The Settlement And Repatriation Of German Missionaries In Shandong During The First World War

The First World War witnessed the drastic shifts in Sino-German relation.Within a matter of few months,the once neutral relation between the Republic of China and Germany deteriorated to the severing of diplomatic tie and eventually to declaration of war.Among the German nationals in China,the German missionaries were a special grou p.They had political identities,such as different nationalities,and they also had religious identities,such as different religious sects.Since the modern time,German Catholic and Christian missionaries had come to China.After the German occupation of the Jiaozhou Bay,as a part of the German expansion and aggression in China,German religious forces spread their missionary work in Shandong.Before the outbreak of the First World War,the German missionaries had formed a considerable force in Shandong.At that time,the situation of the German nationals in China caught both international and domestic attentions.For the German missionaries,the Beijing government issued a series of policies to screen and control this particular group of the German nationals in China.The German missionaries were required to register personal information with the local government and apply for various types of passports for travel.Hence,t he missionary work was greatly restricted.The Entente powers of Britain,France,the United States,and Japan requested the Beijing Government to send all the German nationals in China,especially the German missionaries,to Australia.Through continuous negotiations with the Entente powers,the Beijing government decided to increase supervision on the German missionaries in accordance with international law and humanitarianism,and abolished the plan to expel the German nationals.After the First World War,in order to participate in the Paris Peace Conference,the treatment of the German nationals in China became a major problem for the Beijing government.The Beijing Government and the embassies of the Entente Countries established a Sino-foreign joint committee to discuss matters related to the repatriation of the German nationals.Against this background,the Shandong local government investigated on the the German missionaries within their jurisdictions and started the repatriation process.During this period,in order to protect these German missionaries in Shandong,the Netherlands and the Vatican successively negotiated with the Beijing government.With the outbreak of the First World War,China for the first time appeared on international stage of diplomacy as a sovereign state.The repatriation of the German missionaries in Shandong Province is a reflection of China ’ s early efforts in the modernization of diplomacy.Although the Beijing government was still affected by the Entente Countries,it generally conducted diplomatic struggles with the powers and safeguards national interests in accordance with international law and its practices,which is a manifestation of modern legal awareness and sovereignty awareness.