893.01 Manchuria/691
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hornbeck) of a Conversation With the First Secretary of the Chinese Legation (Kung)
Mr. Kung said that the Chinese Legation had just received from Nanking two important confidential telegrams.
In the first of these, the Foreign Office stated that there are substantial evidences that the Japanese are trying to provoke “incidents” in North China. (Note: This is in line with recent information which we have from other sources with regard to renewed provocative activity by the Japanese Legation guard in Peiping.) The Foreign Office had received telegraphic information from General Chang Hsueh-liang in which the general said that he was taking every possible precaution to combat this effort by preventing the occurrence of incidents.
In the second telegram, the Foreign Office stated that the Japanese Minister to China, Mr. Ariyoshi, had returned to China (but not yet visited Nanking) after a trip to Japan. In Japan, Mr. Ariyoshi had called on the majority of the influential leaders and had presented a memorandum giving his views of what should be done in regard to China. (Note: Mr. Kung said that the Nanking Government deduced that Ariyoshi’s recommendations had been on the side of moderation.) Unfortunately, Ariyoshi’s views had met with little success and Ariyoshi seemed greatly disappointed. The Nanking Government inferred that the military faction still retains a position of strong control in Japan.