九一八事变后东北海关被劫与国民政府的因应

The Robbery of the Northeast Customs after the September 18th Incident and the National Government s Response

海关是国家设在口岸管理进出国境货物、人员、运输工具及征收关税并办理有关事务的行政机关,其独立自主是国家主权的重要体现。有清一代,西方列强通过不平等条约,依仗外籍税务司制度将中国海关变为“国际官厅”。南京国民政府成立后,加强了对海关行政权的管控,但仍保留外籍税务司制度。九一八事变后,日方采取武力恐吓、掠夺税款、侵占关署及以伪满洲国之名进行“接管”等步骤,渐次劫夺东北各关。由于中国海关行政体系的特殊性,英籍总税务司梅乐和抱有以牺牲中国关税保管权来维护海关行政完整性的妥协执念,并得到英国政府的支持。国民政府为维护国家主权,一方面遏制总税务司的妥协言行,一方面等待时机,寻求国际力量的干预,最终以闭关移地征税对日方进行反制。

Customs is an administrative organ set up at ports by the state to manage inbound and outbound goods, personnel and means of transport, to collect customs duties and handle related affairs. Its independence is an important manifestation of state sovereignty. In the Qing Dynasty, by means of those unequal treaties, the western powers relied on the Foreign-controlled Taxation and Tariff System to turn China s customs into an “international government organization”. Since its founding, National Government in Nanjing strengthened the management and control of the administrative power in the customs, but still retained the foreign-controlled taxation and tariff system. After the September 18th Incident, the Japanese side took steps such as intimidation by force, plundering taxes, encroaching on customs offices as well as “taking over” in the name of the puppet Manchukuo, and gradually seized all the northeast customs. Due to the distinctiveness of China’s customs administrative system, the British Inspector General Frederick William Maze had a compromise obsession to maintain the administration integrity of the customs at the expense of the tariff custody of China s customs, which received the support of the British government. To safeguard national sovereignty, the National Government curbed the compromise words and deeds of the General Taxation Department on one hand, and on the other hand, waited for the opportunity to seek the international intervention, and finally countered the Japanese with the closing of the customs and collecting tax at new locations.