In 2019, some U.S. citizens pulled out some bonds in their hands, yellowed old paper with the words writtenThe "Huzhou-Guangzhou Railway Bonds", which came from China more than 100 years ago, amounted to tens of millions of dollars.
They claim that they want China** to convert these bonds, that is, to return the arrears owed more than 100 years ago, and for this reason they not only intend to sue China** in court**, but also ask the United States** to make decisions for them.
Trump, who was the first in the United States at the time, expressed support for the demands of these citizens, and constantly spread rhetoric in the international community, expressing the meaning of "repaying debts is justified", and pressuring China to pay back the money under international attention.
How did these bonds come about?Has China repaid the money?
In the early days of reform and opening up in 1979, social construction was in full swing, and Sino-US relations were also heating up in this excellent atmosphere.
In November of this year,China's *** Minister Huang Hua suddenly received a court summons, which came from the Alabama court in the United States.
It turned out that Jackson and nine other people in the state took out the Huguang railway bonds in their hands and demanded that China ** repay, so they went to the court to sue China**.
The court required Huang Hua to appear in court in the United States within 20 days, and if he wanted to plead anything, he could say it in court.
After the incident, many Chinese who got the news were furious and enthusiastic:"How can this be?What qualifications do U.S. courts have to administer China's **?
People from all walks of life in our country have put forward a strong **, in the face of such a request from the United States, of course our country will not agree, **Chang Huang Hua decisively returned the summons to the Alabama court.
China's reaction is not because everyone is bloody, but because there is a theoretical basis in black and white, why is it said that the US courts are not qualified to manage China?Because in international conventions there is a "principle of sovereign immunity", which states,The courts of a sovereign state do not have the power to dominate or sanction another sovereign state**.
The fact that the U.S. courts are well aware of this principle, of course, but they still chose to accept the indictment, which to some extent shows that these bond-holding Americans have a view of China, even in the old social period before the founding of New China, believing that China will grovel and make concessions in the face of various demands made by foreign powers, and is willing to play the role of the wrongdoer.
But they were wrong, the Huguang railway bonds they took out came from the Qing Dynasty, and they were bonds issued to the United States by the Qing DynastyIt is a kind of debt with an unequal nature, and New China has no obligation to repay it.
However, the Alabama courts did not give up, and they argued that the principle of sovereign immunity does exist, except for commercial activities, and that the Huguang Railway Bond is a commercial bond, which is very high-sounding.
In this regard, China is not accustomed to them at all, and puts forward a stern refutation: The Huguang Railway Bond is a political act with obvious inequality that the United States and other countries have issued to them through political pressure and the threat of force.
My country's rebuttal is legitimate and fully defensible in the international communityHowever, the US courts did not care about this, not only did they bother to negotiate with our country again, but also turned a deaf ear to all our rebuttals.
Driven by pride and prejudice, the Alabama court directly and unilaterally made the so-called ruling, which regarded China as a trial in absentia and required China to convert the bonds of American citizens for a total of $41.3 million with interest.
Originally, China thought that the trial of the US court was almost a farce, and that it would gradually disappear from everyone's field of vision after it was over, and the so-called bond matter would naturally come to an end.
But what everyone didn't expect wasInstead of giving up this unreasonable judgment and demand, the Americans have gone further and further down the road of perseverance, and have no intention of giving up.
After the so-called trial ended, the United States ** saw that our country did not make any response, so it stood up for the Alabama courtThe U.S. told China that if China was unwilling to repay the bonds, the U.S. would deduct the money from the dealings.
The behavior of the United States is very excessive, and our country is not accustomed to the United States at all, and immediately responded, saying that if the United States dares to withhold money, China will also impose reverse economic sanctions on the United States.
Under the tide of China's reform and opening up, many Americans have come to China to invest and do business, and more and more Chinese goods have been sold to the United States, and economic and cultural exchanges have become more frequent.
However, this behavior of the United States has obviously affected the development of China's relations, and the people of the two countries have been discussing a lot for a while, especially the two countriesThe Chinese people are often filled with righteous indignation over this, and Sino-US relations have even appeared in a state of standoff.
So why is the United States so persistent on this issue?Persistent can even be described as "stubborn" and "stubborn", what happened to the original Huguang Railway, so that there are endless disputes to be resolved more than half a century later?
These bonds were produced in the last years of the Qing DynastyAt that time, in order to develop the economy and transportation, the Qing Dynasty began to build railways, but the Qing Dynasty itself had limited construction capacity, so it could only entrust some railways to foreigners to repair, and the great powers originally wanted to better invade and carve up China through railways, so they were very happy to build railways in China.
At first, the railways of the Qing Dynasty were basically some local railways, and there were few long-distance railways that ran through multiple provinces and connected the north and south or east and westZhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, requested the construction of a railway connecting Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei, which would facilitate the development of the economy and the transportation of troops in the process of suppressing the revolutionary party.
