793.94/7021: Telegram

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

258. Chinese compliance with Japanese demands continues. According to various sources the withdrawal of Yu Hsueh-chung’s troops progresses, their ultimate destination being given as Tungkuan on the Shensi border; the withdrawal of practically all of General Chiang Kai-shek’s troops from the Peiping-Tientsin area has been accomplished and the Third gendarmerie regiment under the control of the National Government has left Peiping for Paoting.

General Shang Chen recently appointed Tientsin garrison commander became Acting Mayor of Tientsin June 9 while Liu Yu-shu became head of the Public Safety Bureau of Tientsin. It is reported that some of Shang Chen’s troops are moving from Peiping to points in the vicinity of Tientsin which are outside the railway zone. However, after the departure of Yu’s and Chiang’s troops from this area the strength of Shang Chen’s troops will be approximately that of a police force adequate for this area and to all intents and purposes the Peiping-Tientsin area can be regarded as demilitarized.

An American Army intelligence officer states that arrangements have been made by the Japanese for eight trains to transport Japanese replacement troops from Tangku to Tientsin on June 12 and to carry those troops relieved from Tientsin to Tangku on June 18. If this report is true it may indicate that the Japanese do not contemplate an appreciable increase of their troops in Hopei in the immediate future and that they are satisfied for the time being with the results obtained by them in Northern Hopei through their recent demands. However, some significance may be attached to the fact that the Japanese military according to the Japanese Legation will hold a conference on June 12 at Tientsin.

Repeated to Nanking.

Johnson