not yet arrived. Artillery at Tientsin consists of 46 guns and 11 mortars; the United States of America have also 1 section of engineers, 5 tanks and 12 aeroplanes. There are also 1,684 troops, of the above nationalities, at Peking, with 16 guns and 8 mortars, and Italian and Japanese reinforcements, totalling 240, are being sent. 909 additional troops are distributed along the railway between Tientsin and Shanhaikuan. His Majesty's Government are closely watching the situation at Tientsin, and should it be necessary to strengthen our forces there, there would be no difficulty in doing so.
United States of America 758 United States of America 3,000* British 1,623 French 2,008 Italian 401 Japanese 462 8,252 * Marines.
§ Mr. LOOKERHave any arrangements been made for creating a new neutral zone outside Tientsin?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI must have notice of that question; I cannot answer exactly.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYHas the right hon. Gentleman seen the reports in the papers to-day that these troops are not being used for the protection of the international settlement at Tientsin, or the concessions, and are forming a line right outside the city?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI cannot answer exactly, but, so far as my know- 651 ledge goes, the troops are only being disposed where the military authorities of the different Powers concerned think that they can best protect the lives of foreign nationals.
§ 27. Mr. LOOKERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is in a position to make any statement as to the position in China; and whether any special steps have been taken to ensure the protection of the British communities there, both in North China and elsewhere?
§ 30. Mr. TREVELYANasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the latest information in his possession as to the situation in Shantung; whether His Majesty's Government is making any efforts to prevent a state of war arising between the Japanese and Chinese Nationalist troops; and whether any cognizance of the situation is being taken by the Council of the League of Nations under the covenant of the League?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINOn the 9th of May Chang-Tso-Lin sent a circular telegram to all provinces stating that he had instructed his troops to cease hostilities, and adding that on the question of national politics he would accept a fair and impartial decision agreed to by the Chinese people. In accordance with these overtures, his troops are withdrawing on all fronts and no fighting is reported anywhere. Owing to the interruption of communications, I have no direct news from the Consul-General at Tsinanfu, and such information as I possess regarding the situation in Shantung is derived chiefly from Japanese sources.
A report from the Japanese Consul at Tsinanfu dated the 5th May gives an account of the commencement of the trouble. It states that the Northerners withdrew from Tsinanfu on the night of 30th April, the Southerners entering peacefully on the following day. On 2nd May there was no sign of disorder, and the Southern Army requested that the Japanese should remove the protective safeguards that had been set up. This was agreed to, and the protective devices were removed by the Japanese at 11 p.m. On 3rd May, at about 10 a.m., two Japanese police were 652 despatched to a Japanese house on receipt of news of looting. They found the house completely looted, with five Chinese soldiers belonging to the Seventh Battalion of the Third Division of the Fortieth Army still there. The soldiers abused the police and threatened them. One policeman returned to the police station to report, and at this stage five Chinese and six more Chinese soldiers joined the first party, armed with revolvers. They shouted, "Kill the Japanese," and assaulted the police. A party of about 30 Japanese soldiers arrived under a lieutenant, whereupon the Chinese ran away and took refuge in a Chinese military depot with the flag of the Seventh Battalion, Third Division, on it. The Japanese soldiers pursued them, and when they reached the gate of the depot were fired on by Chinese soldiers from inside. To this fire they replied, and fighting then spread. At the time the Japanese General in command of the Division was making a round of calls and the Japanese Consul was having an interview with General Chiang-Kai-Shek. The Japanese Consul was of the opinion that the affair was due to systematic provocation by unruly elements among the Southerners and was the result of Communistic intrigue. Outrages on Japanese civilians, both men and women, are also reported.
The Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs informed His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires that as a result of these incidents the Japanese military authorities had demanded Chinese withdrawal to 20 li (about seven miles) from Tsinanfu and from either side of the railway within a time limit of 12 hours. These demands were presented on 7th or 8th of May. There were also other demands, but the withdrawal and punishment of the guilty parties were the most important. The Chinese did not reply, whereupon Japanese troops proceeded to clear the Southern troops from the town, inside and outside the walls. According to a further report by the Japanese Consul at Tsinanfu, as a result of an agreement made between him and various local guilds, all Southern troops in the city were allowed to evacuate unarmed between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on 11th May. The city is now entirely in the hands of the Japanese and order is being maintained by the local Chinese 653 authorities, backed by the Japanese military. I am glad to say that all British subjects in Shantung appear to be safe.
Neither of the parties involved in the trouble in Shantung has indicated that the intervention or mediation of His Majesty's Government would be acceptable, but a telegram bearing the name of General Tan Yen-kai, then chairman of the Political Council at Nanking, has been received by the Secretariat-General of the League of Nations and circulated to States members of the Council. This telegram requests the summoning of a meeting of the Council and urges that the League shall request the cessation of hostilities on the part of the Japanese troops and their immediate withdrawal from Shantung.
