793.94/3357: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 30—8:45 a.m.]
1153. (1) The information today indicates that Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang is withdrawing from Chinchow the bulk of his troops but leaving a small guard and the civil administration of Liaoning Province.
(2) In the informal negotiations held here between Yano, the Japanese Legation Counselor, and Marshal Chang, the former has contended that Chinchow would eventually be taken by the Japanese military and that the Tokyo Foreign Office would gain prestige and be better able to shape events to the advantage of China if the Chinese avoid a clash by withdrawing voluntarily. It has been suggested also that some of Chang’s followers might regain official posts at Mukden. Chang is believed to have been led to his present decision by these inducements, along with the bitter hostility toward him at Nanking and the lack of support from that quarter.
Foregoing repeated to Tokyo.