1926

THE WEIHAIWEI CONVENTION, 1898
Ratifications exchanged in London, 5th October, 1898
In order to provide Great Britain with a suitable naval harbour in North China,,
and for the better protection of British commerce in the neighbouring seas, the
Government of His Majesty the Emperor of China agrees to lease to the Government
of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Weihaiwei, in the province
of Shantung, and the adjacent waters for so long a period as Port Arthur shall
remain in the occupation of Russia.
The territory leased shall comprise the island of Liukung and all other islands
in the Bay of Weihaiwei, and a belt of land ten English miles wide along the entire
coast line of the Bay of Weihaiwei. Within the above-mentioned territory leased
Great Britain shall have sole jurisdiction.
Great Britain shall have, in addition, the right to erect fortifications, station
troops, or take any other measures necessary for defensive purposes, at any points on
or near the coast of the region east of the meridian 121 degrees 40 min. E. of Green¬
wich, and to acquire on equitable compensation within that territory such sites as
may be necessary for water supply, communications, and hospitals. Within that
zone Chinese administration will not be interfered with, but no troops other than
Chinese or British shall be allowed therein.
It is also agreed that within the walled city of Weihaiwei Chinese officials shall
continue to exercise jurisdiction, except so far as may be inconsistent with naval
and military requirements for the defence of the territory leased.
It is further agreed that Chinese vessels of war, whether neutral or otherwise,
shall retain the right to use the waters herein leased to Great Britain.
It is further understood that there will be no expropriation or expulsion of the
inhabitants of the territory herein specified, and that if land is required for forti¬
fications, public offices, or any official or public purpose, it shall be bought at a fair
price.
This Convention shall come into force on signature. It shall be ratified by the
Sovereigns of the two countries, and the ratificatiorrs shall be exchanged in London
as soon as possible.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised thereto by their respective
Governments, have signed the present agreement.
Claude M. Macdonald.
Pkince Ching, Senior Member of the Tsung-li Yamen.
Liao Shod Heng, President of Board of Punishments.
Done at Peking in quadruplicate (four copies in English and four in Chinese)
the first day of July, in the year of Our Lord eighteen hundred and ninety-eight,
being the thirteenth day of the fifth moon of the twenty-fourth year of Kuang Hsil.
Provisional arrangements for the rendition of Weihaiwei to China, in accord-
ance with the agreement reached at the VYashington Conference, were drawn up in