Unequal treaty

Unequal treaty
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 不平等條約
Simplified Chinese 不平等条约
Japanese name
Kanji 不平等条約
Kana ふびょうどうじょうやく
Korean name
Hangul 불평등 조약
Hanja 不平等條約

Unequal treaty is a term used in reference to the type of treaties signed by several East Asian states, including Qing Dynasty China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Dynasty Korea, with Western powers and the post-Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a period during which these Asian states were largely unable to resist the military pressures from foreign powers as many unequal treaties were signed by those countries after military failure.

Contents

Overview

The earliest attempt to come to a settlement was the 1841 Convention of Chuenpee in the wake of the First Opium War that started in 1839.[1] China and Great Britain signed the first unequal treaties under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.[2] Following Qing China's defeat, treaties with Britain opened up several ports to foreign trade, while also allowing Christians to reside. In addition, the administration of justice on foreign residents in the port cities were afforded trials by their own consular authorities rather than the Chinese legal system, a concept termed extraterritoriality.

The term "unequal treaty" did not come into use until early in the 20th century. These treaties were considered unequal in China "because they were not negotiated by nations treating each other as equals but were imposed on China after a war, and because they encroached upon China's sovereign rights ... which reduced her to semicolonial status".[3] In many cases China was effectively forced to pay large amounts of reparations, open up ports for trade, cede or lease territories (such as Hong Kong to Great Britain), and make various other concessions of sovereignty to foreign "spheres of influence", following humiliating military defeats.

When the United States Commodore Matthew Perry forced open Japan in 1854, Japan was soon prompted to sign the "Ansei Treaties" that were similar to the ones China had signed and the same thing soon happened to Korea. Ironically, Korea's first unequal treaties were not with the West but with Japan, which, taking a page from Western tactics, had forced Korea to open its doors to foreign commerce in 1876.[4]

Such unequal treaties ended at various times for the countries involved. Japan was the first to throw off the shackles of its treaties during the mid 1890s, when its performance in the First Sino-Japanese War convinced many in the West that Japan had indeed entered among the body of "civilized nations". For China and Korea, the wait was somewhat longer. Most of China's unequal treaties were abrogated during World War II, when the Republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek emerged victorious and became a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations. China's unequal treaties almost completely dissolved only following Hong Kong's 1997 handover. The agreement was made in 1984 following talks between Deng Xiaoping and the British under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Exception of territory seized were made by Imperial Russia (Outer Manchuria) in 1860. Korea's unequal treaties with European states became largely null and void in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan.

Select list of unequal treaties

Imposed on China
Treaty Year Imposer
English name Chinese name
Treaty of Nanjing 南京條約 1842 United Kingdom
Treaty of the Bogue 虎門條約 1843 United Kingdom
Treaty of Wangxia 中美望廈條約 1844 United States
Treaty of Whampoa 黃埔條約 1844 France
Treaty of Aigun 璦琿條約 1858 Russia
Treaty of Tientsin 天津條約 1858 France, United Kingdom, Russia, United States
Convention of Peking 北京條約 1860 United Kingdom, France, Russia
Treaty of Tientsin 中德通商條約 1861 Prussia, German Customs Union
Chefoo Convention 煙台條約 1876 United Kingdom
Treaty of Tientsin (1885) 中法新約 1885 France
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking 中葡北京條約 1887 Portugal
Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Maguan) 馬關條約 1895 Japan
Li-Lobanov Treaty 中俄密约 1896 Russia
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory 展拓香港界址專條 1898 United Kingdom
Guangzhouwan Leased Terrority 廣州灣租界條約 1899 France
Boxer Protocol 辛丑條約 1901 U.K., U.S., Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands
Simla Accord 西姆拉條約 1914 United Kingdom
Twenty-One Demands 二十一條 1915 Japan
Tanggu Truce 塘沽協定 1933 Japan
Imposed on Japan
Treaty Year Imposer
English name Japanese name
Convention of Kanagawa 日米和親条約 1854[5] United States
Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty 日英和親条約 1854[6] United Kingdom
Ansei Treaties 安政条約 1858[7] United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Netherlands, France
Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Harris Treaty) 日米修好通商条約 1858[8] United States
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce 日英修好通商条約 1858[9] United Kingdom
Prussian-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation 1861[10] Prussia
Imposed on Korea
Treaty Year Imposer
English name Korean name
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876
{Treaty of Ganghwa)		 일본과 1876 한국 조약 1876[11] Japan
United States-Korea Treaty of 1882 미국과 1882 한국 조약 1882[12] United States
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1882
(Treaty of Chemulpo)		 일본과 1882 한국 조약 1882 Japan
China-Korea Treaty of 1882
(Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules)		 청나라 중국과 1882 한국 조약 1882[13] China
Germany-Korea Treaty of 1883 독일과 1883 한국 조약 1883[14] Germany
United Kingdom-Korea Treaty of 1883 영국과 1883 한국 조약 1883[15] United Kingdom
Russia-Korea Treaty of 1884 제국 러시아, 1884 한국 조약 1884[16] Russia
Italy-Korea Treaty of 1884 이탈리아와 1884 한국 조약 1884[17] Italy
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1885
(Treaty of Hanseong)		 일본과 1885 한국 조약 1885[18] Japan
France-Korea Treaty of 1886 프랑스 1886 한국 조약 1886[19] France
Austria-Korea Treaty of 1892 오스트리아과 1892 한국 조약 1892[20] Austria
Belgium-Korea Treaty of 1901 벨기에와 1901 한국 조약 1901[21] Belgium
Denmark-Korea Treaty of 1902 덴마크와 1902 한국 조약 1902[22] Denmark
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904 일본과 1904 한국 조약 1904[23] Japan
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905
(Eulsa Treaty)		 일본과 1905 한국 조약 1905[24] Japan
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1907 일본과 1907 한국 조약 1907[25] Japan
Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910 일본과 1910 한국 조약 1910[26] Japan

