On 27 January 1919, the peace conference turned towards Asia. Makino Nobuaki of the Japanese delegation tried to lump in Shandong with the Marshall Islands, Carolina islands and the Mariana Islands, which the Allies had already agreed would go to Japan. However, it was decided to sever Shandong from the Pacific islands. The next day, Lou disappeared and Koo took charge of the Chinese delegation. At the Quai d'Orsay, Makino gave a speech making Japan's case for the Shandong that made a poor impression owing to his haltering delivery with Wilson commenting afterwards that it had been "painful" to listen to Makino's speech. On the morning of 29 January 1919, Koo gave a rebuttal speech in English that MacMillan described as "...a dazzling speech replete with learning references to international law and Latin tugs". Koo argued that under international law that treaties signed under threats of violence were invalid, and as such the Sino-Japanese treaty of 25 May 1915 was invalid as China had signed under duress as Japan was threatening war if its terms were not met. He further stated that the original Sino-German treaty of 1897 was also invalid as Germany was threatening war unless the Reich was granted special rights in the Shandong. Koo stated that all the people of China were grateful to the Japanese for ending the harsh German rule over the Shandong in 1914, but noted: "But grateful as they are, the Chinese delegation felt that they would be false in their duty to China and to the world if they did not object to paying their debts of gratitude by selling the birthright of their countrymen and thereby sowing the seeds of discord in the future". Koo noted that under Wilson's 14 Points, the basis of the peace was to be national self-determination, which led him to argue that Japan had no right to the Shandong as its people were overwhelmingly Han and wanted to be part of China. Koo stated that the Shandong "was the cradle of Chinese civilization, the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius and a Holy Land for the Chinese". The French Premier Georges Clemenceau praised Koo for his eloquent speech. The American secretary of state, Robert Lansing, wrote that Koo had crushed the Japanese with his speech. The Canadian prime minister, Sir Robert Borden, called Koo's speech "very able". Clemenceau described Koo as "an young Chinese cat, Parisian of