1904年第二次英国侵藏战争的赔款问题

The Chinese Indemnity for the Second British Invasion War to Tibet in 1904

1904年侵藏战争中,英军强迫西藏地方政府签订所谓“条约”,要求赔款750万卢比作为“惩罚”。为避免赔款超出西藏地方的承受范围,致使对方消极应对,同时也为了避免英军长久地驻扎西藏,导致英俄在该地区争端升级,英国内阁从国际形势出发,将赔款总额降低至250万卢比。清政府为了彰显对西藏主权,积极向英方直接交款。尽管直接交款的形式遭拒,但清政府利用江海关关税,转手西藏地方政府,在两年半付清全款,合计上海规银122.6万两,促成英军撤离,保留了对藏主权阐释的主动权。

In the second invasion of Tibet in 1904, the British army forced the Tibetan local government to sign the so-called “Lhasa Treaty” and asked the local Tibetan government to pay 7.5 million rupees as “punishment.” To avoid the negative response of the Tibetans and the long-term occupation of British troops in Tibet, which could lead to the escalation of disputes between Britain and Russia in the region, the British cabinet reduced the total amount of the indemnity to 2.5 million rupees.In order to demonstrate Chinese sovereignty, the Qing government actively made direct payments to the British. Using the customs duties of Jiangnan Customs, the Qing government made full payment within two and a half years to facilitate the withdrawal of the British army, as well as reserved the initiative to affirm China’s sovereignty over Tibet.