Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Notes of Meeting Between General Marshall and General C. P. Lee at No. 5 Ning Hai Road, Nanking, October 12, 1946, 9:40 a.m.
| Also present: | Capt. Soong |
General Li stated that the newspapers this morning reported the capture of Kalgan by the Government troops. General Marshall said that he has not yet received any official confirmation on it.
[Page 361]Then, General Li said that he found Mister Mo Te-hui to be highly rated by both Communist and Kuomintang Parties and that he is still in Nanking. General Marshall stated that he had spoken to Doctor Stuart about the group prepared by General Li and it seemed to Doctor Stuart that Madame Wu I-fang is more influential than Mister Mo. General Marshall then asked how such a group would be brought into existence. General Li replied that it should be through the United States invitation. He then suggested a few more persons who, he thought, could participate in such a group. The persons are: Mister Wu Ting Chang, Secretary General to the Generalissimo; Doctor Wang Shih Chieh, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mister Chu Chia Hua, Minister of Education. He also stated that Mister Wu Ting Chang is the leader of one faction in the Kuomintang which opposes the C. C. clique. General Marshall believed that Dr. Wang Shih Chieh would not be an appropriate choice for this group because he is too liberal to satisfy the other members in the Government.
General Marshall then asked General Li how he felt about such a group in view of the happenings of the last three days. To this, General Li replied that he felt it is still worth commencing because now that the Communist Party is suffering defeat, there would be a new chance for settlement. However, General Marshall wondered whether this is the right moment to initiate such a group, in view of the fact that Kalgan is now captured and the Communists have declared a National split. And yet, if we should wait for further development, it might be too late. General Marshall then said that he would like to speak to Doctor Stuart again who has doubts about such a group being initiated by Americans. General Li agreed that it probably would be the best to wait for a few days. He also asked General Marshall whether it would be wise for him to discuss this proposal with the Communists. General Marshall replied that it would be all right provided that he would not reveal to the Communists that he has already discussed the matter with General Marshall.