The Wang Jing-Wei Regime and the German-Japanese Alliance

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Wang Jing-Wei Regime and the German-Japanese Alliance 1 2 8 3 4 5 The Wang Jing-wei Regime and the 6 7 German-Japanese Alliance 8 9 10 CHOU WHEI-MING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Introduction 20 2 Establishing Puppet Regimes 1 3 The German-Japanese Negotiation on Manzhouguo 2 4 The Establishment and Function of the Wang Jing-wei Regime 5 Negotiations between Japan and Germany on the Recognition of the 3 Nanjing Regime 4 5 6 1 INTRODUCTION 7 fter the Mukden, or Manchurian, Incident in 1931,1 Japan intensified 8 Aits aggression against China. For a more effective control over the newly 9 acquired territories, Japan started setting up governing boards. As the pow- 30 ers manifested their opposition to the Japanese operations in Manchuria, 1 Japan hired Chinese to form local governments and carry out its policies, 2 so as to avoid international interference. The Japanese Government then 3 pushed for international recognition of these regimes. ‘Man-Zhou Guo’ 4 (hereafter Manzhouguo, also called Manchukuo)2 under Pu Yi3 was the first 5 of the puppet regimes established under such models. On 1 September 36 1939, the predominantly Han Chinese puppet governments of South 37 Chahar Autonomous Government and North Shanxi Autonomous 38 Government were merged with the Mongol Autonomous Government, 39 creating the new Mengjiang United Autonomous Government. The 40 ‘Reformed Government of the Republic of China’ in Nanjing (Nanking) 41 under Wang Jing-wei4 of 1940 was the final one of this type. 42 Manzhouguo was not recognized by the League of Nations or the 43 international community as a political entity due to the fact that it was 44 the outcome of the Japanese invasion, which the League of Nations con- 45 demned. The Republic under Wang met a similar fate. The long-standing 46 Republic led by Jiang Jie-shi (Chiang Kai-shek), moved to Chongqing 47R 324 Japan and Germany 1 (Chungking), and still kept on good terms with the major powers. After 2 the outbreak of war in Europe, the United States and the United 3x Kingdom realized that a partner in Far East would be helpful to balance 4 power in this region and to serve their national interests. Under such cir- 5 cumstances, Japan hesitated to promote the recognition of the new 6 regime in Nanjing. Only after all the negotiation with Jiang Jie-shi had 7 failed did Japan turn to Nanjing. Efforts to acquire international recog- 8 nition of its puppet regime were made, without noticeable results. 9 This chapter examines the dilemma of the Japanese government 10 during the establishment of the Wang regime. To put the problem in per- 1 spective, a contrast will first be made between the Japanese diplomatic 2 efforts in gaining support from the powers for Manzhouguo and for the 3 Wang regime. 4 5 2 ESTABLISHING PUPPET REGIMES 6 7 Soon after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Japanese forces 8 took northern China and pushed southwards. By the end of 1937, Jiang Jie- 9 shi gave up his capital and moved westwards along the Yangtze River, first 20 to Wuhan, then to Sichuan, in order to gain a foothold for prolonged war. 1 On occupying the northern provinces of China, the Japanese army set up 2 some ‘committees for the maintenance of public order’, which followed the 3 model in Manchuria and served as a ruling board. The first such board was 4 the ‘United Committee for the Maintenance of Public Order for Beijing 5 (Peking) and Tienjin (Tientsin)’. A ‘Provisional Government of the Republic 6 of China’ under the leadership of Wang Ke-min5 was then organized to con- 7 trol Shangdong, Shangxi and Hebei provinces as well as Beijing and Tienjin. 8 After taking Nanjing, the ‘Reformed Government of the Republic of China’ 9 headed by Liang Hong-zhi6 was established at the end of March 1938. By 30 mid-1938, four puppet regimes existed in China. Yet the powers still recog- 1 nized only the government in Chongqing, under Jiang Jie-shi. 2 The puppet-regimes created with To–kyo–’s support met with quite dif- 3 ferent reactions from the powers. Japanese attitudes towards each regime 4 varied. For those regimes in northern China, it was not necessary to win 5 recognition from the powers. For Manzhouguo under Pu Yi, it was quite 36 different. ‘The Provisional Government of the Republic of China’ and 37 ‘the Reformed Government of the Republic of China’ both existed at the 38 same time and claimed to be ‘heirs’ of the Republic of China. Which 39 should represent China? How should China be ‘divided’ between them? 40 Was there an issue of mutual ‘recognition’? In fact, these issues were not 41 discussed seriously, for the Japanese intention was merely to put these 42 ‘governments’ under Japanese rule so that it could effectively control the 43 vast area it had occupied. Manzhouguo was clearly another issue. 44 Recognition by the powers was always the goal of the Japanese officials 45 in Xinjing,7 where Manzhouguo’s government was located. 46 To solve the functional and territorial overlap of both of the 47R ‘Governments of the Republic of China’, a ‘Joint Committee of the.
