Text | Xiaofeng talks about history
Edit | Xiaofeng talks about history
The national fortune is coming, and no one can stop it!
Many years ago, during the chaotic period of warlordism, the Beiyang government became the "ruler" of the time. "But compared with the strength of the mainland now, the Beiyang government a hundred years ago can be regarded as poor and weak.
Unexpectedly, the Beiyang warlords, who signed countless humiliating treaties many years later, "gried" a big gift to New China.
The Svalbard Treaty, signed in the last century, successfully broke the breakthrough in Arctic scientific research for the mainland. This is called "the strongest leak in history," and now it seems that we are really "winning!"
1. The "Unexpected Joy" of a Hundred Years Ago
Although the continent's achievements in the Arctic are now increasing, what few people know is that in the past few decades, we have not been "qualified" to set foot on that frozen land.
It was not until 1925 that the mainland successfully signed the Treaty of Svalbard, and we were able to enjoy the right of freedom of movement and residence in Svalbard, and to carry out all kinds of normal business activities here.
This privilege eventually gave the continent a foothold in the Arctic, but it was all thanks to the fact that the Chinese explorer Gao Dengyi stumbled upon a treaty signed more than 70 years ago.
Realizing the importance of this, the other party took the initiative to inform the state of everything.
In the face of the mainland's involvement, although the United States, Norway and other countries expressed opposition to this, we actively fought through diplomatic channels, and on the basis of the contract, the mainland finally obtained the formal approval of the Norwegian government in September 2001 and was able to officially exploit it.
In 2004, the Yellow River Station was officially inaugurated in Ny-Ålsund, Svalbard, and the station is considered an important breakthrough in China's Arctic scientific research.
It is important to know that New Ålsund is located in the Arctic typical natural laboratory, and the scientific research value is extremely high, so we can also learn from the Arctic scientific research experience of other countries, and we can also carry out international cooperation and exchanges.
Relying on this unique advantage, the Yellow River Station was able to quickly carry out various scientific research work, laying the foundation for us to gain a firm foothold in the polar region.
In other words, how was the treaty signed a hundred years ago, and why did the forces of all parties care so much about the ice field in the barren land?
2. Arctic treasures
The Spitsbergen archipelago, located in the northernmost part of the planet, has been a place of mystery since ancient times. The natural environment here is extremely harsh, the temperature can be as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius in winter, the wind speed can reach more than 70 meters per second, and it will be covered with ice and snow for half the year.
But it is such a seemingly desolate place, but it has amazing wealth waiting to be discovered.
As for the excavation of the "treasure", it was first discovered by a Dutch explorer named Barents in 1596 during a chance voyage.
Despite the extremely difficult conditions, he persevered in completing the expedition and reported his findings back home. Unfortunately, a storm on his way back sank the ship, and the brave adventurer lost his life.
The news of his death caused the mysterious island to fall silent once again, and it wasn't until more than a hundred years later that another explorer set foot on the unknown land again.
This man was none other than Hudson, an oceanographer from England who made a detailed geographical survey of the Spitsbergen Islands and found a rare mineral known as "black gold".
This mineral is a high-quality coal with huge reserves and easy to mine. This momentous discovery has attracted global attention, and many countries have begun to pay attention to this place and sent teams to find more precious resources.
But as more people poured into Spitsbergen, the region's topography and ecosystem were severely damaged.
In order to protect this valuable ecological environment and cultural heritage, several countries signed the Spitsbergen Treaty, which affirmed Norway's full sovereignty over the region and allowed the inhabitants of other signatory countries to carry out scientific research and other legal activities within the prescribed limits.
Under the agreement, people from signatory countries, including China, can enter the islands to explore and conduct research to obtain important information on climate change, biodiversity and more.
It also contains an important provision that, despite the competition among States, the exploitation of natural resources should be mutually respectful, fair and equitable in order to ensure that all benefit from them.
It is noteworthy that this treaty does not change Norway's ownership and management of its territory. This means that, despite the abundance of oil and gas and other minerals, any business that wants to exploit it commercially will need to obtain permission and support from the Norwegian government.
This is why many people believe that the true value of Spitsbergen lies not in its material resources, but in the meaning and symbolism it represents.
As for the reason why we were able to successfully squeeze into this circle, it was just like what we said that it was "thanks to" a treaty signed by the Beiyang government back then......
3. A treaty that is humiliating but brings surprises a hundred years later
Although I don't want to admit it, I have to face the past that the modern history of the mainland is indeed a time full of humiliation, and the most painful thing is the dark years of the century-long semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.
Despite all the hardships, the Chinese nation has never given up its efforts to redeem itself. In the context of such a difficult and difficult era, a seemingly trivial thing brought a turning point for the later exploitation of the polar regions by New China, and that was the "Svalbard Treaty" signed between the Beiyang government and France many years ago.
Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, the mainland has been mired in the quagmire of constant invasion and dispute by foreign enemies. In particular, after the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, it was forced to sign the "Treaty of Shimonoseki," which humiliated the country, and recognized Japan's ownership of Taiwan and its affiliated islands, and at the same time had to pay huge indemnities.
This has not only caused us to lose a large amount of territorial sovereignty, but also greatly weakened its own strength. Since then, a series of unequal treaties have followed, which have aggravated the suffering of the nation and social contradictions.
It is precisely because of the weakness of the country that under the distribution of rights and interests of the victorious countries in the later period, the country headed by France does not want to pay too much for our common use.
Under these circumstances, the Western powers signed a treaty with us in 1725 under the pretext of compensation.
But as we said, no one cared about the land or the contract at the beginning. even let us participate in the beginning, that is, to add sand to the eyes of "Lao Mei". ”
And many years later, we took advantage of the signing of the Svalbard Treaty at that time, and successfully had the right to exploit and study the islands.
At this time, the "desert island" that no one cared about has also become an important resource base.
The treaty of a hundred years ago has brought today's surprises, and this is really luck, and no one can stop it.
In fact, after legally joining the research here, the local area brought to the mainland more than just mining minerals.
More importantly, it gave us the right to enter and leave Svalbard freely, which was undoubtedly of great strategic importance to China in its predicament at that time.
From a geographical point of view, Svalbard is located at the northeastern tip of the Eurasian continent, not far from the major cities of Europe. By taking full advantage of this advantageous position, we can quickly and easily ship goods to international markets to meet their own business needs.
More importantly, it is also conducive to enhancing the level of exchanges and interactions between China and the outside world and further promoting the development of its own reform and opening up process.
The author thinks
History is always full of contingencies, and it is precisely because of this contingency that every choice becomes full of variables.
Now, with the continuous strengthening of the mainland's strength, the humiliating treaty that was forced to be signed at the beginning is gone.
Whether it's the exploration of the Arctic or everything is thriving in all aspects.