Alternative viewpoints

Writing in the Yale Law Journal, March 1972, Lung-chu Chen and W. M. Reisman argued that the proclamation by China in 1941 that all treaties with Japan were abrogated was devoid of any legality and effect in international law. As supporting evidence, they refer to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, art. 43. However, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties did not come into force after 1980 and only covered treaties concluded after the entry into force of the Convention. Moreover, they note that "title" to Taiwan territory vested in Japan at the time of, and/or because of, the Treaty of Shimonoseki, as the language of the Treaty clearly indicated. Such title, insofar as it is title, ceases to be a bilateral contractual relationship and becomes a real relationship in international law. Though contract may be a modality for transferring title, title is not a contractual relationship.[27] Professor Y. Frank Chiang, writing in the Fordham International Law Journal in 2004, expanded upon this analysis to state that there are no international law principles which can serve to validate a unilateral proclamation to abrogate (or revoke) a territorial treaty, whether based on a charge of being "unequal," or due to a subsequent "aggression" of the other party to the treaty, or any other reason.[28]

Other uses

Recently, the term "unequal treaty" has been used by the RESPECT leader George Galloway and the then Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell to refer to the 2003 U.K.-U.S. extradition treaty.[29][30]

The 1903 Cuban-American Treaty, which granted the United States a perpetual lease of Guantanamo Bay, is seen as an "unequal treaty" by Professor Alfred de Zayas.[31]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Courtauld, Caroline. Holdsworth, May. Vickers, Simon. [1997] (1997). The Hong Kong Story. HK University press. ISBN 0195903536
  2. ↑ Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2
  3. ↑ Hsü, Immanuel C. Y. (1970). The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 7883022. 
  4. ↑ Preston, Peter Wallace. [1998] (1998). Blackwell Publishing. Pacific Asia in the Global System: An Introduction. ISBN 0631202382
  5. ↑ Auslin, Michael R. (2004) Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy, p. 17. at Google Books
  6. ↑ Auslin, p. 30. at Google Books
  7. ↑ Auslin, pp. 1, 7. at Google Books
  8. ↑ Auslin, p. 214. at Google Books
  9. ↑ Auslin, pp. 47-48. at Google Books
  10. ↑ Auslin, p. 71. at Google Books
  11. ↑ Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921-1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament, p. 33. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty Between Japan and Korea, dated February 26, 1876."
  12. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 29. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Korea. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated May 22, 1882."
  13. ↑ Moon, Myungki. "Korea-China Treaty System in the 1880s and the Opening of Seoul: Review of the Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules," Journal of Northeast Asian History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Dec 2008), pp. 85-120.
  14. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Germany and Korea. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated November 23, 1883."
  15. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Great Britain and Korea ... dated November 26, 1883."
  16. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Russia. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated June 25, 1884."
  17. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Italy. Treaty of Friendship and Commerce dated June 26, 1884."
  18. ↑ Yi, Kwang-gyu and Joseph P. Linskey. (2003). Korean Traditional Culture, p. 63. at Google Books; excerpt, "The so-called Hanseong Treaty was concluded between Korea and Japan. Korea paid compensation for Japanese losses. Japan and China worked out the Tien-Tsin Treaty, which ensured that both Japanese and Chinese troops withraw from Korea."
  19. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and France. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated June 4, 1886."
  20. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Austria. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated July 23, 1892."
  21. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Belgium. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated March 23, 1901."
  22. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Denmark. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated July 15, 1902."
  23. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 34. at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty of Alliance Between Japan and Korea, dated February 23, 1904."
  24. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35. at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated November 17, 1905."
  25. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35. at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated July 24, 1907."
  26. ↑ Korean Mission, p. 36. at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 20, 1910."
  27. ↑ "Who Owns Taiwan: A Search for International Title". Yale Law Journal. March 1972. http://www.civil-taiwan.org/cairo-potsdam.htm. 
  28. ↑ Y. Frank Chiang (2004). "One-China Policy and Taiwan". Fordham International Law Journal. http://www.taiwanbasic.com/lawjrn/onechina-tai.htm. Retrieved 21 February 2010. 
  29. ↑ UK-US Extradition Treaty, House of Commons Hansard column 1437, 12 July 2006
  30. ↑ Trapped by an unequal treaty The Independent, 6 July 2006
  31. ↑ A. de Zayas The status of Guantanamo Bay and the status of the detainees, 2003

References