Recommended publications
  • The Cartographic Steppe: Mapping Environment and Ethnicity in Japan's Imperial Borderlands
    The Cartographic Steppe: Mapping Environment and Ethnicity in Japan's Imperial Borderlands The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Christmas, Sakura. 2016. The Cartographic Steppe: Mapping Environment and Ethnicity in Japan's Imperial Borderlands. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33840708 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Cartographic Steppe: Mapping Environment and Ethnicity in Japan’s Imperial Borderlands A dissertation presented by Sakura Marcelle Christmas to The Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts August 2016 © 2016 Sakura Marcelle Christmas All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Ian Jared Miller Sakura Marcelle Christmas The Cartographic Steppe: Mapping Environment and Ethnicity in Japan’s Imperial Borderlands ABSTRACT This dissertation traces one of the origins of the autonomous region system in the People’s Republic of China to the Japanese imperial project by focusing on Inner Mongolia in the 1930s. Here, Japanese technocrats demarcated the borderlands through categories of ethnicity and livelihood. At the center of this endeavor was the perceived problem of nomadic decline: the loss of the region’s deep history of transhumance to Chinese agricultural expansion and capitalist extraction.
    [Show full text]
  • Revolution in Real Time: the Russian Provisional Government, 1917
    ODUMUNC 2020 Crisis Brief Revolution in Real Time: The Russian Provisional Government, 1917 ODU Model United Nations Society Introduction seventy-four years later. The legacy of the Russian Revolution continues to be keenly felt The Russian Revolution began on 8 March 1917 to this day. with a series of public protests in Petrograd, then the Winter Capital of Russia. These protests But could it have gone differently? Historians lasted for eight days and eventually resulted in emphasize the contingency of events. Although the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the rule of history often seems inventible afterwards, it Tsar Nicholas II. The number of killed and always was anything but certain. Changes in injured in clashes with the police and policy choices, in the outcome of events, government troops in the initial uprising in different players and different accidents, lead to Petrograd is estimated around 1,300 people. surprising outcomes. Something like the Russian Revolution was extremely likely in 1917—the The collapse of the Romanov dynasty ushered a Romanov Dynasty was unable to cope with the tumultuous and violent series of events, enormous stresses facing the country—but the culminating in the Bolshevik Party’s seizure of revolution itself could have ended very control in November 1917 and creation of the differently. Soviet Union. The revolution saw some of the most dramatic and dangerous political events the Major questions surround the Provisional world has ever known. It would affect much Government that struggled to manage the chaos more than Russia and the ethnic republics Russia after the Tsar’s abdication.
    [Show full text]
  • War Crimes in the Philippines During WWII Cecilia Gaerlan
    War Crimes in the Philippines during WWII Cecilia Gaerlan When one talks about war crimes in the Pacific, the Rape of Nanking instantly comes to mind.Although Japan signed the 1929 Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, it did not ratify it, partly due to the political turmoil going on in Japan during that time period.1 The massacre of prisoners-of-war and civilians took place all over countries occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army long before the outbreak of WWII using the same methodology of terror and bestiality. The war crimes during WWII in the Philippines described in this paper include those that occurred during the administration of General Masaharu Homma (December 22, 1941, to August 1942) and General Tomoyuki Yamashita (October 8, 1944, to September 3, 1945). Both commanders were executed in the Philippines in 1946. Origins of Methodology After the inauguration of the state of Manchukuo (Manchuria) on March 9, 1932, steps were made to counter the resistance by the Chinese Volunteer Armies that were active in areas around Mukden, Haisheng, and Yingkow.2 After fighting broke in Mukden on August 8, 1932, Imperial Japanese Army Vice Minister of War General Kumiaki Koiso (later convicted as a war criminal) was appointed Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army (previously Chief of Military Affairs Bureau from January 8, 1930, to February 29, 1932).3 Shortly thereafter, General Koiso issued a directive on the treatment of Chinese troops as well as inhabitants of cities and towns in retaliation for actual or supposed aid rendered to Chinese troops.4 This directive came under the plan for the economic “Co-existence and co-prosperity” of Japan and Manchukuo.5 The two countries would form one economic bloc.
