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² Anghie. ‘Colonialism and the Birth of International Institutions’; Aydin, Cemil. (2007). The Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia: Visions of World Order in Pan-Asian and Pan-Islamic Thought. New York: Columbia University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar; Baumler, Alan. (2000). ‘State Control over the Discourse on Opium’, in Thierstein, Joel and Khamalipour, Yahya R. eds, Religion, Law, and Freedom. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, pp. 81–97Google Scholar; Callahan, Michael D.. (2004). A Sacred Trust: The League of Nations and Africa, 1929–1946. Portland, Oregon: Sussex Academic PressGoogle Scholar; Manela, Erez. (2007). The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anti-Colonial Nationalism. New York: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar; Pedersen, Susan. (1997). ‘Back to the League of Nations’. The American Historical Review. 112:4, pp. 1091–1117CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Pepper, Suzanne. (2000). Radicalism and Education Reform in Twentieth Century China: The Search for an Ideal Development Model. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar; Zanasi, Margherita. (2007). ‘Exporting Development: The League of Nations and Republican China’. Comparative Studies in Society and History. 49:1, pp. 143–169CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

³ Founded as a secret organization in 1931 by graduates of Canton's Whampoa Military Academy, by the mid-1930s the military-based Blue Shirts controlled Nationalist government propaganda organs, secret services, and police forces. Whilst the organization assumed a new nationalistic purpose in 1931, many of its members had fought together against communism and other leftwing movements since the mid-1920s. See Deng, Yuanzhong. (2000). Guomindang hexin zuzhi zhenxiang: lixingshe, fuxingshe, ji suowei ‘lanyishe’ de yanbian yu chengzhang [The Truth About the Guomindang's Core Organizations: The Evolution and Growth of the Forceful Action Society, the Renaissance Society, and the So-Called ‘Blue Shirts’]. Taibei: Lianjing chubansheGoogle Scholar; Eastman, Lloyd E.. (1974). The Abortive Revolution: China Under Nationalist Rule, 1927–1937. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hsia-Chang, Maria. (1985). The Chinese Blue Shirt Society: Fascism and Developmental Nationalism. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian StudiesGoogle Scholar; Dooeum, Cheng (2000). Elitist Fascism: Chiang Kaishek's Blue Shirts in 1930s China. Burlington, Vermont: AshgateGoogle Scholar; Wakeman, Frederic Jr. (1997). ‘A Revisionist View of the Nanjing Decade: Confucian Fascism’. China Quarterly. 150, pp. 295–432CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁴ Victor Chi-tsai Hoo to Samuel Sung Young, letter, 2 October 1935 [Box 1, Folder 1.8], Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, Hoover Institution Archives. Hoo worked for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1928–1930. In 1931, he became Secretary General of China's Delegation to the League of Nations Assembly, subsequently serving as Director of its permanent office (1932), representative to the League's Opium commission (1932) and on Social Questions (1937–1942) before returning to China to take up the post of Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs (1942–1945). At the time he sent the letter to Samuel Young, his official post was ‘Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary’ in Bern, Switzerland. ‘Register of the Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, 1931–1972’, Hoover Institution Archives, p. 2.

⁵ Young to Hoo, letter, 24 October, 1935 [Box 1, Folder 1.8], Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, Hoover Institution Archives.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ ‘Register of the Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, 1931–1972’, Hoover Institution Archives.

⁸ As Stephen P. Craft has examined, V. K. Wellington Koo (Gu Weijun) remained a particularly ardent champion of the principle of global governance, despite being disillusioned by specific League actions. Craft. (2000). ‘Saving the League: V. K. Wellington Koo, the League of Nations, and the Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1931–1939’. Diplomacy and Statecraft. 11: 3, pp. 91–112. While the Nationalist leadership as a whole continued to support China's League membership, there was considerable debate about whether it would have been more expedient to enter into direct negotiations with Japan. See Coble, Parks. (1991). Facing Japan: Chinese Politics and Japanese Imperialism, 1931–1937. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar; also Yongsheng, Liu. (2008). ‘Jiu-yi-ba shijian yihou ‘Shenbao’ dui Guolian pinglun’ [‘Discussion of the League of Nations in the Shenbao after the Mukden Incident’]. Guiyang xueyuan xuebao [Journal of the Guiyang Institute]. 12:4, pp. 18–22Google Scholar.

⁹ Manela, The Wilsonian Moment, p. 193.