British warships have been sent to Chinwang-tao, Wei-hai-wei, Chefoo and Tsingtao. Elsewhere in China normal precautions are being taken. A British warship is stationed at practically every port along the coast, and on the river wherever there are British residents.
§ Mr. TREVELYANIs the communication of the Nanking Government going to be considered by the Council?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI cannot say.
§ Mr. TREVELYANHave the British Government any view on the subject of whether it should be considered?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI am not prepared to make any statement on that matter at present. If I am to be asked a question of that kind it is one on which I am entitled to and must demand the right to notice.
§ Mr. THURTLEOn a point of Order. Without wishing to be in the least bit discourteous to the right hon. Gentleman, may I ask you, Mr. Speaker, whether in the event of long official replies occurring two or three times in the course of Question time you have any means by which you can safeguard the rights of other hon. Members who have questions on the Order Paper?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think this is a matter for the House. The House, I thought, desired to hear those statements. I do sometimes ask for statements to be made at the end of Questions.
§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYMay I put it to you, Sir, that the answers given by the right hon. Gentleman deal with matters affecting British interests and British trade to a considerable extent and that it is necessary for the House to have authentic information.
§ 29. Mr. LOOKERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any and, if so, what British consular or civilian premises in China are occupied by Nationalist troops or officials; whether any protest has been made in the case of any such occupation; and, if so, what reply has been received?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINMy most recent information regarding Chinkiang and Nanking was given in my replies to my hon. Friend on 2nd of April last. There are also mission premises in other parts of China that have been similarly occupied from time to time, but I am without full particulars. No further occupations have been reported recently.
§ 31. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Japanese Government has made any demarche or explanation or representation to His Majesty's Government with reference to the military operations now being conducted in the province of Shantung, as agreed upon under the terms of the Washington Agreement of 1921; and, if so, what are the terms of such communication and of his reply?
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINI am almost afraid of the length of this answer.
The Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs informed His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Tokyo of the intentions of the Japanese Government on 20th April and 8th May. Similar communications were made by the Japanese Chargé d'Affaires in London to the Foreign Office on 23rd April and on 10th May. At the first interview the Japanese Chargé d'Affaires stated that he had been instructed to inform me that his Government had decided to send 5,000 troops to Tsingtao. In connection with this information he was to emphasise the following two points:
At the second interview the Japanese Chargé d'Affaires left an aide-mémoire, the text of which I will, with the hon. and gallant Member's permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The Japanese Chargé d'Affaires briefly confirmed these statements to me at an interview on the 10th of May. I expressed my sympathy with Japan in the troubles with which she was now confronted and my hope that later information would not confirm the horrible account of outrages on Japanese nationals, and particularly on Japanese women, which I understood had been contained in the first reports received by the Japanese Government. I further expressed my satisfaction at the assurance that the Japanese troops would be withdrawn as soon as the safety of Japanese lives and property was assured.
- (1) That the despatch of troops again to Shantung Province was an unavoidable measure of self-protection, by no
655 means implying anything in the nature of unfriendly intentions towards China and her people, or interference with the military operations of any of the Northern or Southern forces; and - (2) That, as soon as the Japanese Government considered it no longer necessary to maintain the troops for the protection of the Japanese residents in the affected area, the troops would be immediately withdrawn as on the last occasion.
§ Following is the text of the Aide Mémoire
Statement issued in Tokyo by the Japanese Government on 9th May.When recently disturbances in China threatened to spread to Tsinan the Japanese Government dispatched troops for the protection of Japanese residents in that region and took occasion to explain their attitude in connection with that unavoidable course of action. It is now to be observed that since the occurrence of the deplorable incident at Tsinan the situation in that district has so much increased in gravity that the present strength of Ike Japanese troops there is insufficient for the protection of the Japanese residents. The Shantung Railway connecting Tsingtao and Tsinan is destroyed at various places, making it impossible as things stand at present to ensure means of communication by that route. In these circumstances it has been decided to dispatch the Third Division to Shantung with the object of securing the necessary protection of Japanese residents and of ensuring communication by the Shantung Railway. The present dispatch of additional troops being intended, as stated above, to protect 656 Japanese residents in Shantung and to ensure communication by the Shantung Railway which is essential for that purpose, its object is in no way different from that of the first dispatch of troops.Together with the dispatch of the Third Division, it has been decided to send from Japan Proper to Tientsin five other companies which were originally scheduled to be sent in June next as a periodical relief for the Japanese garrison in China; but the date of their departure has been advanced in view of the circumstance that part of the garrison has recently been sent to Tsinan as an emergency measure. It has also been decided to dispatch an additional number of cruisers and destroyers to the Yangtse and to South China for the purpose of safeguarding Japanese residents in case unforeseen happenings should occur in the southern districts out of possible misunderstandings relating to Tsinan incident. The present dispatch of additional troops and warships is intended for no other purpose than that of protecting the lives and property of Japanese residents against such unfortunate incidents as might possibly occur in connection with the Tsinan affair and it need scarcely be added that they will be withdrawn as occasion permits on the disappearance of the necessity for their continued maintenance.