CO129-437 - Public Offices - 1916 — Page 120

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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government. ]

AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL.

بھی

118

[February 1.]

SECTION 2.

(19869)

(No. 6.) Sir,

No. 1.

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received February 1.)

Peking, January 5, 1916. ON the 22nd December I received a telegram from His Majesty's consul-general at Yünnan-fu, stating that Taai Ao, Li Lieh-chün, and one or two other notable malcontents had arrived in Yünnan and were reported to be engaged in stirring up a rebellion. Confirmation of the report appeared in the local newspapers on the following day and caused considerable disquietude in official circles where Tsai Ao was thought to be on a health trip to Japan. Tsai Ao is an interesting personality who has been living quietly for the last year or two in Peking, engaged in the study of land problems and other questions which were delegated to him by the President with a view to distracting his attention from other and more serious objects. He is a native of Hunan, 35 years of age, who acquired his military training in Japan and became Military Governor of Yünnan during the revolution of 1911. He slipped away from Peking towards the end of November, stayed at Nagasaki for a week and started on his adventurous journey to Yunnan about the middle of December. His fellow conspirator, Li Lieb-chun, was the notorious Governor of Kiangsi before the second revolution, aud has since found it necessary to live abroad, principally, I believe, in Japan. These are the two men whose sudden appearance in Yünnan towards the end of last month caused such a sensation throughout the country, and confronted Yuan Shih-kai with the solution of a serious problem before he could hope to reap the fruits of all his monarchical schemes. On their arrival at the provincial capital they lost no time in gaining the adhesion of the Military Governor of the province, who, as a former subordinate of Tsai Ao, was probably privy to the latter's designs, and the revolution then followed the stereotyped course of all similar movements of the kind in recent years. The British and French consuls were taken into the confidence of the revolutionaries, and the usual assurance was given that foreigners would receive a full measure of protection and that treaties would meet with due observance at the hands of the new Government. Two long telegrams were then sent to the President and to give them the semblance of force and urgency, an answer was demanded within a fixed limit of time. These messages reminded Yuan Shih-kai of his reiterated oathe to preserve the Republican form of Constitution, and attributed the monarchical movement to the machinations of his Peking entourage. They called for the execution of twelve of the principal promoters of the movement, and charged Yuan Shih-kai with having monopolised despotic power to the grave detriment of the national welfare. The most significant part of the message and that which attracted most attention was the pointed reference to the interference of foreign Powers to prevent the consummation of the monarchical scheme and the disgrace which it had brought upon the country. appeal against alien pressure was an undoubted bid for popular support, and did not pass unnoticed in the Austro-German propaganda in this country.

This

The President, in his reply, professed to doubt the genuineness of these telegrams, but at the same time took the precaution of controverting their statements. Placing the alleged humiliation consequent upon foreign interference in the forefront of his rejoinder, he explained at some length that the foreign Powers, in tendering their advice, had expressly disclaimed any intention of interfering with the internal administration of China, and that the course they had taken was merely intended to safeguard their commercial interests and was not without precedent. The time limit of twenty-four hours prescribed for his answer seems to have especially nettled him, and he denounced the innovation in terms of scorn.

Meanwhile, things in Yunnan were taking the course to which we have become accustomed in China. The Inspector-General of Customs, following the precedent established in 1911, took care to see that the Customs revenue was not diverted to the purposes of the rebellion, and Sir R. Dane made similar arrangements with regard to the salt receipts. In the latter case, the bargain was that the province would receive its usual monthly subsidy from this source so long as it respected the recognised claims of the Central Government.

[2541 a-2]

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