108 years ago today, on March 14, 1917 (February 21, 1917 in the lunar calendar), China broke off diplomatic relations with Germany and participated in the First World War. On March 14, 1917, the Beijing government announced that it would officially sever diplomatic relations with Germany from now on, and at the same time announced the withdrawal of the German Concessions in Tianjin and Hankou and the suspension of payments of reparations and arrears to Germany. The decision was made through a vote by the House and Senate. The research department in Congress follows Duan Qirui and advocates absolute "participation." On March 7, Liang Qichao wrote to Duan Qirui that "if we cut off Germany one day earlier, the Germans and domestic troublemakers will have less room for mobility." Although most of the factions in the discussion department were opposed to joining the war, the extent of their opposition to the Duan cabinet's policy towards Germany varied. Bingchen Club and Taoyuan Department not only oppose declaring war on Germany, but also oppose breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany. Yiyou Society and Political Science Society advocate that diplomatic relations with Germany can be broken off. Yiyou Society and Political Science Society voted in favor. On March 10 and 11, the House and Senate respectively passed the case of breaking off diplomatic relations with Germany. Hubei Governor Wang Zhanyuan received instructions from Beijing on March 15 and immediately sent military police into the German Concession to take over police power in the Concession. Zhou Jiyun, director of the Hankou Police Department, was appointed director of the German Concession Special Zone Administration. On March 16, Tianjin local authorities took over the Tianjin German Concession and changed it to Special District 1. Then, the issue of participation in the war became the focus of the struggle between the government and the parliament. On the 14th, the Shanghai Business Federation sent a telegram opposing the declaration of war against Germany, and the Guangzhou and Wuhan Chambers of Commerce continued to respond. When Duan Qirui invited Liang Qichao to the Presidential Palace to force Li Yuanhong to agree to participate in the war, Li refuted them with public opinion. What made Duan Qirui feel troublesome was that not only Sun Yat-sen, Kuomintang parliamentarians and other celebrities raised strong public opinion against joining the war, but also the governors of Beiyang provinces did not understand Duan Qirui's intention to join the war and took a negative attitude towards this issue. Therefore, although Japan repeatedly forced China to quickly join the Allies and declare war on Germany, Duan Qirui was unable to quickly realize his intention to join the war.