News of War and the War Over News: The 1914 Battle of Qingdao as Reported in the English-Language Treaty-Port Press in China

The 1914 Battle of Qingdao, triggered by Japan’s attack on Germany’s Jiaozhou leased territory, marked the extension of the First World War to East Asia and sparked considerable debate in China’s English-language treaty-port press. Focusing on The North-China Daily News and The China Press, this article traces their coverage of the battle to examine how British and American expatriate newspapers competed discursively over war responsibility, battlefield facts, and China’s neutrality, and how they adjusted their narratives in the process. The study finds that The North-China Daily News emphasized the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and British interests in China, while The China Press focused on Japan’s expansionist threat to the “Open Door” policy. As the war progressed, The North-China Daily News found it increasingly difficult to evade the reality of Britain’s inability to restrain Japan, while the “Open Door” emphasized by The China Press became ever harder to sustain in the face of Japan’s relentless advance and continued US inaction. This article argues that the English-language treaty-port press actively participated in constructing the meaning of the war and imagining East Asia’s postwar order through competitive narratives, and this mode of engagement with international politics itself took shape gradually through ongoing reporting and contestation.