Tsingtao had German and British consular officers as well as other international delegations. Reports that the merchantman carried British diplomatic papers remain unproven. The National Archives retains an index to the relevant Foreign Office files, but the underlying folders have not survived there. The discussion treats a routine diplomatic communique carried aboard a British-flagged merchantman as the most likely explanation. A back channel with Chinese Nationalist forces remains possible but unsupported, and the missing records set a firm limit on what can responsibly be claimed.
Notable Point · 31:25-33:33
Uncertain cargo and missing diplomatic records
Missing Foreign Office records prevent certainty about the merchantman's reported diplomatic papers, although a routine communique is treated as more likely than a British back channel.