Emperor Kwang-Hsu Proposes Foreign Protectorate Over China
THE party of the Emperor Kwang-Hsu, of China, including three viceroys, issued, June 11, “a message to the peoples of the West,” of which the following is the part most laden with meaning:— The government of China being virtually nonexistent, the emperor proposes that the foreign powers whose troops dominate the capital shall remove his imperial person from the palace, in which his Majesty is confined as a prisoner; shall declare Empress Hsi-Tsi and her present ministers to be usurpers, and shall bring Emperor Kwang-Hsu to Nanking, Wuchang, or Shanghai, whichever the said foreign powers deem to be the most suitable situation for the new capital of the Chinese Empire under the new conditions. It is proposed by his Majesty and his advisers that the foreign powers should declare a joint protectorate, and undertake the task of governing the country through his Majesty.