<論説>清末西江の「海賊」 : 「緝捕権」問題と貿易・航運 (特集 : 海)

Abstract

西江の外国船貿易への開放の結果、海賊事件に小型の外国船が巻き込まれることになり、海賊問題がイギリスなどの諸外国に認識されるようになった。こうした中で発生した西南号事件はイギリス人が犠牲となったため、イギリス側は賠償金を要求するとともに、中国の主権を侵害しない形で海関の外国人に巡視を監督させようとした。一方、両広総督はその両方に反対し、イギリスが西江の軍艦を増強して圧力をかけたのに対し、イギリス側の主権侵害という形で理解した広州の紳商らの反発が強まる中、海関に監督の意思がないこともあり、双方が妥協、西南号事件の賠償金支払いによりイギリス艦隊が撤収して問題は解決した。結果的に広東省当局は外国人や海関の関与を排除することに成功し、西江においては中国人が商業を掌握、イギリス船籍は減少した。そのために外国船・外国人の被害は減少したが、それは外国のみならず清朝側の「海賊問題」への関心低下を招いた。

The West River 西江 is the longest of the rivers that comprise the Pearl River 珠江 system, and with the decision to allow foreign trading ships in the river at the end of the 19th century, ten small ports in the Pearl River Delta area were recognized as embarkation and disembarkation points for passengers in addition to the opening of the ports of Wuzhou 梧州, Sanshui 三水, and Jiangmen 江門. As a result, trade on the West River greatly expanded, and the transport of passengers between Guangzhou and Hong Kong/ Macao mushroomed, and there was a shift from junks to small-scale steamboats. In response to the increase in maritime transport, bandits disguised as passengers would board these small boats that plied the West River and other interior rivers, and many incidents of robbery occurred in coordination with those on land. Resultant injury to foreign ships and foreign passengers led to the recognition of the problem of piracy on the West River by Great Britain and other foreign nations. In regard to West River "piracy, " the Qing government implemented a policy of strengthening inspection of passengers placing guards on board, and introducing patrols and Qing naval forces, which had a positive effect to a certain degree, but was far from a total solution. Amidst this situation in July of 1906, the S.S. Sainam, owned by the Hong Kong Steamship Company, was attacked by pirates, and the incident resulted in the death of an English missionary doctor. After the incident, the British who were dissatisfied with the policy of the Qing government towards the pirates sought to pin the blame on Cen Chunxuan 岑春煊, Governor General of Guangdong and Guangxi, for the continuing incidents of piracy. When Cen Chunxuan was transferred, the British demanded reparations for the victims of the Sainam incident. Additionally, the authorities in Hong Kong and the British merchants there exercised their influence and tried to have foreigners of Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs oversee patrols on the West River in a form that would not violate Chinese sovereignty. The Qing Foreign Office (Wai-wu Pu) was inclined to cooperate in negotiations with the British, but the local authorities in Guangdong opposed the British demands. As the negotiations were stalled, the British strengthened the deployment of naval forces on the West River due to the continuing piracy against British ships, and thus placed pressure on the Qing side. In response, Chinese newspapers reported in regard to the Qing Foreign Office's readiness to recognize the use of naval forces in maritime customs and that Governor General of Guangdong and Guangxi opposed it and argued that the naval forces should be placed under the control of Guangdong Provincial government without violating Chinese sovereignty. As a result, Guangdong gentry and merchants began a movement opposed to the British demand for the right of patrol that would violate Chinese sovereignty. As a result, British consideration of Chinese sovereignty became meaningless.

Ultimately, because the Chinese maritime customs did not have any intention of overseeing patrols, the British and the Chinese compromised, with the Qing government paying reparations for the Sainam incident after which the British naval forces were withdrawn, thus resolving the issue. Behind this resolution to the problem were the maintenance of relations between the Chinese and British navies in the region and British faith in the actions of the Admiral of the Qing naval forces in Guangdong. After resolution of the incident, the activity of the pirates was suppressed by the Admiral of the Qing naval forces for some period. In addition, the authorities in Guangdong were successful in removing intervention by foreigners or maritime customs. Trade on the West River expanded, but this did not involve an expansion of Western influence, but instead Chinese maintained their grip on commerce. In terms of shipping as well, due to the Guangdong authorities promotion of the transfer of the registration of small steamers from foreign to Chinese ownership, foreign and chiefly British registry decreased and Chinese registered vessels predominated. The resulting decrease in the losses to foreign ships and foreigners instigated a decreased concern with the "problem of piracy" among not only foreigners but the Qing government as well Because of this fact, the response of the Qing government did not fundamentally address the problem, and the political instability in Guangdong after the Xinhai Revolution once again led to a spread of piracy.