Office of the Historian

793.94/5757: Telegram

The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

Peiping, January 16, 1933—4 p.m.
[Received January 16—6:44 a.m.]

54. Liu Chung-chieh, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, called. He stated he was in Peiping to maintain liaison between Nanking and Chang Hsueh-liang and to maintain contact with the Legations as Nanking realized Ministers could not go to Nanking at this time. He stated that Suma of the Japanese Legation at Shanghai had called on Wu Tieh-cheng3 to say that Japanese Foreign Office and military [Page 91] were agreed that nothing should be done to aggravate situation and to express the hope that Chinese would refrain from moving forces in the direction of Shanhaikwan. Liu stated Nanking’s reply was that Japanese had taken initiative at Shanhaikwan thereby aggravating situation. Nanking expressed the hope that Japanese would withdraw from Shanhaikwan voluntarily.

Johnson
  1. Known also as Gen. Wu Te-chen; mayor of Greater Shanghai.↩