"shandong" Open Door Policy With The United States ,1914-1922,

The Shantung Question was a focus problem in the Far East international relations from 1910s to 1920s. While the Open Door Policy was the first attempt of the United States when it strode across the west hemisphere and influenced the world by the way of its own. It is not difficult to find this policy's shadow in the current globalized world economic pattern. However, no scholar has tried to make a synthetic and monographic study about the relations between the Shantung Question and the Open Door Policy up to now. This dissertation expounded the whole course of the Shantung Question through the macroscopic paradigm of the Far East international relations, in the direction of the Global Historical Standpoint. It clarified the influences of the Open Door Policy toward the Shantung Question, and demonstrated the nature, effect of the former through the later.The main viewpoints of the dissertation are as follows: Although the Shantung Question had gone through a very complicated course, and the United States had taken very different actions toward it, this was just the surface of the problem. In fact, the United States had never changed its general policy toward China, it had always insisted on the Open Door Policy which was not guaranteed by forces, and what had been truly changed was the general paradigm of the international relations. In order to expound conveniently, the dissertation is divided into four chapters.Chapter I: The international background under which the Jiaozhou leased territory had changed to Japan, and the reactions the United States had taken around this accident. At the beginning of the World War I, Japan hurried to declare war against German on the excuse of Anglo– Japanese Alliance, and seized the Jiaozhou leased territory. The scope of influence in Shantung which had been painstakingly built up by German also fell into the hand of Japan. Japan's steps were not taken accidentally, but the result of the Continent Policy which had been practiced for a long time. Yet the Continent Policy that which purpose was to expand in China and the whole Asia and Pacific area had a conflict with the Open Door Policy which was the traditional policy of the United States in the same area. For the inadequacy of the forces and interests in this area, facing the strong challenges of Japan, America's reactions were very cautiously. After only making some surface moves, it had retreated and accommodated Japan's act. Since China was too weak and lax to defend its own rights and interests, since the European Powers were deep in the Great War and had no time to take care of their benefits in the Far East area, and since America didn't want to pay more prices for its Open Door Policy, Japan found the"door"to the way of dominating China was open.Chapter II: Japan had carried out a series of secret diplomacies with the European Powers around Shantung Question in war time, and the United States had resorted to some insufficient means against Japan's actions of challenging the Open Door Policy. In order to"legalize"its act of occupying Shantung Province, Japan had put forward"the Twenty– One Demands"to China firstly, signed several secret treaties with the European Powers secondly, and reached the Secret Agreements between China and Japan, Containing Notes Exchanged lastly. Japan's so many wars– time expanding measures, had not only conflicted with the"New Diplomacy"which was proposed by America, but also challenged the Open Door Policy more severely. So America had waged certain diplomatic struggles against Japan. Yet the results had been always disadvantageous to the former. Especially the Lansing– Ishii Agreement, signed by the two parties, was a typical case which showed the compromise of America to Japan. America's lacking of strong and powerful means in upholding its Open Door Policy, had given Japan good chances. When the World I was over, Japan had obtained the"dominating position"in China and even in the whole Far East area.Chapter III: Discussed America's rivalry with Japan over Shantung Question in Paris Peace Conference, and analyzed the reasons of which the former had lost. At the Paris Peace Conference which was held by the winners of World War I, the United States began to counterattack Japan for its expanding acts in war time. One of the important contents of America's counterattacking was to support China to regain Shantung Province. Yet, because of the hindrance of the secret treaties in war time, and what was more, because of President Wilson's strong wish to build up the League of Nations surpassed all of the proposes of idealism, the United States had been defeated again by Japan's menace of withdrawing from the League of Nations if Shantung Province were given to China. It had to agree the transfer of all the benefits German had ever owned in Shantung Province to Japan. China refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles, through which to show its protest against the behavior of disregarding international justice. What was worth while to ruminate was that: Wilson had betrayed Shantung Province for the plan of the League of Nations, and Shantung Question on the contrary had become an important excuse on which the senate of the United States had vetoed the plan of the League of Nations.Chapter IV: The course and reasons the Shantung Question had been solved in the Washington Conference under the big background that the Open Door Policy had become the common recognition of the Powers. The Paris Peace Conference had not settled the problems of Far East international relations at all. Several outstanding problems including Shantung Question still affected the peace and stabilization of Far East area. So America had sponsored and called the Washington Conference. On this conference, the Open Door Policy had been given a new and definite interpretation. From then on, this policy had been raised to a lawful principle from a political one, and had been recognized again in the form of treaty by the Powers. Facing the great international trend that could not be reversed, Japan had to sign the Treaty for the Settlement of Outstanding Questions Relative to Shantung with China. Shantung Province had returned to the embrace of China again. However, the execution of the Open Door Policy was not guaranteed by forces, its tendency towards contradiction and compromise still existed. So Japan's"special benefits"in China bad not been removed thoroughly.The results of this dissertation are drawn from the developing course of Shantung Question: Although the wish of America's safeguarding its Open Door Policy was consistent, yet the paradigm of the international relations was unpredictable, and the contradictions in the Open Door Policy were always existed, the actual executing effects of this policy in the Far East area was limited.The original creations of this dissertation are as follows: It has made a synthetic and monographic study about the relations between the Shantung Question and the Open Door Policy for the first time, and has discovered that the Open Door Policy had one contradiction after another, included such ones as:"chances equality"and"scopes of influence", aims and means, obligations and rights, ideals and realities, etc. These original creations had made some contributions to the deepen study of the Open Door Policy. Washington Conference under the big background that the Open Door Policy had become the common recognition of the Powers. The Paris Peace Conference had not settled the problems of Far East international relations at all. Several outstanding problems including Shantung Question still affected the peace and stabilization of Far East area. So America had sponsored and called the Washington Conference. On this conference, the Open Door Policy had been given a new and definite interpretation. From then on, this policy had been raised to a lawful principle from a political one, and had been recognized again in the form of treaty by the Powers. Facing the great international trend that could not be reversed, Japan had to sign the Treaty for the Settlement of Outstanding Questions Relative to Shantung with China. Shantung Province had returned to the embrace of China again. However, the execution of the Open Door Policy was not guaranteed by forces, its tendency towards contradiction and compromise still existed. So Japan's"special benefits"in China bad not been removed thoroughly. The results of this dissertation are drawn from the developing course of Shantung Question: Although the wish of America's safeguarding its Open Door Policy was consistent, yet the paradigm of the international relations was unpredictable, and the contradictions in the Open Door Policy were always existed, the actual executing effects of this policy in the Far East area was limited. The original creations of this dissertation are as follows: It has made a synthetic and monographic study about the relations between the Shantung Question and the Open Door Policy for the first time, and has discovered that the Open Door Policy had one contradiction after another, included such ones as:"chances equality"and"scopes of influence", aims and means, obligations and rights, ideals and realities, etc. These original creations had made some contributions to the deepen study of the Open Door Policy.