XX

LEASED TERRITORIES

MORE detrimental to the sovereignty of China than concessions and settlements are leased territories. They are usually naval bases forcibly arrested from China by the great Powers in the general scramble for concessions and leases in 1898. They have virtually become independent principalities located at the strategic points of China's coast.

By leased territories are meant the areas leased to the foreign Powers for a fixed term of years, during which period the Chinese Government withholds the exercise of her jurisdiction over these areas, and instead the jurisdiction of the lessee state is substituted. They are like concessions and settlements in that they are still Chinese territories and that they derive their just powers from the grant of the territorial sovereign, but they are unlike concessions and settlements in that they exercise, not only the proprietary and municipal powers, but also political and governmental jurisdiction.

It is needless to narrate in detail the origin of the leased territories. Suffice it to reiterate that they are the direct consequences of the general scramble for leases and concessions in 1898. It will be remembered that Germany, using the murder of two German Catholic priests in Shantung as a pretext, seized Kiaochow and acquired its lease for ninety-nine years by the convention of March 6, 1898.1

On the very same day on which the German lease was concluded, Russia demanded the lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan and obtained the same by the Treaty of

March 27, 1898,2 for a period of ninety-nine years. Impelled by the necessity of preserving the balance of power, Great Britain secured the lease of Kowloon, opposite Hongkong,3 on June 9, 1898, including Deep Bay and Mirs Bay for a term of ninty-nine years, and the lease of Weihaiwei, on July 1, 1898, "for so long a period as Port Arthur shall remain in the occupation of Russia."

Subsequent changes in the control of the leased territories also deserve our notice. As we all know, by the Russo-Japanese War, Japan succeeded to Russia in the lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan by the treaty of Portsmouth (September 5, 1905), and later obtained China's consent to the transfer by the Agreement of December 22, 1905.5A To reiterate what has been said, as the original Russia lease was only for twenty-five years, she obtained its extension to ninety-nine years by the Treaty of May 25, 1915, relating to South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia. Again, during the World War, she succeeded to Germany in Kiaochow and Shantung.7-8

The concession of leased territories generally consist of a strategic base, a neutral zone, and jurisdiction over the territories in question. The first earmark of a leased territory is the strategic base, which is often vested with the right of fortification. In the Kiaochow lease convention, this provision was found (Article 2)."

". . . His Majesty the Emperor of China cedes to Germany on lease, provisionally for 99 years, both sides of the entrance to the Bay of Kiaochow. Germany engages to construct, at a suitable moment, on the territory thus ceded, fortifications for the protection of the buildings to be constructed there and of the entrance to the harbor."

In the lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan, it is stipulated:

"The governments of the two countries agree that, as Port Arthur is solely a naval port, only Russia and Chinese vessels are to be allowed to use it, and it is to be considered a closed port as far as the war and merchant vessels of the other Powers are concerned” (Article 6).9A

Again, in the French lease of Kwangchowwan, it is declared:

"Le Gouvernement Chinois, en raison de son Amitié pour la France, a donné a bail pour 99 ans Kouang-Tcheououan au Gouvernement français pour, y etabir une station navale avec dépôt de charbon,-(Article 1). La France pourra élever des fortifications, faire tenir garrison à des troupes ou prendre toute autre mesure defensive dans le terrain loué" (Article 4).10

Similarly, in the lease of Kowloon the preamble reads:

"whereas it has for many years past been recognized that an extension of Hongkong territory is necessary for proper defense and protection of the Colony." 11

It is further provided that the area so leased should include the waters of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay, probably strategically necessary for the safety of Hongkong. Finally, in the lease of Weihaiwei it is stated:

"His Majesty the Emperor of China agreed to lease to the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Weihaiwei, in the Province of Shantung, and the adjacent waters. .. Great Britain shall have in addition the right to erect fortifications, station troops, or take any other measures necessary for defensive purposes.

12

Thus, the leased territories are obtained primarily as strategic bases with the right of fortification.

The second earmark of the leased territories is the

neutral zone. It is established largely for the protection of the strategic base. In Kiaochow a neutral zone of fifty kilometers surrounding the Bay at high water was demarcated, within which China engaged to permit the free passage of German troops and "to place no obstacle in the way of any regulation of the water courses which may prove to be necessary." She also engaged not to issue any ordinances or take any other measures or station troops without previous consent of the German Government (Article 1).13 In the Russian lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan, a neutral zone was likewise provided (Art. 5):

"To the north of the territory leased there shall be left a piece of territory, the extent of which is to be arranged by Hsu Ta-Jên and the Russian Foreign Office. This piece is to be entirely left to the Chinese officials, but no Chinese troops are to enter it except after arrangement with the Russian officials." 13A

In the French lease of Kwangchowwan, while there was no specific mention or provision of a neutral zone, the demarcation of the leased territory was so made as to include a large area surrounding the Bay of Kwangchowwan, which, for all practical purposes, took the place of a neutral zone.1 Similarly, in the lease of Kowloon, although there no neutral zone was provided, the extension, or rather the lease itself, extended so far into the interior as to create a small buffer area which served the purpose of affording protection to Hongkong, just as the neutral zone would to Kiaochow or Port Arthur and Talienwan. Again, in the lease of Weihaiwei, instead of a neutral zone, a belt of land ten English miles wide along the entire coast line of the Bay of Waihaiwai and under the sole jurisdiction of Great Britain was conceded, which was tantamount to the neutral zone, if not better. In short, the leased territories, whose primary purpose is the intrenchment of the Powers concerned in their re

spective strategic naval and military bases, are surrounded either by a neutral zone, or by a belt of land under the sole jurisdiction of the foreign Power in question of sufficient width and length for the protection of the strategic bases.

The third earmark of the leased territories is the exclusive jurisdiction of the foreign Powers concerned over the leased areas. During the term of the lease, China engages to suspend the exercise of her jurisdiction, and exclusive jurisdiction of the foreign Powers is substituted. The Kiaochow lease convention had this provision:

"In order to avoid the possibility of conflicts, the Imperial Chinese Government will abstain from exercising rights of sovereignty in the ceded territory during the term of the lease, and leave the exercise of the same to Germany..." (Art. 3).

The Russian lease of Port Arthur and Talienwan provided (Art. 4):

"Within the term fixed, in the territory leased to Russia, and in the adjacent waters, all movements of forces, whether naval or military, and the appointment of high officials to govern the districts, shall be entirely left to Russian officers. . . .

The French lease of Kwangchowwan states:

"Le territoire sera gouverné et administré pendant les 99 ans de bail par la France seule, cela afin d'éviter tout froissement possible entre les deux pays" (Art. 3).

The lease of Kowloon stipulates that

"Within the city of Kowloon the Chinese officials now stationed there shall continue to exercise jurisdiction except so far as may be inconsistent with the military requirement for the defense of Hongkong. Within the