According to Article 5 of the "Covenant of the League of Nations," "Unless otherwise expressly provided for in this Covenant or this Treaty, all resolutions adopted by the General Assembly or the Council shall require the consent of all the members of the League present at the meeting."
For many resolutions, the League of Nations General Assembly needs to follow this seemingly "respect and equality" rule - it must be unanimously agreed by all member states before it can take effect. On the contrary, if any member state vetoes, the resolution will be invalid.
In this way, the efficiency can be imagined.
Naturally, the resolution on Ethiopia was not passed, and once again nothing happened.
Next, the second important agenda is about the border war between the Ming and Britain.
After the announcement by the rotating chairman of the Council, British representative Lane stood up to speak.
Perhaps because he was proud of being a representative of an empire on which the sun never sets, he looked particularly confident, and then reiterated his request, "China's shameful attacks and ambitions to provoke conflicts must be curbed. The British Empire cannot tolerate such behavior... …I demand that this conflict be characterized as an act of aggression.”
Is this gone?
It's like two people fighting, and when they are finally asked to express their demands, they don't ask for compensation or an apology, and they just ask the other party to admit that he deliberately provoked the person first.
The young diplomat whispered with a little joy: "Senior, as expected, the British only talked about words and said nothing about practical measures."
Wei Jinyun smiled and did not reply.
He lightly knocked on the table, then slowly stood up, looked around at the representatives from various countries, and then said:
"If the two countries disagree on the disputed border, the two countries should negotiate to delimit it. However, the British and Indian sides openly built forts and fortifications on it and deliberately occupied it. What is the intention of this?"
"The same is true for Myanmar. It can be said that there are many misdeeds. It should be noted that no trace of the territory of the Chinese dynasty can be lost. Our dynasty has notified and warned in advance, and we must be benevolent and righteous."
"In the end, fighting was the last resort. The Emperor and all his subjects are very sorry. Your country's so-called aggression is really nonsense."
After briefly expressing his attitude, Wei Jinyun sat down calmly. In this case, the one who rushes and jumps first either has no confidence or lacks the strength.
The voting session later was a formality as always, with some voting against, some in favor, and some abstaining.
But what is unexpected is that the French representative actually clearly voted against?
The two British representatives present looked sideways at the three French representatives next to them - Are you trying to betray your teammates? Didn't you take a breath beforehand?
The arrogant French representative said, "Sorry, the French Republic respects facts. At least in this matter, the Chinese have basically followed international principles."
The scene was slightly chaotic for a while, but order was quickly restored.
In the final analysis, Britain, France, China, and Italy did not take the League of Nations Conference too seriously, so they all treated it with some contempt.
Of course, it was still very serious on the surface, which is why people often call the League of Nations a bitch institution.
Ever since, after a dry and nutritious speech, the argument between you and me was stopped.
The resolution proposed by the British delegation to characterize aggression ultimately came to nothing.
Subsequently, the resolution was shelved and the conference moved on to the next agenda item.
Regarding the Spanish Civil War, Britain and France signed a non-intervention agreement last month, and at the same time they tried to lead the members of the League of Nations to follow it.
"...In order to maintain peace and ensure the political independence of each country, we have no reason to interfere in the conflict in Spain. The British Empire hopes that all member states will also follow this principle."
This statement and appeal of several hundred words is still made by Ryan.
After the French delegates expressed their approval, objections quickly came.
The Italian representative spoke grandly, "However, in some cases, it is still necessary to provide necessary support to one of the parties. The harm of industrial war is very great. In order to reduce civilian casualties and collateral losses, Italy believes that Iberia should be restored as soon as possible." Peace in Asia, by any means."
The young official next to Wei Jinyun muttered in a low voice: "It's shameless and shameless."
"Let's talk to you next." Wei Jingyun's expression remained unchanged as he rummaged through a stack of manuscripts on the table in front of him.
Drafts to deal with possible situations have been prepared in advance, and the speaker only needs to follow these drafts and add a small amount of improvisation.
"Senior, isn't this not good?" The young diplomat named Jiang Mingchen hesitated.
"What's wrong? There should always be a first time, just be more confident."
"yes."
Although the great powers did not take the League of Nations seriously, this was an international occasion after all, and they were speaking on behalf of Ming Dynasty.
The anxious Jiang Chen took several deep breaths, tried to calm down, and quickly browsed the manuscript.
After a while, he stood up.
"We are firmly opposed to Italy's attitude." His eyes fell on the Italian representative commissioner. "What do you mean by 'unscrupulous means'? According to public information, for example, just nine days ago, Italy sent an interventionist Military aircraft bombed civilian areas in Madrid, causing more than 70 casualties."
"Because there were hostile personnel in the air attack, the pilot's actions were reasonable. Our intervention and efforts are to end the war as soon as possible, so as to reduce collateral losses." The Italian commissioner responded without taking it seriously.
"Your country has countless despicable acts. We are convinced that the purpose of your country's actions is malicious." Jiang Chen said coldly: "During the invasion of Egypt, your country blatantly violated the Geneva Convention by using poison gas. Now you can say it plausibly. Shameless."
The rotating chairman of the Council asked calmly: "Representative Daming, is China's attitude also that it should not interfere with Spain?"
Jiang Chen immediately replied: "No, we believe that appropriate help should be provided to allow Spanish officials to end the rebellion as soon as possible."
"This is diametrically opposed to what the UK and France are proposing."
"Why not the other way around?"
Ryan stood up and said calmly: "But this is interference in Spain's internal affairs, and such behavior is unreasonable."
"There are many similar acts of interference in your country." The expressionless Jiang Chen met his gaze and said tit for tat: "Whether it is reasonable or not depends on your country's words. The purpose of the League of Nations is to resolve international disputes and safeguard Peace, the brutality of the Spanish rebels must be punished."
This war of words lasted for a long time, and there was still no result in the subsequent voting session, because neither Italy nor the Ming Dynasty agreed not to interfere.
Although Jiang Chen said he was just and awe-inspiring, and Wei Jingyun was very satisfied with his performance, was it really that just?
Wei Jingyun knew very well that what the imperial court wanted was to take the opportunity to make some money, examine the form of warfare, test some domestic weapons, and by the way, increase Ming's actual influence in Europe.
Strip away the high-sounding rhetoric, and all that’s left is just profit.
(End of chapter)
