The Passing of Hong Kong to Mainland China Authorities

He finds it shameful that after the British victory, China had been unable to remove its dependence on Western information. By stating that the Chinese people are unable to compete with European innovations, he is justifying Britain's power over

Before became as a President, in 1967, Nixon had written in a magazine as a President candidate “We simply cannot afford to leave China outside the family of nations”(PBS). The reason Nixon paid so much attention on China was that he foresaw the US, the USSR, China, Western Europe, and Japan would become the major world powers. Being the world’s most populous country, China’s great potential attracted Nixon to rebuild the connection between the East and the West. The growing friction between Beijing and Moscow in the beginning of the 1960s urged the USSR withdrew all their technical supports and industrial projects in China. Nixon saw his chance. He first began to woo China in February 1969; he sent lots of positive messages towards China through third party countries such as Pakistan and Romania (PBS). Nixon’s hard working paid off by the end of 1970—China responded. Nixon successfully warmed up the relationship between China and America by sending a team of Ping Pong players to China to play. This famous political move in US-China history is called “Ping-Pong diplomacy”(PBS). Same year, Nixon sent Kissinger, his National Security Council director, secretly visited China to arrange a visit for him (PBS). Finally, on Feburary21, 1972, Nixon became the world’s focus: he visited China. However, at that time Chairman Mao was under bad health condition, the Premier Chou Enlai greeted Nixon at the airport instead. The opening

Prior to Communism in China, it was known to be a chaotic country on the brink of self-destruction. With the emergence of the party leader Mao Zedong, came a new hope, which filled its inhabitants with the belief that China would return to its former historical greatness. American and Chinese relations before 1971 were in simple terms described as “uneasy”, due to the American, Soviet Cold War. It was not until President Richard Nixon visited China and realized the high value of having China as a ally that relations between the two powers began to become positive. Unknown at the time, it is assumed in the book Chinese Lessons written by John Pomfret, that the relationships he formed with the people he met in China would change his outlook on life and Communist China forever.

(Larsson, 1997). Would Hong Kong’s role as a door to China strengthen with the liberation?

His contempt for the function and form of the bureaucracy led him to play the situation close to the chest, operating with circumspect and trusting very few with information of the events that led to his visit. Those he did trust, such as Henry Kissinger, proved to be extremely vital in putting into motion the visit. Nixon also was in the midst of inheriting a war that America had grown disillusioned with, as ending the War in Vietnam became increasingly difficult to maneuver. Lastly, the United States was engaged in a power struggle with the Soviet Union in which both parties were fighting to maintain a balance of power. Opening relations provided solutions for these all of these problems. Thus, it becomes clear in a deep examination of the context of Nixon’s pursuit of this meeting that there was much more at stake than goodwill. Nixon’s success in visiting China to open relations directly resulted from his relationship with Henry Kissinger and their discreet modus operandi, the pendulum effect from US disillusionment with Vietnam, and American desire to check Soviet power, fostering a political climate in which a visit to China was advantageous.

To the people of china, their culture, society, and government was superior to the rest of the world in preserving tradition and maintaining a stable society. They were not welcoming to the Europeans or any other foreign groups because anyone who was not Chinese was considered a threat to the Qing Dynasty rule. China's hesitant nature towards trade with Britain is indicated in Lin Zexu’s letter to Queen Victoria, 1839. When trying to negotiate a plan to take concerning the opium trade issue between the nations, Lin Zexu mentions that since China doesn't need imported products from foreign countries, no harm would be brought about if a decision was made to stop all foreign trade. This letter is a reliable source in that it accurately expresses China’s resistance to foreign trade while remaining respectful to the Queen who could become angered at the implication of cutting off trade agreements. In the memorandum written by, Zeng Guofan, one gains additional insight on the distrust Chinese show against outsiders. Spoken by a Chinese government official, we can conclude that his opinion is biased towards common Chinese logic on isolation. It can be put in perspective that the Europeans are becoming more numerous and therefore presenting themselves as a larger threat calling for reforms that would relieve this serious national ill. In response to these foreigners, the Boxer rebellion arose with a goal to attack foreigners and anyone with ties to them. In an attempt to eliminate outside influences uprisings such as this rebellion became increasingly popular and gained support from many who still believed that foreign influence was a

By not being accustomed with Chinese culture, Macartney might misinterpret certain actions or cultural traditions he witnesses. A certain action by the emperor might be seen by Macartney as meaning one thing, but in reality the emperor intended the action to send a different message. Another limitation of the source arises as a result of the intended audience of Macartney’s work. Due to the audience being the British government and monarch, Macartney will most likely not detail observations about everyday life in China. Rather, he will focus on the larger topics, such as the workings of the Chinese government.

