f the parliament
came, however, from the middle class and were opposed to any reaction of
this sort. One of their leaders was murdered, and the blame was thrown
upon Yuean Shih-k'ai; there then came, in the middle of 1912, a new
revolution, in which the radicals made themselves independent and tried
to gain control of South China. But Yuean Shih-k'ai commanded better
troops and won the day. At the end of October 1912 he was elected,
against the opposition, as president of China, and the new state was
recognized by foreign countries.

China's internal difficulties reacted on the border states, in which the
European powers were keenly interested. The powers considered that the
time had come to begin the definitive partition of China. Thus there
were long negotiations and also hostilities between China and Tibet,
which was supported by Great Britain. The British demanded the complete
separation of Tibet from China, but the Chinese rejected this (1912);
the rejection was supported by a boycott of British goods. In the end
the Tibet question was left undecided. Tibet remained until recent years
a Chinese dependency with a good deal of internal freedom. The Second
World War and the Chinese retreat into the interior brought many Chinese
settlers into Eastern Tibet which was then separated from Tibet proper
and made a Chinese province (Hsi-k'ang) in which the native Khamba will
soon be a minority. The communist regime soon after its establishment
conquered Tibet (1950) and has tried to change the character of its
society and its system of government which lead to the unsuccessful
attempt of the Tibetans to throw off Chinese rule (1959) and the flight
of the Dalai Lama to India. The construction of highways, air and
missile bases and military occupation have thus tied Tibet closer to
China than ever since early Manchu times.

In Outer Mongolia Russian interests predominated. In 1911 there were
diplomatic incidents in connection with the Mongolian question. At the
end of 1911 the Hutuktu of Urga declared himself independent, and the
Chinese were expelled from the country. A secret treaty was concluded in
1912 with Russia, under which Russia recognized the independence of
Outer Mongolia, but was accorded an important part as adviser and helper
in the development of the country. In 1913 a Russo-Chinese treaty was
concluded, under which the autonomy of Outer Mongolia was recognized,
but Mongolia became a part of the Chinese realm.