《租威海卫专条》研究

A Study on the Convention for the Lease of Weihaiwei

《租威海卫专条》是在英方“强迫”下签订的。在正式签约之前,英国人的“强迫”就已化为实际的“强占”了,在此情况下,条约内容只能是一方意志的表达。英租威海卫初期的抗英活动与中国官方的操纵有关。英租威海卫的性质并非“租借地”而是“割据地”。二十五年租期说既非《租威海卫专条》的文本规定也不符合条约原意,“合法”租期应当是七年。

The Convention for the Lease of Weihaiwei was concluded under the British coercion. The Britain had already occupied the Territory before the conclusion of the Convention. Under such circumstance, the Convention could only serve as the expression of the will of one party to it. The resistance of the British rule in the Territory during the period of the lease was related to the manipulation by the Chinese government. The nature of the Territory was not a lease territory, but a concession. The 25 -year lease term neither was provided for by, nor reflected the original intention of the Convention. The “lawful” lease term should be 7 years.