Essay Sample on Japan's Infamous 21 Demands: A Sovereign Abuse

Introduction

In 1915, Japan presented China with a list of demands commonly referred to as the Infamous 21 Demands. Japan was almost setting a post-colonial in China. The demands set to place the dominant rule of Japan in a nation that already had an existing and running government. A moving abuse of the rights of the Chinese and a sovereign state could be witnessed from the demands. The Japanese went as far as restricting the relation of the government of China with other governments without Chinese's consent. It also instructed the government of China to make use of Japanese advisors when making decisions. The 21 points instrumentally affected China. They had an effect on the way the government of China ran, how economic benefits were accrued to the nation and the development of the country due to the highly manipulated resources. Also, China was restricted from having a favorable foreign affairs environment. The 21 points negatively affected China's economic, political, and social spheres and restricted it from developing in external relations.

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The idea of the 21 demands on China by Japan and how oppressive they were can be grasped well since they were not based on mutual agreement. Instead, they were centered on threats of war. The demands that Japan presented were, therefore, not to be discussed on the grounds of mutual benefit, but they were oppressive and sought to make China a minor entity of Japan. At the time when they were instituted, China had a weak army and a drooping economy. They recognized that the country did not have the technology, military investment, and even the capital to wage war against them. Thus, the demands were meant to induce fear on the Chinese, giving Japan a better chance to extend economic manipulation.

The economic manipulation of China was also well-scripted in each of the demands made by the Japanese. The first demand, for instance, sought to make China a nation that was subject to discussion by other nations. Japan and Germany were to be the two countries that would benefit more than the Chinese government through the disposition of all rights, interests, concessions, and treaties concerning the Shantung province (Huang n.p.). The province was well known for its productivity, and hence, the two nations had decided to infringe on China owing to its large repertoire of minerals and raw materials for industries. The denial of the ability to run a province that had the necessary minerals that could see the economic improvement for the nation was such an instrumental level of oppression that slowed down the growth of the nation.

Though there may be arguments about the unpreparedness of China to continue with mining, it would have been a better way for it to make use of its minerals when they had better grounds for negotiation. However, one of the demands that were made by Japan to China was that the province of Shantung and its coast be never ceded or leased to any power under all pretexts. This demand was impactful in that it denied China the ability to reach a better deal with other powers for the extraction of the minerals (University of Southern California n.p.). China was not given a chance to issue its statement concerning the taking their mineral-rich province. Within the period that Japan occupied the province, they took such a huge repertoire of minerals that were meant for china saw Japan develop at the expense of China's wealth.

Being a developing economy that was weak, China needed to secure trade partners but was denied by the demands, thereby derailing its development. Indeed, the demands did not show any concerns about the wellness of the people of China. For instance, one of the demands presented that the Chines government should agree to make trade centers for the Japanese businessmen (Huang n.p.). The nation was also required to erect suitable places that would be necessary for business for the foreigner such as ports. There was not a representation of the Chinese in business at all. Everything that the government of China was required to do by the Japanese was to improve business for their citizens while the Chinese people were suffering due to lack of the same resources that the Japanese amassed.

Even at the time when the infrastructure was to be used by the Japanese and its citizens, it was abusive to see that China was supposed to account for most of the infrastructural development in the interests of the Japanese. One of the demands presented by the Japanese government wanted to make the Chines government agree that it would construct the railway from Chefoo to connect with the Kiachow-Tsinanfu Railway. The privilege of financing the project had been placed on the Germans who were still given a chance to denounce the financing (University of Southern California n.p.). If the Germans rejected the proposal, it was expected that the Chinese government would approach Japanese capitalists and negotiate for a long term deal under their terms. Economic manipulation can be seen from such a deal in a hefty way. The demand sought to make China invest in projects that did not have any positive impact on its citizens. The demand was a well figured economic disadvantage that denied the government the ability to invest for the benefit of its people.

Also, the regulation of China concerning the taking of loans was an ideal way of depressing them economically. The Japanese had taken most of the places which were economically active. They thus argued that the government of China could not take loans from external governments using productive places such as Eastern Mongolia as security. In case they needed to take a loan using the areas as security, they were required to get engaged in negotiations with the Japanese government so that they could be given the consent to do it (Cohen 18). This economic oppression went beyond the expected. It made china to look like a contemporary colony of Japan. The need for consent when taking loans denied them the chance to get any secure loans. Most of the trade partners or the lenders could work with could or trust Japan too and thus, ended not offering the loans to the Chines government. At the same time, China was reluctant to take loans under the watch of Japan. The 21 demands were thus oppressive to the Chinese people in such an instrumental way.