This proposal was approved by the Qing Dynasty, because most of the areas to be built were under the administration of the Governor of Huguang, so it was called the "Huguang Railway".
Due to limited financial resources, this huge project can only be completed by borrowing money from foreign banks, and it is better to contract the construction project to the lender as well, so that the whole process can be completed in one go.
To put it bluntly, it isFind a country to contribute money and efforts to this project, and the money contributed will be regarded as the money borrowed from them by China, and it will be slowly repaid later.
At first, Qing ** first found Germany to discuss, and Germany readily agreed to such a good thing as soon as it heard about it, but then this matter was full of surprises.
First of all, Britain and France heard the news and said with a greedy face: "You can't give Germany all such good deeds, and we must also get a piece of the pie." ”
It was tolerable or unbearable, but in the end, the cowardly Qing ** still endured it and promised Britain and France that the railway would be jointly contracted by Britain, France and Germany.
But just as Qing ** was preparing to sign contracts with banks in three countries, an accident appeared again, and the United States heard the rumors and wanted to intervene in it:"How can it be done only to let Britain, France, and Germany share such benefits equally, and we in the United States must also obtain equal benefits in China. ”
It was tolerable or unbearable, but the corrupt and incompetent Qing ** finally endured it and agreed to let Britain, France, the United States, and Germany jointly contract the project.
Why are these countries so keen to build railways in China?Is it just to earn some interest on the loan?At that time, they signed a loan contract with only 5% interest, and the total loan of £6 million was to be repaid over 40 years.
The interest on the loan was not attractive at all, and what really attracted these powers was the overlord clause after clause they wrote in the railway contract.
In the contract, they stipulated that China would use the tax revenues of the two provinces, Hubei and Hunan, as well as the revenues related to railway transportation, as collateral for the Huzhou-Guangzhou railway loans until the loans were repaid.
What's more, the banks of the four countries also stipulated that after the completion of the railway, the four countries should be in chargeThis is undoubtedly tantamount to giving them these railways for nothing, so that they can provide greater facilities for their aggression.
But even if it was such an overlord clause, the Qing ** agreed to it, and signed contracts with four countries under pressure from the people, so that the Huguang Railway was finally successfully completed.
The brand-new railroad tells the world about the corruption and incompetence of the Qing Dynasty, and in order to maintain their rule, they do not hesitate to use various ways to make profits, and at the same time, this railway also tells people about the greed of the great powers.
And soon after the completion of the railway, the hated Qing ** and foreign powers suffered retribution.
The contract for the construction of the railway was signed in May 1911, and in October of the same year, the Xinhai Revolution was carried outAlthough the railroad had been repaired, the Qing ** was overthrown in the second year, and the bonds issued by the Qing ** were smashed in the hands of the banks of the four countries and could not be exchanged for a long time.
Later, in the chaotic situation in China, it went through a number of rulers in Beiyang**, and later Nanjing**, and the banks of the four countries used these former bonds to demand arrears from the Chinese rulers every year.
However, these rulers themselves are too busy because of internal and external troubles, and the "Huguang Railway Loan Contract" is an unequal contractNo one paid any attention to the demands of the banks of the four countries.
These four countries not only established concessions in China with peace of mind, enjoyed special treatment, and even stationed troops to extract the property of the Chinese with various unequal business practices, but also made a high-sounding appearanceWhile occupying the Huzhou-Guangzhou railway, he constantly demanded arrears from the Chinese sideThis greedy face is an abomination, and no one in power will sloppy at them out of resentment.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the unequal treaties signed between China and foreign countries were abolished one by one, and these bonds have long become waste paper, and they have flowed from the hands of the banks of the four countries to the people of various countriesMany people keep it at home as a collectible item and occasionally take it out to play with.
But some people are obsessed with money and always want to convert bonds into money, so Jackson and others in Alabama, USA, took these bonds to the court, wanting China to repay the money.
After this incident continued to ferment, it almost turned into a ** sanctions war between China and the United States, and then the United States did not want to lose China's huge market because of this, and after delicately weighing the pros and cons, it decided to stop there, ending this months-long farce.
However, some people have not given up the idea of exchanging bondsIn 2019, when the fierce war between China and the United States was in full swing, someone in the United States took out a collection of Huguang railway bonds, I want to make China pay back the money through the political power of the United States.
Trump, who was the first at the time, also expressed his support and shouted to China for this, but because he did not get a response from China, he finally failed.
Westerners are very keen on chasing money, and they are very good at making rules, and they are very good at using the rules they have set to chase money.
However, they forget an important point, that is, the property they ask for does not belong to them in the first place, but they are forced to obtain it through unequal means, even if the rules are made in detail and the money is cleared, in the end it is just a self-directed and self-staged performance of the thief shouting to catch the thief.