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RUSSIA AND JAPAN IN
MANCHURIA.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
We
[November 8, 1909. the matter might be, we can be quite sure EXCELLENCY travelled extensively about that the Japanese Government will not the country and no extraordinary precautions disregard so lightly as Dr. OKAMATSU sug- appeared to be taken to assure his safety (Daily Press, October 30th)
gests, the solemn declarations she has made from attack by malcontents. It was, how- Just before the late PRINCE ITo's depar- regarding Manchuria. We can be equally ever, very apparent from the speeches which ture from Japan for Manchuria we published certain that the Government will not the PRINCE delivered on the tour thats good the deal of latent hostility to Japanese rule a short summary of a speech made by His yield to the popular clamour for Excellency, in which he disavowed the sug. annexation of Korea as compensation or remained to be overcome in the country. gestions in the Press that he was going to punishment for a crime committed by a Japanese brigades had for more than a Manchuria on a political mission. The misguided Korean. So opposed would such year previously been sweeping the country, object of his visit, he said, was merely to a step be to the policy which the late Prince suppressing all active insurrectionary move- acquire such a knowledge of the conditions laid down for Korea, that we can readily ments, killing or arresting the ringleaders
dispersing their following. in the territory as would enable him to understand the report that the Government and form an intelligent judgement on any future discountenances the agitation. When news Manchurian question. But notwithstand- of the Prince's death was first announced ing this disavowal the belief persisted we said it was difficult to estimate the that the visit was one of large political consequences of this sudden removal of so significance the Prince's speech being re- powerful a factor in the politics of Asia. It garded as ironical. It is therefore of interest is curious to note in this connexion the to notice that it was mentioned incid- views which are now finding expression in entally in the telegrams reporting the the Chinese press. While they unanimously tragedy at Harbin that the Russian Finance recognise that Japan has lost a statesman of Minister was at the station to meet His the most commanding ability, it is disquiet- Excellency on arrival. It now appears that a ing to note that in the Canton papers the general meeting of Russian and Japanese high crime is not generally abhorred. Indeed the officials had been arranged for at Harbin. demise of the Prince seems to have given to If no agreements were to be made, it is the ultra-Nationalist organs a secret sense evident that the Prince intended to obtain of satisfaction. They do not regard him as his knowledge of conditions from the having been a friend of China: he is referred very highest authorities on both sides. to as responsible for China's defeat in the Japan had arranged for the presence war of 1895, for the annexation of Formosa, of Mr. KOIKE, Consul-General at Mukden, and for the triumph of Japan in the war and Mr. KAWAKAMI, Consul-General at with Russia resulting in the acquisition of Harbin and Russia, on her side, had in-material advantages in Manchuria and in structed her Representative in Peking to visit Harbin, and wired to the President of the East-Chinese Railway also to repair thither. Naturally the Japanese public de- clined to believe in so many "mere coincidences," or that there was any other reason for the visit of the Russian Finance Minister to the Far East, than to discuss with Prince Iro the railway problems and other important matters relating to the administration of Manchuria. It is well known that PRINCE Iro favoured closer relations between Japan and Russia, and there can be no doubt that the conference, had it taken place, would have had a good
effect on the relations of the two Powers, as it would have served to allay suspicion on both sides and have smoothed the way for an amicable settlement of all misunderstandings. The speculations in the Japanese Press as to the object of the Prince's visit to Manchuria are in strange contrast to His Excellency's own statement that it had no political significance. We read, for instance, that the belief prevailed in Tokyo that one of the objects of the visit would be to institute a change in the character of the Japanese administration in the leased terri- tory and in Manchuria, by withdrawing the military and turning the administrative duties into the usual consular channels, as there has been a good deal of complaint in Japanese newspapers of the excessive cost of
L
Korea. Some of the Canton papers have even gone so far as to extol the patriotism of the assassin. It is a disquieting sign of the times, and it occurs to us to suggest that the Chinese papers would be rendering the nation better service by holding up the late Prince Iro as a type of the statesman which China so badly needs.
SEDITION IN KOREA.
