793.94/4904
Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson)41
I went to see Dr. Wellington Koo this evening at his request. He asked me what results had come from my conversations with various people. I told him that I had talked with a number of people and that it was my belief that both sides wished to avoid hostilities. He said that that was true so far as the Chinese were concerned. I said that I had had a conversation with Mr. Shigemitsu about this matter and he asked me what Mr. Shigemitsu’s ideas were. I told him that Mr. Shigemitsu had said that the Japanese had no desire to occupy territory, that they were prepared to withdraw their troops provided the Chinese withdrew theirs.
Dr. Koo stated that if that was the Japanese attitude he thought that it could be possible to arrange. He said that in this matter the 19th Route Army had two points to consider. One, the distance to which they should retire, which in their opinion should be a reasonable one, to be expressed in terms of meters rather than in miles. The second point was the question of assurance for they needed assurance that the Japanese would not occupy the ground evacuated by the Chinese. He said that the Chinese felt in this matter that they were making a defensive fight. The Japanese were the invaders and that it was hardly fair to the Chinese to ask them to yield in everything.
I said that I sympathized with the Chinese point of view but that my only interest in the matter was discovering whether there might be any way in which we could avoid further sacrifice of life and property in the densely populated and industrial area of Chapei. I asked Dr. Koo whether he had any objection to my conveying his suggestions to Mr. Shigemitsu and he said no.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister in his despatch of March 2, 1932; received March 26.↩