Wang Weasels

China has no constitution in the accepted meaning of the word, no bill of rights, and her greatest living sage Dr. Hu Shih (TIME, Sept. 9) has recently said: There has never been any attempt to define by law the limits of government action in China, nor has there been any constitutional provision for the protection of the rights and liberties of the people." Therefore the great powers were closely attentive, fortnight ago, when Foreign Minister Cheng-Ting ("C. T.") Wang cockily announced that his government had abolished the right ("extraterritoriality") of foreigners in China to be tried in their own consular courts (TIME, Jan. 6). For 48 hours it seemed as though foreigners were going to be subjected along with Chinese to the gross and notorious malfeasance of Chinese courts where bribery is rampant, trial by jury unknown, and the local military commander often dictates the decision of the judge.

As the hours passed, London, Washington and Tokyo put pressure upon Nanking, until cocky Mr. Wang cracked, retracted. He blandly announced himself in complete accord with the following trick statement, masterfully drafted by the British Foreign Office: "His Majesty's government are willing to agree that Jan. 1, 1930, should be treated as the date from which the process of the gradual abolition of extraterritoriality should be regarded as having commenced in principle."

London's suave lead was followed by Tokyo and Washington, where Secretary of State Henry Lewis Stimson announced that "in the matter of extraterritoriality the American and Chinese governments are now in complete accord." Thus the British masterminds which coined such weasel terms as "The Irish Free State" (see p. 27) appeared again triumphant. Abolition of extraterritoriality will be delayed for years, but China's face has been saved.

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