http://www.hprc.org.cn/gsyj/yjjg/zggsyjxh_1/gsnhlw_1/wuguoshixslwj/200906/t20090629_3950787_3.html
Regarding real estate and bond issues, in the early 1980s, the British government officially proposed claims for private assets in China to the Chinese government. The basic principles of the Chinese government are: 1. For China’s old government foreign debts, they should be addressed gradually according to different circumstances. The foreign debts borrowed by China’s successive reactionary governments to maintain their reactionary rule and damage national sovereignty are not recognized or assumed by the Chinese government and people. 2. Properties acquired through privileges by former foreign concessions and foreigners holding positions in the old government, which have been dealt with through “confiscation” or “takeover,” will not be compensated. The property of foreign churches and their affiliated enterprises, mostly donated by believers, some have been transferred to Chinese churches, and affiliated enterprises have been taken over, so repayment is not considered. Land belongs to the People’s Republic of China, so there is no repayment issue. 3. In the early days of liberation, in order to eliminate imperialist economic influence in China, the Chinese government took various measures to deal with foreign private properties and enterprises in China, which was entirely correct and necessary. These properties and enterprises that have been dealt with cannot be returned in the future. However, considering that some of the foreign private properties and enterprises I handled were processed unilaterally by administrative order, their property rights have not been fundamentally resolved. According to international practice, appropriate compensation should be given for such assets.
Due to the long-standing nature of the old foreign debts and original assets in China involved, the issues are complex, policy-driven, involve many departments, and are very difficult to handle specifically. Negotiations with the UK lasted about six years, culminating in a comprehensive settlement. On June 5, 1987, China and the UK signed the “Agreement on Resolving Historical Asset Claims.”
According to the agreement, the UK government will pay China 3.8 million USD, and China commits not to pursue or support any claims by its natural persons and legal entities for assets prior to January 1, 1980, nor to support such claims, especially the following historical asset claims: claims related to debts owed by British nationals residing or conducting business in the People’s Republic of China before January 1, 1980; claims on assets of the former “China Airways” and “Central Airlines”; claims on five fishing boats managed by the former Sanhou Affairs Committee; claims related to the requisition of the “Yonghao” oil tanker and the financial losses from the “Nan Yin Mo Le” ship carrying rubber. The Chinese government will pay the UK government 23,468,008 pounds sterling, and the UK government makes the same commitment, especially regarding the following historical asset claims: claims for old foreign debts borrowed by successive Chinese governments before October 1, 1949, including bonds issued or guaranteed by them; claims on assets originally owned by UK nationals within China but lost ownership or usage rights due to direct or indirect intervention by the Chinese government; claims on certain bank deposits of British citizens mentioned during the 1986 bilateral negotiations; claims for expenses related to requisitioning former British consulate buildings and repairing damaged British diplomatic buildings; claims for pensions and retirement benefits of UK nationals employed by the old Chinese government or municipal authorities before October 1, 1949. Both the Chinese and UK governments are responsible for resolving the asset claims of their own natural persons and legal entities according to their respective laws and for distributing the funds obtained under this agreement to their own nationals and entities, without any liability to the other government.
Thus, all mutual asset claims from before January 1, 1980, between China and the UK have been finally and comprehensively resolved, eliminating a potential obstacle to the development of bilateral relations, and benefiting China’s foreign openness at that time, improving China’s international reputation, and attracting foreign investment.
In summary: the imperialist demands for China’s debts issued and guaranteed by semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and any assets held by British imperialism in China. The reactionary Chinese traitor groups, in order to quickly join the Western imperialist market system and accelerate capitalist development by introducing foreign imperialist investment, hurriedly colluded with British imperialism. The UK pretended to give three million USD, while the reactionary Chinese groups owed the UK a total of 23 million pounds. Based on historical exchange rates, China received three million USD but owed over 30 million USD, nearly ten times the amount paid. If calculated using the average annual exchange rate of RMB to major foreign currencies from 1978-2002, in 1980, 100 pounds sterling equaled 347.73 RMB, meaning China owed over 75.9 million RMB.
As for what I mentioned during the reading club of “A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy” during the WTO period, the source of the reactionary Chinese groups paying part of the debt to Western imperialism is actually from this. But actually, it was not during the WTO period but in the 1980s, and I was wrong to say “Western imperialism” here; in fact, it was only Britain. I made both mistakes, but this incident clearly shows that the reactionary Chinese groups are indeed a bunch of traitorous traitors, foreign slaves.