¹⁰ Hudson, Manley O.. (1924). ‘Membership in the League of Nations’. The American Journal of International Law. 18:3, p. 437CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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¹² Prasenjit Duara has noted how the Chinese Communist Party, which was founded in 1921, ‘never tired of pointing out [that] the great powers that dominated the League of Nations were hardly free and neutral agents themselves’. Duara. (2003). Sovereignty and Authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian Modern. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, p. 53.

¹³ Craft, Stephen G., ‘Saving the League’; Idem. (2004). V. K. Wellington Koo and the Emergence of Modern China. Lexington: University of Kentucky PressGoogle Scholar; Kirby, William C.. (1997). ‘The Internationalization of China: Foreign Relations at Home and Abroad in the Republican Era’. The China Quarterly, 150, pp. 433–458CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Strauss, Julia C.. (1998). Strong Institutions in Weak Polities: State Building in Republican China. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 161–163Google Scholar.

¹⁴ Prasenjit Duara, Sovereignty and Authenticity; Jordan, Donald. (2006). ‘China's National Economic Council and the League of Nations Experts, 1929–1937’, in Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, , Schick-Chen, Agnes, and Klotzbücher, Sascha, eds, As China Meets the World: China's Changing Position in the International Community. Wien: Verlag der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 123–132Google Scholar; Suzanne Pepper, Radicalism and Education Reform., pp. 161–163; Zanasi, ‘Exporting Development’.

¹⁵ Coble, Facing Japan, p. 18; Craft, V. K. Wellington Koo, pp. 61–93; Kirby, ‘The Internationalization of China’, p. 441; Enhan, Li. (1993). Beifa qianhou de ‘geming waijiao’, 1925–1931 [‘Revolutionary Diplomacy’ Before and After the Northern Expedition, 1925–1931]. Taibei: Zhongyanyuan jindaishi yanjiusuo; Strauss, Strong Institutions, pp. 153–161Google Scholar.

¹⁶ Zanasi, ‘Exporting Development’.

¹⁷ According to Parks Coble, in 1934 Chiang expressed regret that he had chosen to rely on the League to settle the Manchuria dispute rather than entering into talks with the Japanese directly. Facing Japan, pp. 182–194.

¹⁸ On Wang Jingwei's stance towards the League, see Zanasi, Saving the Nation, pp. 45, 234.

¹⁹ Hudson, ‘Membership in the League’, p. 454.

²⁰ Wei, Zhou. (3 April 1929). ‘The Question of Whether to Quit or Use the League of Nations’ [‘Tuichu huo liyong guoji lianmeng wenti’]. Zhongyang Ribao Fukan [Central Daily Supplement], no. 7, p. 1. Reel 60Google Scholar, Zhongguo guo min dang records, Hoover Institution Archives. Originals in Kuomintang archive (Taipei, Taiwan), series Wu Zhihui, file 3325.

²¹ Ibid., p. 3.

²² Ibid.

²³ This became known as the ‘Mukden Incident’. For a summary of the history of Manchukuo see Duara, Sovereignty and Authenticity, chapter 2.

²⁴ Coble, Facing Japan, pp. 101–102.

²⁵ Wu-teh, Hao. (1933). ‘China, the League, and the U.S.A’. The People's Tribune, 4:12, p. 710Google Scholar.

²⁶ The delegates based their appeal on Article XI of the League covenant, maintaining that Japan's actions endangered the ‘peace of nations’ and therefore necessitated censure. Strauss, Strong Institutions, p. 161.

²⁷ Ibid., pp. 162–163.

²⁸ Duara, Sovereignty and Authenticity, pp. 53–54.

²⁹ Ibid., p. 54; Tucker, David. (2009). ‘Colonial Sovereignty in Manchuria and Manchukuo’, in Howland, Douglas and White, Luise, eds, The State of Sovereignty: Territory, Laws, Populations. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, p. 86Google Scholar.

³⁰ ‘Japanese Assertion that China is Not an Organized State (9 February 1932)’, in David G. Atwill and Yurong Y. Atwill, eds. (2010), Sources in Chinese History: Diverse Perspectives from 1644-Present. Prentice Hall, p. 202.

³¹ Tucker, ‘Colonial Sovereignty’, p. 75.

³² In a speech before the Oxford China Society, Victor Hoo observed that the ‘the signatories and the adherents [of the Nine Power Treaty] definitely committed themselves to the twin principles of territorial and administrative integrity of China and equality of opportunity for the trade of all nations in China’. Victor Chi-tsai Hoo, untitled speech, p. 2 [Box 1, Folder 1.8]. Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, Hoover Institution Archives.