The execution of the 21 demands was, however, not an easy task. The government of China was not ready to sacrifice the sovereignty of the nation to another country simply because it had imperial powers. Therefore, concerning the fact that they did not have the power to match a waging war against Japan, China invited a revision for the demands. Their agreement of revised demands was meant to be a gesture that they were not interested in war as much as they wanted to safeguard their sovereignty. Without the ability to wage war against Japan, the Chinese government sought to use its foreign affairs abilities to reach a consensus with the Japanese government (Huang n.p.). A succession of conferences was experienced between the Chinese and Japanese government and they agreed to fifteen of the twenty-one demands. The nation had felt that the need to use diplomacy was due, and hence they sought to make use of their foreign affairs abilities.

But even with the reconsidered demands, China was still under oppression. For instance, the nation agreed that it would not interfere with the activities of the Hanyehping Company. The company was a renowned minor and exploitative of the Chinese nationals even when it operated in China. Chinese nationals were paid lowly by the company, and it had taken a vast part of the mineral-rich places (University of South California n.p.). Having been owned by Japanese capitalists, the government of Japan demanded that the company be not interfered with. The demand was that the company was a private business that ought to have been guaranteed a right to protection and lawful occupation from the government of China being an entity that operated in China. Thought the Chinese government agreed to these demands, it was just a voluntary pronouncement that sought to stop the erupting of another major difference between China and Japan.

Further engagements in negotiations between Japan and China saw the Chinese government reach a consensus on the South Manchuria mines. Whereas the original demands stipulated that the mines would entirely be undertaken by the Japanese alone, consequent negotiations saw the two reach an agreement on equal opportunity. The Chinese government presented that there was a need for the Japanese government to be consistent with the principle of equal opportunity, and hence they needed the Japanese to revise the demand such that it did not create a monopoly in the management of the mines (Leung 1334). Also, about the construction of the railway around the mines, it was agreed that its cost would be shared. The agreements were instrumental in alleviating the conditions. They showed a hefty improvement in foreign affairs on the side of the Chinese government, an extension of diplomacy that saved the Chinese people from war.

Great strides in foreign affairs can be identified in the way that the government of China handled the issues of police and advisors from the Japanese side. Some of the basic principles of running government are secrecy and internal enforcement. Adoption of the military from the Japanese side would have been an abuse of the sovereignty of the nation and would cause a conflict of interest. It would contradict the internal affairs of the Chinese government. However, the nation accepted that it would accept proposals from police advisors from the Japanese side, especially in the areas that were predominantly occupied by the Japanese (Huang n.p.). On the same note, the nation refused the proposal to take the proposal to have the advisors in matters of running government and military management. The nation also declined on the matter since it was irreducible minimum, and their actions led the nation to cement its foreign affairs ability without necessarily getting into the war.

The demands that had been set on China by Japanese were expected to be secretive and confidential. Japan also realized that there were significant threats and powers such as the United States, and Britain hoped that China would keep the demands confidential so that they could not receive opposition from the higher powers. The demands were not supposed to be leaked to the external powers, and Japan had threatened to take drastic actions if they were leaked. In correspondence, China decided not the keep the demands silent. Using their internal mechanisms and given the weight of the threats, it was necessary for China to seek international support even as they entered into negotiations with the Japanese government (Leung 1336). In essence, this was a major foreign affairs stride. It was necessary because it denied the Japanese the ability to run China without the knowledge of the external world. By making the demands known, China attracted external support and as well, the lethality of the demands reduced.

Conclusion

Generally, the activities of Japan in the already independent China were highly oppressive. Economically, they denied the nation a way to navigate and make their own decisions concerning the running of their country. As a developing nation, the 21 demands denied China a way to make financial policies with has. Slowed down, industrial development was noted on the side of China. There was slowed growth because the nation did not reap as it should have from the raw materials. Also, the Japanese did not pay taxes for the acquired minerals and natural resources (Fukuyama 15). All they did was to use them to develop their Japanese capitalists and their economy at the expense of a China that was drooping in operations. Japan, theref...