Nixon labeled his visit to China as “the week that changed the world”. When he arrived, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, leader of China, greeted him with excitement. “Mao was as excited as I had ever seen him,” said Li, Mao’s personal Doctor. During Nixon’s week of stay in China, he and Mao negotiated the “Shanghai Communiqué”. This document stated the ways the two countries should approach their relationship. It established a series of rule based on the principles of respect declaring that the two countries shall not maltreat, but instead should make peace with each other.

He laments the fact that, while Western citizens have easy access to knowledge on mathematics, mechanics, and natural sciences, Chinese citizens would be quite lucky to ever learn about them. He recognizes the first obstacle to getting this knowledge into the hands of the common man is translation, as books on these subjects simply were not readily available in Chinese. To that end, he proposes the creation of “official translation bureaus” in Guangzhou and Shanghai, the two cities where trade with the British was allowed. In these bureaus, people under 15 would be chosen to study how to read and write in Western languages, as well as math, from Western teachers, while Chinese scholars would also teach them traditional Chinese subjects like history and classic literature. While the document still regards Western nations as “barbarians,” Feng Guifen still acknowledges that China must observe and learn from their fellow nations, and that their integrity can be preserved if Confucian teachings are kept at the core of everything they do. Further, Feng also points out that the Chinese’ lack of understanding of Western language and culture is shameful, compared to how knowledgeable Westerners were of Chinese culture. These translation bureaus would eliminate the need for translators to help them understand what was going on, and be the first step

Early days of June 1900, Boxer bands were in the process of taking Peking from the east. On June 11, a Japanese diplomat was murdered by the mob, and two days later the Christian churches of Peking were burned, their worshippers slaughtered. Fearing that the next step was an attack on the Legation Quarter, British diplomats message Admiral Seymour at Tientsin for help. He immediately set out with almost two thousand men, but Boxers barred the road to Peking and he was force back to Tientsin. The Qing government was not very happy. The last time the foreigners were in Peking they ravaged the palace and the Qing government was afraid that the same thing would happen again.

"Washington State University." Fall 2014 British Imperialism in China and the Spread of Western Ideals. N.p., 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

They had limited commerce with the West. China had foreign trade, but the western merchants had little privileges. Japan’s trade was even stricter, choosing to trade with the Dutch only, giving them one port. This situation, while advantageous to Japan and China, would not be acceptable for the West. In 1834, a man by the name of Lord Napier was sent by Britain to pressure China, and it is important to note that it was only China, to have a more open trade. The Chinese, scornful of the West, had rejected the request, causing animosity between the two nations to rise. The British’s response to this perceived insult was to begin to bring opium into the country illegally. The Chinese government, upset that a large number of its citizens were becoming dependent on the drug, had tried to fight back. This marked the beginning of the first of the Opium Wars, which had resulted in the defeat of the Chinese and the creation of a system of unequal treaties. The Treaty of Nanking was signed under heavy military loss and resulted in a much more unfavorable treaty for China. This marked the first ‘defeat’ for China and its beginnings as a country subservient to the

The first opium war which began in 1839 is a story of how China a rich, prosperous and stable power, “”” albiet a closed, confucian society” ruled by the Emperor Daoguang (r. 1820 to 1850) turned into a weakened and compromised state brought about by the exploitation and humiliation by the British and other Western powers throughout the 19th century. The war stemmed from an extremely strained Sino-British relation through the early 1800s, the inherent cultural differences between the Chinese and the West especially Britain as well as their extremely contrasting views on trade in general and specifically opium. I will be exploring how the opium war stemmed from an extremely strained Sino-British relation through the early 1800s, the inherent cultural differences between the Chinese and the West especially Britain as well as their extremely

British attempts for renewed trade conditions were not met favourably by the Emperor. Firstly, due to China’s self-superiority it was assumed the visiting diplomats were paying tribute. Further complications arose with British refusal to comply with Chinese customs e.g. performing the kowtow before the Emperor. These actions caused misunderstandings and misinterpretations, which set the basis of British-Chinese relations and attitudes.

Beijing’s One China version, stating that Taiwan is part of the PRC, has never been accepted by foreign states. While foreign governments recognize the PRC as the legal government of China, they almost uniformly disagree with the PRC’s territorial claim over Taiwan. That is why, in their respective the US and the UK simply “acknowledge,” Canada “takes note of,” and Japan “understands and respects” the PRC’s position that Taiwan is part of China.11 These carefully chosen terms, used instead of the word, “recognize,” as well as negotiations history, directly refute the RPC’s claim of an “international consensus” that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. These foreign countries’ positions also imply that the ROC’s loss of recognition does not extinguish its statehood (Hsieh, P., 2009).