    [Show full text]
  • Humanizing the Economy
    ! Humanizing the Economy Co-operatives in the Age of Capital John Restakis September, 2016 !2 Table of Contents Introduction 1. The Grand Delusion p. 23 2. The Materialization of Dreams p. 57 3. Co-operation Italian Style p. 104 4. Socializing Capitalism – The Emilian Model p. 134 5. Social Co-ops and Social Care p. 156 6. Japan – The Consumer Evolution p. 201 7. Calcutta - The Daughters of Kali p. 235 8. Sri Lanka - Fair trade and the Empire of Tea p. 278 9. Argentina: Occupy, Resist, Produce p. 323 10. The Greek Oracle p. 365 11. Community in Crisis p. 414 12. Humanizing the Economy p. 449 Foreward When I commenced writing this book in November 2008, the financial crisis that was to wreak global havoc had just exploded and a young senator from Illinois had just been elected America’s first black president. It seemed a turning point. The spectacular failure of the free market ideas that had dominated public policy for a generation seemed at last to have run their course. It seemed a time of reckoning. Surely the catastrophic costs of these policies would call down the reforms needed to curtail the criminal excesses of a system that had brought the global economy to the brink of ruin. The yearning for change that had propelled the election of a charismatic and still youthful president seemed a propitious omen for the pursuit of a vigorous and pro- gressive agenda that would finally address the grave faults of an economic and polit- ical system that had lost all legitimacy.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan
    Imperial Japan and English Language Press: An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan-Asianism By Garrett Weeden A thesis submitted to the Graduate School School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in World Comparative History Written under the direction of Daniel Asen And approved by _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ Newark, New Jersey January 2017 Copyright Page: © 2017 Garrett Weeden ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Abstract of the Thesis Imperial Japan and English Language Press: An Analysis of the Manchurian Incident and Pan-Asianism By Garrett Weeden Thesis Director: Daniel Asen Abstract This thesis seeks to use English language publications to help shine a light on Pan-Asianism as an ideology in regards to Manchuria and the Empire as a whole. The Japanese Empire was a transnational one and one that existed during a time of increasing internationalism. In the field there has not been as much attention to the role that Pan-Asianism has played in the foreign relations of Japan. I will study this by using English language Pan-Asianist texts as well as Japanese governmental and semi- governmental publication cross-referenced with United States Department of State archive to see the effect of such texts on the ideology. The effect was usually negligible, but the reasons and avenue that it was pursued may be even more important and interesting. The focus is on the time period from 1931 until 1934 because that it when the massive changes occurred in Japan within a rapidly changing international environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Background Guide, and to Issac and Stasya for Being Great Friends During Our Weird Chicago Summer
    Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) MUNUC 33 ONLINE 1 Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) | MUNUC 33 Online TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________ CHAIR LETTERS………………………….….………………………….……..….3 ROOM MECHANICS…………………………………………………………… 6 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM………………………….……………..…………......9 HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM………………………………………………………….16 ROSTER……………………………………………………….………………………..23 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………..…………….. 46 2 Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) | MUNUC 33 Online CHAIR LETTERS ____________________________________________________ My Fellow Russians, We stand today on the edge of a great crisis. Our nation has never been more divided, more war- stricken, more fearful of the future. Yet, the promise and the greatness of Russia remains undaunted. The Russian Provisional Government can and will overcome these challenges and lead our Motherland into the dawn of a new day. Out of character. To introduce myself, I’m a fourth-year Economics and History double major, currently writing a BA thesis on World War II rationing in the United States. I compete on UChicago’s travel team and I additionally am a CD for our college conference. Besides that, I am the VP of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, previously a member of an all-men a cappella group and a proud procrastinator. This letter, for example, is about a month late. We decided to run this committee for a multitude of reasons, but I personally think that Russian in 1917 represents such a critical point in history. In an unlikely way, the most autocratic regime on Earth became replaced with a socialist state. The story of this dramatic shift in government and ideology represents, to me, one of the most interesting parts of history: that sometimes facts can be stranger than fiction.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hollow Regime Collapses
    Policy Briefing Asia Briefing N°102 Bishkek/Brussels, 27 April 2010 Kyrgyzstan: A Hollow Regime Collapses This briefing explains and analyses the events of the past I. OVERVIEW five years, in an effort to provide context and background to the uprising. Bakiyev came to power in the so-called A swift, violent rebellion swept into the Kyrgyz capital Tulip Revolution of March 2005, which ousted President Bishkek in early April 2010, sparked by anger at painful Askar Akayev, whom opposition leaders accused of nepo- utility price increases and the corruption that was the de- tism, corruption and growing authoritarianism. Once in fining characteristic of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s office, Bakiyev quickly abandoned most semblances of rule. In less than two days the president had fled. Some democracy, creating a narrow-based political structure 85 people were killed and the centre of the capital was run by his own family and for their profit. A combination looted. The thirteen-member provisional government now of ruthlessness and incompetence led to the regime’s faces a daunting series of challenges. Bakiyev leaves be- downfall. Almost exactly five years after his victory, Baki- hind a bankrupt state hollowed out by corruption and crime. yev was charged with the same abuses as Akayev had been, Economic failure and collapsing infrastructure have gen- by many of the same people with whom he had staged the erated deep public resentment. If the provisional govern- 2005 “revolution”. ment moves fast to assert its power, the risks of major long-term violence are containable: there are no signs of Despite the much-discussed theory that Moscow instigated extensive support for Bakiyev or of a North-South split.
