811.91293/170

The Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs ( C. T. Wang ) to the American Minister in China ( MacMurray )69

719

Sir: With a view to effectively foster the friendly feelings now happily subsisting between China and other Powers, the National Government is determined to take appropriate action against those newspapers and correspondents in China, whose libelous or seditious publications tend to either engender distrust in the mind of the Chinese people of their Government and leaders or unjustly estrange foreign public opinion from China. It is hardly necessary for me to point out to you the grave responsibility any foreign correspondent has towards the newspaper to which he contributes, the public upon which his messages exert a certain amount of influence, and the people and government about which he writes. The responsibility of Hallett Abend, Peiping correspondent of The New York Times, is graver than usual in view of the far-reaching effect of The New York Times upon American public opinion and of the traditional friendly and sympathetic feelings subsisting between our two peoples. You will agree with me that a man in his position should be extremely careful and discreet when writing despatches or expressing opinions. To my great surprise and disappointment, however, he has, under the false impression that freedom means license, repeatedly betrayed the trust his employer and the American public have put in him and reciprocated the hospitality extended to him by the country where he resides [Page 764] by maliciously fabricating news concerning it, its Government and officials. On December 9, 1928, The New York Times published a special correspondence from Abend part of which reads:

“Soong Mei-ling, General Chiang’s wife, is blamed for the General’s present hunger for power, and so universal is the habit of placing the blame for the present trend of events at her door that even in the bazaars in Peking it is a commonplace when grievances are discussed, to end the discussion with what has almost become a proverb: ‘If Mei-ling were at the bottom of the Yangtse, then China would suffer less.’

“So evident has it become that Chiang Kai-shih and his ambitious wife are aiming at the attainment of supreme power that all of their adherents are now cynically referred to by the Chinese as ‘the royal family,’ and the one-time hero of the revolution erstwhile ‘George Washington of China,’ is even more unpopular than the despots he ousted from power.

“But there is one member of ‘the royal family’ who is openly and bitterly opposed to General Chiang’s personal ambitions, and that one person is his able and powerful brother-in-law, T. V. Soong, the Finance Minister. Mr. Soong will tell any one who has his confidence that General Chiang’s course, in his opinion, can lead to nothing but more fighting. He declares that the many men who helped to bring the Nationalist movement to success are all entitled to a real share in the government, and in the task of reconstruction in China. They all resent a one-man assumption of power, and will all work against the success of centralization of power in one man’s hands.”

The above quotation is taken from but one of his many despatches of falsehood sent during the last eight months. I shall not enumerate them here and believe it sufficient to call your attention to his last act of criminal fabrication that has come to my knowledge.

On April 25, 1929, The New York Times published his wireless despatch part of which reads:

“General Fang Chen-wu’s overtures to Marshal Feng coincide with Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang’s declaration that, though the Nationalist principles afford China’s only hope, the nation has been betrayed by the present Nanking leaders, who are termed ‘rotten to the core.’ A clean sweep is the only remedy for such intolerable conditions, Chang declares.”

General Chang Hsueh-liang has categorically denied the above statement. The following is a translation of his telegram.

“Shenyang (Mukden), June 15th.

“Dr. C. T. Wang, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Your telegram of the 11th instant was duly received. I have complete confidence in the Central Government and have never criticized nor expressed any dissatisfaction with the doings of the Government. I think there is no need of further mentioning of this since both President Chiang and you know me very well.

“I do not know the foreign correspondent Hallett Abend. It is quite apparent that he circulated all those rumours to throw dust into [Page 765] the eyes of the public in the hope of enabling him to fish in the troubled waters.

“(Signed) Chang Hsueh-liang.”

In view of Abend’s repeated libelous and seditious writings, I am constrained to request you to have him deported from China. International law recognizes the sovereign right of every nation to exclude and expel undesirable aliens; and, in the present case, my Government has been left with no alternative except resorting to this right of expulsion. At present when the question of abolition of extraterritoriality has not yet been finally settled between our two countries, I am seeking your cooperation on behalf of my Government in this matter. I am confident that you will see your way clear to comply with my request in order that it cannot be said certain American nationals have been sheltered by the abuse of extraterritoriality, and also that the mutual respect our two peoples have for each other, built up through long years of persevering effort on the part of both governments to maintain the traditional policy of friendship, will not be endangered by the malicious actions of a correspondent.

I avail myself [etc.]

Chengting T. Wang
  1. Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister in China in his despatch No. 2188, July 6; received August 2, 1929.