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Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs ( Hornbeck ) of a Conversation With the Chinese Minister ( C. C. Wu )
The Minister called by appointment.
After some conversation with regard to the situation in China, Mr. Hornbeck referred to the memorandum of proposal which Dr. Wu had left with the Secretary on January 2 (see Secretary’s memorandum of conversation of date January 2).
Mr. Hornbeck stated that it would hardly be possible to make a commitment that Americans in China be subject to Chinese laws and the jurisdiction of Chinese courts beginning on January 1, 1930; and he pointed to the concomitant statement in the Minister’s memorandum that in regard to jurisdiction over Americans in the five cities named “arrangements will be made after a definite short period from the date of this agreement”.
After some discussion of those points, Mr. Hornbeck read in outline to Dr. Wu from a draft of proposals upon which the Far Eastern Division of the Department has been working.50 He told Dr. Wu that he was in no way committing himself or the Department but that he would like to get Dr. Wu’s reactions on some of the points under consideration.
Dr. Wu said that he would think over the points which had been mentioned.