793.94/7448: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 28—10:05 a.m.]
114. 1. The Embassy has just been informed confidentially by an authoritative source in the Foreign Office that the Chinese Ambassador at Washington will probably be instructed to call on the Secretary in connection with the North China situation.
2. The information stated that the temporary occupation of the Fengtai and the Peiping-Changyimen Railway stations by Japanese troops had been in the nature of a gesture on the part of the Japanese military, possibly by way of answering the Chinese Government for the latter’s order for the arrest of Yin Ju-keng and the creation of the new post of Peiping officer of the Executive Yuan with Ho Ying-chin as its head, steps constituting an announcement by the Chinese Government that it repudiated the Japanese thesis that some kind of semi-independent administration must be set up in the North. He said that although Sung Che-yuan was refusing to accept the new appointment as Pacification Commissioner for Hopei and Chahar made November 26 and Shang Chen had tendered his resignation as Hopei Provisional [Provincial?] Chairman, the Foreign Office did not believe that the withdrawal of Japanese troops from the railway stations meant that any demands had been made and accepted in the North or that Sung had acceded to Japanese pressure that he head the “autonomy” movement. The Chinese Government, the informant stated, was continuing to urge Sung to take up the new appointment. He added that it was not known whether Ho would proceed to Peiping and pointed out that the post was a very unhappy one particularly since Ho was not liked by the Japanese.
3. He states that the status of the discussions between the Japanese and Chinese Governments had not changed since the Ariyoshi-Chiang conference of November 20; Chang Chun was now in Shanghai as Chiang’s personal representative having further conversations with the Japanese Ambassador who would probably return soon to Nanking but no clear-cut results could yet be envisaged. The informant discounted rumors that Hirota would come to Nanking. Repeated to Peiping and Tokyo.