This view I need hardly say is not shared by the large majority of Chinese.
Persons who have committed political offenses in their own country
find protection not only in America but in all countries in Europe,
Japan, and other civilized lands. It is an irony of fate
that since the establishment of the Chinese Republic,
Manchu and other officials under the old regime, now find secure asylums
in Hongkong, Japan, and Tsingtao, while hundreds of ex-Manchu officials
have fled to the foreign settlements of Shanghai, Tientsin,
and other treaty ports, so reluctantly granted by the late Manchu Government.
Thus the edge of their complaint against America's policy
in harboring political refugees has been turned against themselves,
and the liberality against which they protested has become their protection.
The more substantial cause for dissatisfaction with the United States is,
I grieve to say, her Chinese exclusion policy. As long as
her discriminating laws against the Chinese remain in force
a blot must remain on her otherwise good name, and her relations with China,
though cordial, cannot be perfect. It is beyond the scope of this chapter
to deal with this subject exhaustively, but in order to enable my readers
to understand the exact situation it is necessary to supply
a short historical summary. In 1868, on account of the pressing need
of good laborers for the construction of railways and other public works
in America, the Governments of China and the United States,
concluded a treaty which provided that "Chinese subjects
visiting or residing in the United States shall enjoy the same privileges,
immunities, and exemptions in respect to travel or residence
as may be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation.
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