On March 10th the Chinese Parliament
empowered the government to break with Germany. On the same afternoon a
reply was received from the German Government to the Chinese protest, of
a very mild character. The reply produced a great deal of surprise in
China.
A Chinese statesman made this comment on the German change of attitude:
"The troops under Count Waldersee leaving Germany for the relief of
Pekin were instructed by the War Lord to grant no quarter to the
Chinese. On the other hand, the latter were to be so disciplined that
they would never dare look a German in the face again. The whirligig of
time brings its own revenge, and today, after the lapse of scarcely
seventeen years, we hear the Vossiche Zeitung commenting on the
diplomatic rupture between China and Germany, lamenting that even so
weak a state as the Far Eastern Republic dares look defiantly at the
German nation."
The breaking off of relations with Germany led to trouble between the
President of the Republic and the Premier. The Premier desired to break
off relations without consulting Parliament. The President insisted that
Parliament should be consulted, which was actually done. The next move
was to declare war, but here the Chinese statesmen hesitated, and their
hesitation arose through their feeling toward Japan.
Pages:
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688