On August 31, 1937, when the Battle of Songhu was fought into a "flesh and blood mill", when Chinese soldiers fell under the Japanese artillery fire, many people would not think that the bullets fired from Japanese machine guns and shells fired by Japanese troops were mostly made with the compensation paid by China to Japan.
It is unbelievable that after the full-scale war between China and Japan, the Chiang Kai shek government was still paying the Japanese Boxer Indemnity. On August 31, the National Government continued to pay the Japanese Boxer Indemnity of 32824 pounds that month.
In fact, from the demise of the Manchu Dynasty to Chiang Kai shek's defeat in Taiwan, the government of the Republic of China has been repaying the 2.5 billion taels of old debt left by the Qing Dynasty for decades.
1、 2.5 billion liang old debt of the Qing Dynasty
First, let's sort out where the 2.5 billion liang old debt of the Qing Dynasty came from.
Such a huge old debt was mainly paid by the Qing Dynasty when it signed unequal treaties, built railways, developed military economy and borrowed money from foreign countries, as well as other special interest payments to the great powers.
Inequality treaty reparations were naturally the main part of the Qing Dynasty's arrears. Among them, the reparations to Japan during the Sino Japanese War and the Boxer Indemnity were astronomical.
After the defeat of the Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing Dynasty paid up to 200 million taels of silver to Japan, which did not include the interest of subsequent installments.
The principal plus interest of the Boxer Indemnity was up to 980 million taels. Although a large part of the Boxer Indemnity was cancelled because the United States voluntarily abandoned it, Britain and France and other countries tried to win over China when World War I broke out, and Germany, Austria and Hungary lost the war, there was still a large amount of Boxer Indemnity to be repaid by the Beiyang government and the government of the Republic of China at that time.
For example, Japan has been demanding that China continue to repay the Boxer Indemnity to Japan.
Of the 2.5 billion yuan owed by the Qing Dynasty, the second part was the money borrowed by the Manchu from the West. In the late Qing Dynasty, the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty was only tens of thousands of taels of silver a year, and the compensation they carried was an astronomical figure. In addition to the corruption and luxury of the ruling class such as Empress Dowager Cixi, they simply did not have the money to develop the military and economy.
With the defeat of the Qing Dynasty again and again in the war, the Qing Dynasty has realized that it must have the military strength to keep up with the West.
However, the purchase of advanced foreign guns and artillery warships, the construction of railways, and the training of new armies all required silver. The Qing Dynasty had no choice but to borrow from the West.
According to data, in order to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Qing Dynasty borrowed 19 times from western powers, and Zuo Zongtang borrowed 6 times from major western banks to recover Xinjiang. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty borrowed dozens of times from foreigners to develop a new army. The accumulated borrowing amount alone exceeded 100 million taels of silver.
The third sum is the special interest payment to the big powers.
After the Sino Japanese War, Japan not only received a large amount of compensation, but also occupied Taiwan and Liaodong Peninsula. However, Germany, Russia and France were afraid that Japan would affect their interests in China, so the three countries united to put pressure on Japan. Under desperation, Japan had to "return" the Liaodong Peninsula. However, Japan shamelessly asked the Qing Dynasty for 30 million taels of "redemption fees", and the weak and incompetent Qing government actually agreed.
Germany, France and Russia also asked the Qing Dynasty for "reward" after the "Three Kingdoms Ganliao".
At the end of the Manchu Dynasty, although the Qing Dynasty paid some debts in succession, it still left a debt of 2.5 billion.
2、 The National Government was still paying Japanese reparations after the War of Resistance against Japan
After the founding of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai shek still recognized the unequal treaties of the Qing Dynasty. For this reason, before the outbreak of World War II, the British were still responsible for Chinese customs.
What is most unacceptable is that the government of the Republic of China was still paying the Boxer Indemnity to Japan after the September 18th Incident in Japan and even after the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War.
On August 26, 1937, Kong Xiangxi, Minister of Finance of the Republic of China, sent a message saying that in order to safeguard the integrity of customs rights and interests, the Boxer Indemnity to Japan was still paid.
After this incident was exposed, the government of the Republic of China was denounced by numerous Chinese people. Under pressure, Kong Xiangxi had to announce that from September, he would no longer pay the Boxer Indemnity to Japan.
However, although the government of the Republic of China did not directly pay the Boxer Indemnity to Japan, they still transferred the money to a bank account controlled by the British on a monthly basis. By the end of 1938, the government of the Republic of China had successively paid back more than 500000 pounds.
So why did the Republic Government admit the 2.5 billion old debts of the Qing Dynasty?
First of all, when the Republic of China was founded, the big powers clearly pointed out that if the big powers want to recognize China's new government, as a benefit exchange, the government of the Republic of China must recognize the old debts of the Qing Dynasty.
Secondly, Chiang Kai shek shouted "anti imperialism and democracy", but in essence, they were still afraid of the big powers, had a serious "servile thought", and they were afraid of offending the big powers, which was one of the reasons why foreign concessions still existed in the Republic of China and foreigners still had privileges in China.
Finally, Chiang Kai shek paid his debts in order to gain the support of the great powers and continue to borrow from the West.
3、 New China is not the old China
In 1949, after the decisive victory of the War of Liberation, Chairman Mao and Special Envoy of the Soviet Union Michael Yang said that after the founding of New China, they would not recognize any unequal treaty.
After the founding of New China, the western powers found our party with a list of more than 700 million debts.
In response, Chairman Mao forcefully told them: "New China will not recognize the unequal treaties of the Qing Dynasty, nor will it pay a penny. Whoever owes it will go to whom."
So why did no country dare to claim 2.5 billion old debts of the Qing Dynasty from New China?
In fact, some people in China are worried about Chairman Mao's toughness, because they are afraid of causing interference from foreign powers. In the final analysis, these people still have a strong idea of slavery.
As for the non recognition of unequal treaties and the old debts of the Qing Dynasty, Chairman Mao once patiently explained at the CPPCC meeting: "New China is different from the old China before. If we continue to recognize unequal treaties and continue to allow foreigners to enjoy privileges in the new China, is it still a new China? I firmly believe that as long as we have the support of the people, we should not be afraid of foreign powers."
For a moment, the whole audience burst into enthusiastic applause.
A CPPCC member spoke excitedly: "Chairman Mao is right. The Chinese have stood up. We are not afraid of blockades by foreign powers. The Chinese are not afraid of war."
In the next three years, China used its great victory in resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea to show the western powers that China was strong and not afraid. Even when the United States threatened China with atomic bombs several times, China did not yield or fear. As Chairman Mao said, they could fight as long as they wanted.
In October 1964, the successful test explosion of the atomic bomb once again showed the world the power of China. How dare the western powers treat China, a rising power, as they treated the weak Qing government in those days? Such a new China naturally has enough confidence to say "no" to the great powers!
