2013年2月16日星期六

China Chang-Chun Railway, History and Implication



China Chang-Chun Railway (中国长春铁路 Pin yin: Zhong guo chang chun tie lu), commonly abbreviated by  Chinese academics as Zhong Chang Railway (中长铁路 Pin yin: Zhong chang tie lu),  is also known as Trans-Manchurian line. As one route of the Trans-Siberian Railway network it provided a shortcut for the world's longest railway that connecting Moscow with Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan.[i]

China Chang-Chun Railway was first been called as Chinese Eastern Railway [ii](CER) when it constructed. This is a T shape line, the east to west line starts from Manchurian and ends at Suifenhe. South line starts from the center of the CER, Harbin, leading southwards along the Liaodong Peninsula to the ice-free water port at Lüshun. 

Headquarter of South Manchurian Railway  

International relation
The South branch of CER or South Manchuria Railway and Lüshun in Liaodong Penisula became essential to the international relations[iii], which  concerns three regional powers, China, Russia and Japan.

In 1896 imperial Russia made the request of construction of CER  to Qing dynasty. After CER completed for construction,  the increasing power of Imperial Russia in Liaodong Penisula, and profits of CER finally drew an attention of Imperial Japan and concerns[iv] of Japan's northern board safety, which ultimately led to a costly Russo-Japanese War during 1904 and 1905. This war and subsequent Treaty of Portsmouth projected dynamic effects to Pacific power for the next centuries on three aspects. First, the financial burden of the war brought strong protests  in Russia and Japan. For Imperial Russia, the lost of war and Far East interest incensed 1905 Revolution[v], which resulted the establishment of limited constitutional monarchy and the State Duma of the Russian Empire. For Imperial Japan, people were furious against government's tax increase for budget deficit after the war, which could prevented if government would have made Russian pay for the war in Portsmouth Treaty.[vi] After Hibiya Incendiary Incident, the military factions in Japan gained more advantages from  protests in political fights. Ultimately, military faction was free from state budget restraints and only be responsible for the Emperor, which gave them  freedom to execute territory expansionism. Second, the Treaty of Portsmouth[vii] that initiated under the direction of President Theodore Roosevelt gave United States a great chance to involve Far East diplomacy. For example  Prior to the Portsmouth Treaty, America allowed Japan's control over Korea on the conditions of US's dominance in Philistine[viii] in Taft–Katsura Agreement. Third, the distribution of the Liaodong Peninula  interest by  West Powers deepen the disputes among Russia, Japan and China ever since the war. In particular, the administration and ownership of South Manchuria Railway became an obstacle between Sino-Soviet relations. The process of transfer of the railway interest[ix] in post World War II caused many unpleasant discussions between the two regional powers and later developed into a larger irreconcilable disputes that resulted Sino-Soviet Split. Moreover, the Treaty was not satisfy Japan's expectation of fully control over entire Sakhalin. The Sakhalin issue became a ghost that challenged regional politics and international relations even today. 





[ii] The name of this railway had been changed multiple times during its history. These names can best reflect the power that really controlled it. It was first been called as the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER东清铁路, Pin yin Dong qing Railway.) the Chinese literature means Eastern Qing Railway, which suggested railway under de factor ownership of Qing dynasty. Later in 1905, South Manchuria Railway Zone of CER were transferred to Japan by the Treaty of Portsmouth. Then it had been known as South Manchuria Railway (南满铁路, Pin yin Nan man tie lu), which suggested the ownership by Manchuria government, a puppy state set up by Japan.
[iv] After the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, imperil Russia gained the right to build CER as well as rights to occupied Northern Manchuria by large groups of army.
[vii] The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 after negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, in the United States. In accordance with the treaty, both Japan and Russia agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan leased the Liaodong Peninsula (containing Port Arthur and Talien), and the Russian rail system in southern Manchuria with access to strategic resources. Japan also received the southern half of the Island of Sakhalin from Russia. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Portsmouth
[ix] The rights of the railway had been transferred multiple times, which makes the problem more complex. During the 1917-1924 (Russian Civil War) the Russian part of the CER came under the administration of the White Army.After 1924, the USSR and China administered the Northern CER jointly, while Japan maintained control of the southern spur line.The Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929 was fought over the administration of the Northern CER. From August 1945, the CER again came under the joint control of the USSR and China. Somewhat reversing Russia's stinging losses in 1904-1905, after World War II the Soviet government insisted on occupying the Liaodong Peninsula but allowed joint control over the Southern branch with China; all this together received the name of the "Chinese Changchun Railway" see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Eastern_Railway






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