日军对长江下游地区美国教会医院的侵害与美日交涉(1937-1939)

Japanese Infringement of American Missionary Hospitals in the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River and Negotiations between the United States and Japan (1937—1939)

全面侵华战争初期,日军严重侵害了长江下游地区美国教会医院的权益并引发美日间外交交涉。美日两国在相关损害事件交涉过程中,往往满足于“就地解决”方案,并表现出克制、“理性”、各有进退的态度,极力避免美日关系陷入僵局,反映了全面侵华战争之初美日两国在华的利益诉求及政治媾和。然而,随着侵略的扩大,美国教会医院权益受损案件越积越多,日本军政当局在美日交涉中暴露出独霸中国的狂妄野心及外交短视行为,使美日在华利益冲突逐步升级,并引发在华美国传教士及教会团体的强烈不满。他们通过各种渠道向美国公众揭示日本在华暴行,进而影响美国的公众舆论,成为促使美国政府着手调整远东战略的因素之一,美日关系在暗潮汹涌的大变局中走向分岔口。

In the early stage of the War of Aggression against China,the Japanese army seriously infringed the rights and interests of the American missionary hospitals in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and triggered diplomatic negotiation between the two countries.In negotiating the relevant incidents,both sides preferred the solution on the spot,showing restraint, “rationality” in an effort to avoid the deadlock in terms of the relationship between the two countries.This reflected the common interests of the two countries.However,with the increasing pace of aggression,the arrogant ambition of the Japanese military and political authorities to dominate China and the short-sighted behavior in diplomacy led to the accumulation of unsolved cases of infringement of the rights and interests of U.S.missionary hospitals,and the escalating conflict of interests between the United States and Japan in China.Overseas missionaries and church groups expressed strong dissatisfaction and revealed the Japanese atrocities to the American public through various channels,which further affected the public opinion and made the American government to start to adjust its strategy in the Far East.The relations between the United States and Japan came to a fork in the changing world situations.