(Daily Press, November 1st.) Reuter, a few days ago, told us that Lord CURZON, ex Viceroy of India, when referring in a public speech to the foul assassination of Prince Iro by a Korean, remarked that the task of ruling a subject Eastern people was hard enough for the British, and the tragedy at Harbin indicated that it was apparently no less difficult for the Japanese. And yet it must have been a surprise to the whole civilised world to learn that this foul crime was the premeditated act of a Korean, and that the man had travelled all the way to Harbin with the deliberate intention of killing the great statesman in revenge for what the misguided creature conceived to be the wrongs his country had suffered at the veteran statesman's hands. Even in the East few people outside Korea can have had any notion that there was still prevail- ing in Korea that feverish unrest which breeds men of this desperate type. A good deal was heard of an insurrectionary move- ment shortly after Japan undertook the task of reforming the administration of Korea, and it will be recalled that the American adviser to the Korean Government
San assassinated at was Francisco by two Koreans because of his pro-Japanese views. But most people had formed from the absence of news to the contrary the impression that the insurrec- tionary movement in Korea had been sup- pressed by the iron hand of the Japanese Military. That statement has many times appeared in Japanese papers, and, though not strictly true, it does not appear that any central body is in existence organising resist ance to Japanese rule, and the "insurgents was only show themselves only in small bands. Not long before Prince ITO retired some politi- from the post of Resident-General, His
the present form of administration under a Military Governor-General. A Commis- sioner of the South Manchurian Railway was recently reported as advocating for Manchuria a government-general similar to that in Formosa, as being "a sheer necessity," and he is reported to have said that although there is an agreement which prevents Japan from doing this, he thought such an obstacle could be easily removed by diplomatic nego: ciations. Some attention has been given to this statement by the Chinese press as it con- veys an impression that Manchuria was being regarded by the railway interests as a Japanese Colony, but we presume Dr. OKAMATSU was referring only to the leased territory. However, while such discus- sions were going on, it
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the visit
natural to
that suppose of the Prince was one of cal significance. Whatever the truth of
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no recent statistics of the have seen results of these operations; the latest we have covers the period from July, 1907 (when the Protectorate agreement was concluded), to the end of August, 1908. During that period the number of insurgents killed had amounted to 12,016, while 5,982 had surrendered. The Japanese casualties comprised 169 killed, 254 wounded and 8,162 sick, including 796 succumbed. Un- happily the publication of those statistics more than a year ago did not mark the complete suppression of the insurgent bands and the restoration of peace and order. Great additions must have been made to these figures since. In one of the latest Seoul papers to hand, dated October 20th, we read: It is reported that order is more and more being restored in various parts of the country. Especially is this the case in South Chonla-do, which was at one time the hot-bed of insurrection. The province has recently been swept over by the WATANABE Brigade, and many insurgents, who used to roam there at large, have either been killed,
captured or have surrendered.” We note also a report of the capture of two insurgent leaders, and our contemporany says that, on the whole, the situation is very satisfactory, and it is hoped that the Empire will be in the enjoyment of peace and order before very long." Since that was written the tragedy at Harbin has happened. It is by no means improbable that we shall learn in due course that it has been followed by a recrudescence of the in- surrectionary movement all over Korea, end- ing in large additions to the casualty lists and the postponement of the time when it can be reported that peace and order reign throughout the land. This fear is confirm- ed by the telegram which has reached us from our Tokyo correspondent since the foregoing remarks were written. He reports that insurgents have destroyed the station of the Seoul-Fusan railway and that a general rising is threatened as a consequence of the accomplishment of the death of PRINCE ITo. Let us hope that wiser counsels will prevail to prevent the bloodshed which would be the inevitable result of a general rising. Evidently the insurgents in Korea are playing right into the hands of that section of the Japanese public who are. demanding the annexation of Korea,
CHINA'S AWAKE ING.
(Daily Press, November 2nd.) There is evidence on every hand of the awakening of China, and not the least notable of the many signs is the growing desire among the Chinese of the higher classes to go abroad. Prince THAI HOUN, the Regent's next brother, only recently passed through Hongkong on his way to Europe. Just previously the hereditary Baron LIANG K'UEI, the adopted son of the powerful Viceroy JUNG SU, started on a similar grand tour. He is the brother of
two sisters, one of whom is the wife of the Prince Regent, and mother of the young Emperor; the other is the wife of Prince PU LUN, who on two occasions was regarded
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