Hey Veeky Forums, lets talk about a neat little piece of history from Japanese incursions into East Asia, Kando!

Hey Veeky Forums, lets talk about a neat little piece of history from Japanese incursions into East Asia, Kando!

While clear borders for what constitutes Kando were never solidified, it wouldn't be unfair to refer to the current borders of China's Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, known for its majority Korean population.

Korean immigration to the region just above modern day North Korea began during the late Qing Era in the 1890's. During a Chinese famine, the Qing who had made attempts to prevent immigration into their homeland of Manchuria, opened up their borders to immigration from Han Chinese (who had already been making their way into Manchuria) and Koreans to act as farmers.

(Pictured: a 1700s map of Korea showing what are basically the modern borders known today).

Following about a decade of immigration to the area, the Qing and the short-lived Empire of Korea (1897-1910) made an official agreement that set up provisions for Koreans to naturalize into Qing subjects. As Qing subjects, the Koreans would have rights to own land and other government benefits. Despite the agreement, only about 10-15% of Koreans in Kando naturalized, those who didn't remained in the region mostly working as tenant farmers on a contract. Some would however, buy land under the names of naturalized Koreans.

(Pictured: Another map showing a slightly enlarged Korean border encompassing what would include Kando)

Following the 1904 Agreement mentioned, the Chinese began to take steps to encourage naturalization among the Koreans. These attempts would increase in intensity for the same reasons that a second of Korean immigrants began to enter the area. In 1905, Korea was made a protectorate of the Japanese Empire.

The Empire of Japan had a pattern of identifying enemies on their border as the reason for extending their imperial border. For example, the taking of Korea was partially justified by the view that Korea was a "knife pointed at Japan" that could be used by the Russians.

oop

As a protectorate of Japan, Korean would become a kind of medium through which Japan would express displeasure with the Chinese over their treatment of the Koreans.

In 1909, Japan and China signed the Kando Treaty that settled the question of the territorial status of Kando that had been going on since 1905. The treaty stated that China would maintain territorial and administrative rights over Kando. It also, however, gave Japan the right to station police in the region in order to protect the consulate and ensure safe trade in the region. This would prove to be a temporary solution to a large problem that would reveal itself in 1915.

The signing of the Treaty and Notes Concerning South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia in 1915 took place 5 years after the annexation of Korea by Japan. The treaty gave "Japanese subjects" the right to lease land, travel freely, and own and manage business in "South Manchuria."

The wording of the treaty highlighted above became the subject of debate between Japanese and Chinese diplomats. The first problem was over the use of "South Manchuria." To China, the region known as Manchuria was split into three provinces and known as the "three northeastern provinces. According to China, there was no "South Manchuria," and it was claimed that the wording was intentionally vague in order to benefit Japanese interests in the area.

The second problem revolved around the use of "Japanese subjects." Japan argued that Koreans, who had been Japanese subjects since 1910, should be afforded the same rights given to native Japanese via this treaty. China, however, argued that the rights given to Koreans had already been described in previous treaties and that the annexation of Korea should have no retroactive effects on any treaties made between the two powers.

Here's where things start to get kind of technical.

According to Chinese law, one could not own land unless they had naturalized.

According to Japan, one could not have dual citizenship and the naturalization to one country meant the revocation of one's current citizenship.

Additionally, within the Empire of Japan, there was distinction between citizen and subjects. Although Japanese and Koreans were both subjects of the Emperor, Japanese subjects had more civil rights as citizens than had been allotted to the Koreans thus far.

In order to better exploit the terminology of the 1915 Treaty, Japan put through a law that allow Koreans to naturalize into China without losing their status as Japanese subjects. Through this, Koreans were able to attain both land owning rights as well the extraterritoriality given to Japanese subjects.

(Is anyone here?)

Nice thread OP, keep posting

In effect, how the 1915 Treaty was carried out was based on who controlled the territory where Koreans were operating. Where Chinese had the stronger position, Koreans were kept to the Chinese treaty interpretation whereas where Japan controlled, Japan's interpretation was used.

In Chinese controlled regions, the assimilation policies used by China were intensified. Korean schools were closed, Chinese culture and language was pushed on the Koreans, and Korean associations meant to financially aid Korean farmers were prevented from accepting new member or collecting membership fees.

This tough stance adopted by the Chinese tended to drive Koreans to seek support from Japanese authority in the regions. A clause in the 1915 Treaty prevented Chinese courts from having total sovereignty in solving land disputed and Japanese judges used their power to settle in favor of Korean farmers.

Meanwhile, the Japanese accused the Chinese of being anti-Japanese in their policy making. Although China did eventually admit their policies were anti-Japanese, Chinese scholars defended the policies by saying that they were only in response to Japanese interference with the assimilation process.

Meanwhile, in the Japanese controlled region, the police force allowed to be stationed in Kando would conducts searches and surveillance on the Korean communities in search of anti-Japanese sentiment or movements.

The Japanese concerns over anti-Japanese sentiment in Korean communities took the form of searching for and dealing with those associated with Communist movements.

In 1925, the police commissioner of Korea and the police authority of Chinese Warlord Zhang Zuolin (at this time working more with the Chinese than the Japanese) made a joint-pact to counter the spread of Communism in the area via police cooperation. The pact curbed Korean's right to bear arms, freely assemble, and would hold entire Koreans communities responsible if one Communist was found among them.