<Li> return to China of the territory and rights of Shandong, which Japan had taken from Germany during World War I . </Li> <P> The Western Allies dominated the meeting at Versailles, and paid little heed to Chinese demands . Britain and France were primarily interested in punishing Germany . Although the United States promoted Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the ideals of self - determination, they were unable to advance these ideals in the face of stubborn resistance by David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and the U.S. Congress . American advocacy of self - determination at the League of Nations was attractive to Chinese intellectuals, but their failure to follow through was seen as a betrayal . Chinese diplomatic failure at the Paris Peace Conference touched off the May Fourth Movement, and became known as the "Shandong Problem". </P> <P> On the morning of 4 May 1919, student representatives from thirteen different local universities met in Beijing and drafted five resolutions: </P> <Ol> <Li> to oppose the granting of Shandong to the Japanese under former German concessions . </Li> <Li> to draw awareness of China's precarious position to the masses in China . </Li> <Li> to recommend a large - scale gathering in Beijing . </Li> <Li> to promote the creation of a Beijing student union . </Li> <Li> to hold a demonstration that afternoon in protest to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . </Li> </Ol>

Who started the protest that led to the may fourth movement