oC % Weihaiwei
Arthur Hacker gives the history of Britain's other leased territory in China.
In spite of not being a colony, the leased territory of Weihaiwei flew a special British flag.
| Shortly after Russia had gained control of Port Arthur (Liaotung Peninsula), a naval
base in Manchuria, the British secured a lease on Weihaiwei (Weihai) in the northern
province of Shanttung (Shandong). On the same day in 1898 Britain leased the
New Territories from China. Geographically, Hong Kong and Weihaiwei were very similar. Each had a strategic island and contained a walled city which, in theory, retained Chinese sovereignty. The British began their rule of both territories during a period in history known as the 'Scramble for Concessions' when predatory European powers together with Japan were grabbing control of large areas of the Chinese Empire. Russia had occupied Port Arthur in Manchuria. To retain the balance of power, Britain leased Weihaiwei "for as long as Russia remained in Port Arthur." Unlike Hong Kong, Weihaiwei was never an emporium of trade in spite of its magnificent harbour. Between the two world wars it became a fashionable holiday resort for expatriates. The original British plan had been to fortify Weihaiwei and turn it into a naval base. This never materialised. However the China Squadron of the British fleet would pay a routine visit once a year and a company of British troops was stationed there. Weihaiwei's first civilian commissioner was Hong Kong's former colonial secretary, Sir James Stewart Lockhart, a considerable Chinese scholar. He adopted a traditional Chinese style of government similar to that of the Ching (Qing) Dynasty, the major difference being that Lockhart's government was devoid of corruption. When he retired after 19 years, he was presented with a bowl of pure water by the Chinese as a symbol of the purity of his administration. Ironically Lockhart Road, which was later made famous by Suzie Wong, is named after him. Most of the 200 expatriates lived on Liu Kung Island (Liu Gong). When I visited in 1999, many of the old buildings were still there. The main street was intact. Lockhart's second in command, Reginald Johnston, was even more scholarly than the commissioner. As magistrates they tried to follow Chinese law as best they could. They improvised a lot. The "Squeaky Wheelbarrow Ordinance" is typical. The Chinese used wheelbarrows as taxis and pushcarts. They were very noisy. The British put up notices announcing that people could be fined a dollar for having a noisy barrow. Nobody was actually fined, but Weihaiwei stopped squeaking overnight. The Japanese captured Port Arthur from the Russians, but the British remained in Weihaiwei. The Ching Dynasty collapsed. During the warlord period, Shanttung was ruled by Chang Tsung-chang, a former bandit known as the "Dog-Meat General", an obscene, bloodthirsty monster. So the British stayed. At the Washington Conference, the British agreed to return Weihaiwei, but when the time came, the 'Christian General' Feng Yu-hsiang (Feng Yuxiang) captured Peking (Beijing) and there was no Chinese government to return it to. Sir Reginald Johnston, who is best known as the tutor to the tragic 'Last Emperor' Pu Yi, became Weihaiwei's last commissioner. There was a reasonably stable government in China in 1930 when the territory was finally returned. Weihaiwei had been completely isolated from the rest of China and was still functioning more or less as it had done during the Ching Dynasty. The Chinese government was determined to show that it could make a success of running the place. Unfortunately the first thing they did was to establish a customs post. It had previously been a free port. Taxes were doubled and there were riots. Japanese marines captured it on 7 March 1938 and once again Weihaiwei was under foreign control. |
||||||
All images property of Arthur Hacker. For more from the History Man himself, Arthur Hacker is the author and illustrator of "British Hong Kong: Fact and Fable". Published by Lanyon Lanyon, and available from www.paddyfield.com |
||||||