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³⁵ The Blue Shirts went so far as to view the looming war as potentially promising a ‘new life’ to the Chinese nation by testing its valour, fortitude, and capacity to survive in a hostile world. Yang Yongxing. (2006). ‘Lixingshe de Riben guan: Yi “Qiantu” zazhi wei ge’an de kaocha’ [‘Lixingshe Views of Japan: A Case Study of The Future Magazine’], Jiangsu Shehui Kexue [Jiangsu Social Sciences], no. 1, p. 199.

³⁶ As Yang Yongxing has noted, the Blue Shirts often vocalized their disagreement with Chiang Kai-shek's policy decisions in the pages of their own publications. Yang, ‘Lixingshe Views of Japan’, p. 199.

³⁷ Aydin, The Politics of Anti-Westernism, p. 128.

³⁸ Tang Leang-li [Tang Liangli], quoted in Scott, David. (2008). China and the International System, 1840–1949: Power, Presence, and Perceptions in a Century of Humiliation. Albany: State University of New York Press, p. 207Google Scholar.

³⁹ Ibid.

⁴⁰ An additional reason for its English-language publication appears to have been to alarm the foreign imperialist community over the expansion of the Chinese Communist movement, thereby highlighting the potential political consequences if the former failed to heed Nationalist desires.

⁴¹ Leang-li, Tang [Tang Liangli]. (1932). ‘Some Observations on Chinese Diplomacy’. The People's Tribune, 3:3, p. 76Google Scholar.

⁴² The Editor. (1933). ‘International Justice and National Preparedness’. The People's Tribune, 4:1, p. 1.

⁴³ Tang Leang-li [Tang Liangli]. ‘Some Observations on Chinese Diplomacy’, p. 75.

⁴⁴ Ibid.

⁴⁵ Ibid., p. 77.

⁴⁶ Ibid., p. 78.

⁴⁷ Ethiopia's membership was delayed by British opposition, which argued that the continued practice of slavery rendered Ethiopia insufficiently civilized for League membership. Arreguín-Toft, Ivan. (2005). How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict. Cambridge University Press, p. 113CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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⁴⁹ Wu-teh, Hao, ‘China, the League, and the U.S.A.’, p. 709; biographical information found in The People's Tribune, vol. 4 index, p. ixGoogle Scholar.

⁵⁰ Hao Wu-teh, ‘China, the League, and the U.S.A.’, p. 718.

⁵¹ Ibid.

⁵² So, Wai-chor. (2011). ‘Race, Culture, and the Anglo-American Powers: The Views of Chinese Collaborators’. Modern China, 37:1, pp. 83–84Google Scholar.

⁵³ This also distinguishes the Blue Shirt position from that of China's leftwing and Marxist critics of the League, who advocated other forms of international and transnational engagement, such as proletarian internationalism and Popular Front solidarity. On the formation and activities of the Blue Shirts in North China, see Chung, Elitist Fascism, pp. 89–128; Coble, Facing Japan, pp. 230–240.

⁵⁴ Yang, ‘Lixingshe views of Japan’, pp. 195–200.

⁵⁵ Li, Anshan (2005). ‘African Studies in China in the Twentieth Century’. African Studies Review, 8:1, pp. 61–62Google Scholar. Li's review does not address China's fascist press, however.

⁵⁶ Zanasi, Saving the Nation.

⁵⁷ Italian colonization of Ethiopia is briefly mentioned in Youwei, Xu. (2006). ‘1930 niandai Lixingshe yanzhong de yidali faxisizhuyi’ [‘Italian Fascism as Seen by the Vigorous Action Society During the 1930s’], in yanjiu shi, Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan jidaishi yanjiusuo Minguoshi, ed., Yijiusanling niandai de Zhongguo [China in 1930's (sic)], vol. 1, Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, pp. 158–159Google Scholar.

⁵⁸ Wellington Koo to Victor Hoo, letter, 24 June 1936, pp. 1–2. [Box 1, Folder 1.9] Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, Hoover Institution Archives; ‘What is your inofficial [sic] view?’ and ‘C’est surtout en raison du rôle politique. . .’ [Box 4, Folder 4.8], Victor Chi-tsai Hoo Papers, Hoover Institution Archives.

⁵⁹ Wagner, Margaret E., Kennedy, David M., Osborne, Linda Barrett, and Reyburn, Susan. (2007). The Library of Congress WWII Companion. Simon and Schuster, p. 31Google Scholar.

⁶⁰ Baer, George W.. (1997). Test Case: Italy, Ethiopia, and the League of Nations. Hoover Institution Press, pp. 121–156Google Scholar.