    [Show full text]
  • Module 03: 1917 — Did the War Cause a Revolution? Context
    Module 03: 1917 — Did the War Cause a Revolution? Context Russia Under the Tsar The narrative below provides a brief overview of the main developments between the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 and Russia's withdrawal from that conflict in March 1918. On the eve of the war, Russia remained one of the most politically antiquated regimes in Europe. An autocratic system of government accorded nearly unlimited power to the tsar, who expected obedience and reverence from his 163 million subjects. The population under his rule included representatives of nearly seventy non-Russian ethnic groups dispersed over more than eight million square miles of territory. The overwhelming majority of the population relied on agriculture for their livelihood, although state-sponsored industrialization programs in the late nineteenth century had stimulated urbanization and social diversification, as the ranks of professionals and other "middling" orders increased along with those of the industrial working class. While supporting some measure of economic modernization, the government remained steadfastly hostile to any form of independent civic organization or political activity, whether it derived from liberal hopes for a parliamentary system and the rule of law, or the more radical socialist ideologies embraced by Russian workers. The Russo-Japanese War The aspirations of a rapidly changing society and the growing tensions between the population and a regime intent on avoiding political reform burst into the open in 1905, as the autocracy grappled with a humiliating defeat in the Russo- Japanese war. The country erupted in revolution after troops guarding the Winter Palace gunned down unarmed demonstrators on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." Faced with widespread rebellion in the countryside, debilitating strikes in the cities, and liberal professionals' demands for civil and religious liberties, Tsar Nicholas II reluctantly agreed to the establishment of a national legislative body and the rule of law.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline for World War II — Japan
    Unit 5: Crisis and Change Lesson F: The Failure of Democracy and Return of War Student Resource: Timeline for World War II — Japan Timeline for World War II — Japan Pre-1920: • 1853: American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo harbor and forced the Japanese to allow trade with U.S. merchants with threat of military action. • 1858: Western nations forced Japan to sign the Unequal Treaties. These articles established export and import tariffs and the concept of "extraterritoriality" (i.e., Japan held no jurisdiction over foreign criminals in its land. Their trials were to be conducted by foreign judges under their own nation's laws). Japan had no power to change these terms. • 1868: Japan, in an effort to modernize and prevent future Western dominance, ousted the Tokugawa Shogunate and adopted a new Meiji Emperor. The next few decades saw rapid and successful industrialization during the Meiji Restoration. • 1899: With newly gained power from recent industrialization, Japan successfully renegotiated aspects of the Unequal Treaties. • 1899–1901: The Boxer Rebellion led China to a humiliating defeat by the Eight-Nation Alliance of Western powers including the United States and Japan, ceding more territory, and dealing one of the final blows to the struggling Qing Dynasty. • 1904–1905: The Russo-Japanese War began with a surprise attack and ended by an eventual Japanese victory over Imperial Russia. The Japanese took control of Korea. • 1914: During World War I, Japan and other Allies seized German colonial possessions. • 1919: Japan, as a member of the victorious Allies during World War I, gained a mandate over various Pacific islands previously part of the German colonial empire.
