Commissioner of Weihaiwei

Commissioner of Weihaiwei
威海卫专员
Commissioner's flag (1898–1903)
Colonial Office
Seat Port Edward
Appointer Monarch of the United Kingdom
Term length At His Majesty's Pleasure
Formation 1898
First holder Major-General Sir Arthur Robert Ford Dorward
Final holder Sir Reginald Johnston
Abolished 1930

The Commissioner of Weihaiwei (Chinese: 威海卫专员) was the head of government for the British leased territory of Weihaiwei between 1898 and 1930. Until 1902, the first Commissioners of Weihaiwei were members of the British Army before civilians were appointed to the role.

History

Following the First Sino-Japanese War, The Qing dynasty leased Weihaiwei to the British Empire in 1898. The War Office were responsible for the territory as it was envisaged that it would become a naval base similar to British Hong Kong. As such, the first Commissioners of Weihaiwei were appointed from the British Army and based themselves in Liu-kung Tao. However a survey led by the Royal Engineers deemed that Weihaiwei was unsuitable for a major naval base or trading port.[1] As a result in 1901, responsibility was transferred from the War Office to the Colonial Office which allowed for civilians to be appointed as the Commissioner.[1]

The first civil Commissioner was James Stewart Lockhart, where he oversaw the renaming of the civil seat of the Commissioner from Matou to Port Edward and started to develop the territory as a holiday resort for British expats.[1] As the position was not a full Governorship, it afforded the holders more authority as they did not have to consult any territorial legislative or executive councils when making decisions or passing ordinances.[1] The Commissioner of Weihaiwei was also responsible for representing the territory overseas.[2]

In 1930, when the lease expired, the last Commissioner of Weihaiwei flew the flag of the Republic of China alongside the Union Jack during the transitional day. Following the return of Weihaiwei to China, the Chinese replaced the British Commissioner role with their own version of the Commissioner as Weihaiwei became a Special Administrative Region of China.[3]

Flag

The Commissioners of Weihaiwei initially used a Union Jack with a Chinese imperial dragon from the flag of the Qing dynasty as their flag.[4][5] When the Lockhart arrived as the first civil commissioner, he wrote to the Colonial Office requesting that the dragon be replaced by Mandarin ducks as he felt it was inappropriate to use a Chinese national symbol on a British flag.[5] King Edward VII approved the new design as well as for the creation of a civil flag of Weihaiwei in 1903.[6]

List of Commissioners

Below is a list of the military and civilian Commissioners of Weihaiwei.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nield, Robert (2015). China's Foreign Places: The Foreign Presence in China in the Treaty Port Era, 1840–1943. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 259–264. ISBN 9888139282.
  2. ↑ "British Commissioner of Weihaiwei at reception at Wang Tien Chiao". University of Bristol. 1903. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Teresa Poole. "perfect goodbye Hong Kong dreams of Gun salutes and grateful thanks . . . the perfect goodbye". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Foreign colonies in China". Flags of the World. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 "The Colours of the Fleet". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ↑ French, Paul (30 April 2009). "Flags of British Weihaiwei". China Rhyming. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "No. 27352". The London Gazette. 6 September 1901. p. 5875.
  8. ↑ "Quingdao and Weihaiwei Masonic Halls" (PDF). Freemasons. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD" (PDF). The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 January 1923. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Henige, David (1970). Colonial Governors. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 187.
  11. ↑ "Scottish Mandarin". Project MUSE. 22 October 1924. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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