⁶¹ Ibid., pp. 64–98; also Ben-Ghiat, Ruth and Fuller, Mia, ed. (2007). Italian Colonialism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. xviiGoogle Scholar; Willson, Perry. (2007). ‘Empire, Gender and the “Home Front” in Fascist Italy’. Women's History Review, 16:4, p. 489CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁶² An English translation of Haile Selassie's speech to the League assembly can be found at Haile Selassie, ‘Appeal to the League of Nations, June 1936’, Documents of the Interwar Period: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/selassie.htm [accessed 8 August 2013].

⁶³ Ibid.

⁶⁴ Margaret E. Wagner et al., Library of Congress WWII Companion, p. 31.

⁶⁵ Xun, Bing. (1935). ‘Yi-A zhanshi de hengzhanxian’. [‘Battle lines of the Italian-Ethiopian Conflict’]. Hanxue Zhoukan [Sweat and Blood Weekly] 5:16, p. 330Google Scholar.

⁶⁶ Wei. (1935). ‘Yi-A Zhanzheng zhi weiji’. [‘The Crisis of Italian-Abyssinian War’], Qiantu [The Future] 3:8, p. 5.

⁶⁷ Yiqing, Jiang. (1936). ‘Yi-A Zhanzheng yu Zhongguo’. [‘China and the Italian-Abyssinian War’]. Nanchang Nuzhong [Nanchang Girls Middle School Periodical], 1:3, p. 1Google Scholar.

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⁶⁹ ‘Abixiniya wang shi’. [‘Abyssinia's Loss’]. (1936). Qiantu [The Future], 4:5, p. 5.

⁷⁰ Deng, Mo. (1935). ‘Yi-A Zhanzhengguo jiangwei dazhan daohuoxian hu?’ [‘Will the Outcome of the Italian-Abyssinian War Spark the Next Great War?’], Hanxue Zhoukan[Sweat and Blood Weekly] 5:18, pp. 384, 386Google Scholar. Jiang Yiqing similarly noted that after the December 1934 Walwal skirmish, France and England had responded to Italian actions by offering Italy economic rights to Ethiopia in exchange for guaranteeing its political independence and territorial integrity. Jiang Yiqing, ‘Yi-A Zhanzheng yu Zhongguo’, p. 3.

⁷¹ Mo Deng, ‘Yi-A Zhanzhengguo jiangwei dazhan daohuoxian hu?’, pp. 384, 386.

⁷² Liang, Mu. (1935). ‘Yi-A zhanshi zhi qianzhan’ [‘Prospects of the Italian-Abyssinian Conflict’], Hanxue Zhoukan [Sweat and Blood Weekly], 5:19, p. 405Google Scholar; Mo Deng, “Yi-A zhanzhengguo jiangwei dazhan daohuoxian hu?” p. 384–385.

⁷³ Kuang, Jun. (1936). ‘Abixiniya shibai zhi yi da jiaoxun’ [‘A Great Lesson of Abyssinia's Defeat’], Hanxue Zhoukan[Sweat and Blood Weekly], 6:17, p. 319Google Scholar.

⁷⁴ Mo Deng, ‘Yi-A Zhanzhengguo jiangwei dazhan daohuoxian hu?’, p. 386.

⁷⁵ Kuang, Jun. (1936). ‘A wang de huhao yu fendou shuyu’ [‘The Distress Cries and Fighting Words of the Abyssinian King’], Hanxue Zhoukan [Sweat and Blood Weekly], 7:2, p. 22Google Scholar.

⁷⁶ Ning, Bai. (1936). ‘You Yi mie A tandao wo guo jinhuo jiuwang tucun zhidao’. [‘Finding Guidance for Saving our Nation from Italy's Extermination of Abyssinia’], Hanxue Zhoukan[Sweat and Blood Weekly], 6:20, p. 386Google Scholar.

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⁷⁸ Ibid., pp. 386–387.

⁷⁹ ‘Abixiniya wang shi’, p. 6.

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⁸¹ Jun Kuang, ‘Abixiniya shibai zhi yi da jiaoxun’, p. 319.

⁸² Ibid.

⁸³ Ibid.

⁸⁴ Jun Kuang, ‘A wang de huhao yu fendou shuyu’, p. 22.

⁸⁵ Ibid., p. 23.

⁸⁶ Jiang Yiqing, ‘Yi-A Zhanzheng yu Zhongguo’, pp. 3–4, 6.

⁸⁷ Fu, Shi. (1936). ‘Lun wangguo guantou’. [‘On A Lost Country at the Crossroads’.], Hanxue Zhoukan [Sweat and Blood Weekly] 6:24, p. 463Google Scholar.

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