    [Show full text]
  • Revolution in Russia and the Formation of the Soviet Union
    CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES Revolution in Russia and the Formation of the Soviet Union The Russian Revolution often refers to two events that took place in 1917. The first, known as the February Revolution, forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate and led to the formation of a provisional government. During the second event, commonly known as the October Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, Vla- dimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seized power and began seven decades of one-party rule. Some scholars and Soviet critics have argued that the second event was actually a coup by Lenin and his supporters and not a true revolution. The Russian Empire in 1914. Date confusion—The February Revolution actually In the early 1900s, cracks were beginning to appear in the tsar’s control took place in early March. Because the Russian Em- over the Russian Empire. An attempted revolution in 1905, which saw pire followed the Julian Calendar, which is 13 days mass worker strikes and peasant revolts, shook the monarchy and forced behind the Gregorian Calendar, the events are referred Tsar Nicholas II to implement political reform, including the establishment to as the February Revolution. Likewise, the October of a parliament and a new constitution. Revolution actually took place in early November. Reform temporarily quieted the unrest, but the new policies proved inef- Soviet—The word means “council” in Russian. Soviets fective and the parliament, known as the State Duma, was largely unable were workers’ councils made up of various socialist to override the Tsar’s decrees. parties at the end of the Russian Empire.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kornilov Affair: a Failed Coup D'état
    Molly Martin 21H.467 The Kornilov Affair: a Failed Coup D'état The Kornilov Affair in 1917 was a coup d'état by the General of the Russian Army, Lavr Kornilov. This coup was a major turning point in the modification of Russia’s government. Kornilov attempted to gain control of the Russian Provisional Government, which was headed by Alexander Kerensky. The coup began in late August when Vladimir Lvov told Kornilov about Kerensky’s proposed strategies to fortify the government. The three plans were for a dictatorship under Kerensky, a military government with Kornilov as a dictator and Kornilov as a leader in an authoritarian government. The main controversy of this event was that it is uncertain whether Kerensky actually sent Lvov to Kornilov’s command center. Lvov returned to Petrograd and reported to Kerensky that Kornilov preferred the plan that featured him at the head of a military dictatorship. Kerensky took this information to mean that Kornilov was attacking him personally. Believing this, Kerensky tried to gain information about Kornilov’s actual plan. Due to the distance separating them and the limited technology that was available at the time, the teleprinter conversation was very unclear and left Kerensky confused as to what was actually happening, but he acquired the belief that Kornilov had the intention of seizing power. The next day Kornilov and his troops marched on Petrograd. He directly defied the Provisional Government. Kerensky realized that this coup was becoming a reality and asked for the help of the Petrograd Soviet to prevent a take over. The Soviet appealed to the workers and soldiers, asking them to protect the revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • The Manchurian Incident
    Part 1 - The Manchurian Incident Chronology 1911 October 10 - Xinhai Revolution 1922 February 6 - Nine-Powers Treaty (Washington Naval Conference) 1931 September 18 - Manchurian Incident 1932 March 1 - Manchukuo is founded September 4 - Lytton Report is released 1933 March 27 - Japan withdraws from the League of Nations (effective 1935 March 27) May 31 - Tanggu Truce 1935 June 10 - He-Umezu Agreement 1936 December 12 - Xian Incident 1937 July 7 - Marco Polo Bridge Incident July 11 - Local ceasefire agreement July 29 - Tongzhou Massacre August 9 - Murder of Sublieutenant Oyama August 13 - Battle of Shanghai August 15 - Chiang Kai-shek issues general mobilization order August 21 - Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact October 2 - Landing of Japan's 10th Army at Hangzhou Bay leads to the collapse of the Chinese Army in Shanghai November 5 - Japan makes peace offer through German Ambassador to China Oskar Trautmann December 1 - Order to capture Nanking is issued December 13 - Fall of Nanking, the Japanese Army enters Nanking December 22 - Japan reissues its peace terms through Trautmann 1938 January 16 - First Konoe Statement cuts ties with Chiang Kai- shek's regime November 3 - Second Konoe Statement declares a new order in Asia December 22 - Third Konoe Statement enunciates the principles of friendly relations with neighbors, anti-communism, and economic cooperation 1940 March 30 - Establishment of the Republic of China in Nanking 1943 November 5-6 - Greater East Asia Conference is convened in Tokyo 1 How did 10,400 Japanese soldiers occupy Manchuria? On September 18, 1931, a line of the South Manchuria Railway at Liutiaogou, about eight kilometers north of the city of Mukden, was blown apart.
    [Show full text]