Open Door Locked to
China
The two notes sent from the U.S.A., by John M. Hay, the American
Secretary of State, earlier this fall to Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Russia,
and France, and not to China, have been revealed to sources as the "Open Door Policy".
(1) The Secretary of State's job is to advise the President of the United
States on international relations. Hays' main concern is peaceful trade with
China, and his goal is to keep the peaceful relations between the U.S.A. and
other nations.
John
Milton Hay
In the "Open Door Policy", White Devil countries agreed not to
interfere with treaty ports such as Xiamen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and
Shanghai, (2) within any "sphere of influence". This gives all nations right to
equal trade to any port that they wish to trade with, instead of only
certain "spheres of influences" trading with certain countries, for example
China refuses to trade with the enemy of Japan. His second point is to
give taxation power back to the Chinese government. Countries holding any
"sphere of interest" will no longer be able to collect taxes from merchants on
Chinese soil, under the agreement. Tax amounts and items that will be
taxed, is solely dependant on the Chinese 
government
decision. He proposes that everyone get an equal share of all goods from
every country. His policy-plans only include dealings with the Chinese
government, as to promote lawfulness and to discourage so-called ³Warlords²
from ruling port cities. (3) These ideas have already been accepted from
Britain and Russian, two countries holding "spheres of influence" in China.
(4)
"Spheres of Influence"
As seemingly altruistic as his proposals may seem, they have not
been addressed to the Chinese government. He did not ask permission of
the empress dowager, Tz'u-hsi (5)to announce these laws, and did not think of the
wishes of the Chinese government when speaking of equality. Having
already ignored pleas of injustice, the Chinese people find it hard to believe
that Europeans and Americans would agree to laws about China without consent.
Chinese are enraged that the barbarians would promote this injustice again,
after the Opium Wars,
masking it as the "equality" that only they treasure.
Although Hay
writes with sincerity, many Chinese feel it is clear that the only motivations
that the barbarians have is only to prevent war with other powerful nations and
take in more Chinese goods and money. Some feel that these notes confirm
that the only American interest is that of their own growing power, not the
equality of all countries. Many resent the foreign power being exerted on
our homeland. "If the devils wanted peace and justice, they would leave
China alone! We are China, we can do it on our own!", says one angry
merchant Li Jin-Wo. (6)
Ports
opening to the White Devils
The policy returns the power of taxation on foreign goods back to
the government, but not the power to refuse with whom the government or
merchant chooses. Hay did not first go to the Empress Dowager for
permission to offer this policy to other nations. The policy forced
merchants to deal with hated enemy Japan, and under it only temporary safety
and sanity can ensue. "The Japanese are greedy, and have not been known
to play by the rules. Who knows how long it will be until they break
their promises to the USA for more wealth, land, and honor.", says a government
official who asks not to be named. (7)
This
new law appears to be an honorable act, but in reality, it is a thick facade
that covers all evil nations in their acts of stealing power and tradition from
China. (9)
Sources
1. ³First
Open-Door Note,² n.d., http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVCR?c=2&stab=2048&ste=27&docNum=CD2164000054&bConts=2176&txb+open-door+policy+in+china&tab=128&vrsn=1.0&slb=SU&tbst=ts_basic&srchtp=basic&fail=2048&locID=menlo_schilb
(January 28th 2003)
2.
2. ³Treaty
Ports,² n.d., http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/t1/treatypo.asp
(February 3rd 2003)
3.²The First
Open Door¹ Note,² n.d., http://www.thisnation.com/library/opendoor1899.html
(January 30, 2003)
4. ³First
Open-Door Note,² n.d., http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVCR?c=2&stab=2048&ste=27&docNum=CD2164000054&bConts=2176&txb+open-door+policy+in+china&tab=128&vrsn=1.0&slb=SU&tbst=ts_basic&srchtp=basic&fail=2048&locID=menlo_schilb
(January 28th, 2003)
5.Susan Naquin
and Evelyn Rawski, Chinese Society in the Eighteenth Century (New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1987), 27.
6.³Commentary
on Open Door Policy in China,². n.d., http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/OVCR?c=2&stab=2048&ste=27&docNum=CD2164000054&bConts=2176&txb+open-door+policy+in+china&tab=128&vrsn=1.0&slb=SU&tbst=ts_basic&srchtp=basic&fail=2048&locID=menlo_schilb
(January 28th 2003)
7.²Open Door
Policy,² Encyclopedia Britannica Online, http://search.eb.com/print?eu=58608 (January 28th, 2003)
8.
Frankenstein, Paul, ³Qing (Manchu) (1644-1911),² Condensed China, (February 3rd
2003) http://www.asterius.com/china/china4.html#qing
9. Jackson .
Spielvogel, World History: the Human Odyssey, (Cincinnati: west
Educational Publishing, 1998), 774)
Images
1. Image of John
Hay. From World Wide Web Site, <http://www.homeofheroes.com/wallofhonor/spanish_am/people/hay.jpg>.
(viewed: February 4, 2003)
2. ³Document
Based Essay², From World Wide Web Site, <http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/brief_review/global_history/images/dbq_6c.gif>.
(February 4, 2003)
3. Drawing of
European Trading Ship, From World Wide Web Site, <http://www.texancultures.utsa.edu/txtext/chinese/media/chinese80_544t2.jpg>.
(February 4, 2003)
