1920년 조지 엘 쇼(George L. Shaw) 사건과 영국의 대응

Abstract

This article traces the process by which the British pushed for Shaw’s release. Specifically, it reveals how British diplomats, British nationals, the British media pushed for Shaw’s release. By emphasizing that Shaw was Irish, the Japanese Government-General of Korea wished to deflect British authorities and British protests over his arrest and prosecution. However, British diplomats continued to demand Shaw’s release, citing Japan’s illegal arrest of Shaw, who was subject to extraterritorial jurisdiction in China. The British media in East Asia and the British Chamber of Commerce in China responded to Shaw’s case in terms of his Britishness rather than the fact that he was Irish. The British media and members of the British Chamber of Commerce needed someone to highlight the fact that British citizens were being treated unfairly by Japanese authorities in China, and Shaw’s arrest and prosecution was the event that would do just that. By emphasizing Shaw’s case, they ultimately hoped to maintain the British influence in East Asia that they had built up since the mid-19th century, and that the British government would use Shaw’s case as a mirror to do its best to maintain its influence in East Asia.