Office of the Historian

793.94/7539: Telegram

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

Peiping, December 18, 1935—4 p.m.
[Received December 19—12:30 a.m.]

233. Embassy’s 230, December 16, 4 p.m.85

[1.]
There have been no student demonstrations since December 16. However, students in a number of institutions still refuse to attend classes. The Japanese Assistant Military Attaché is reliably reported to have presented demands to the local authorities December 16 containing the following:
(1)
Mei Yi-chi, President of Tsing Hua, and Chiang Monlin, Chancellor of the National University of Peiping, having instigated the students should be punished and forced to leave Peiping;
(2)
The schools participating in the demonstrations [at] Peiping, which includes the majority of schools of middle-school grade and above, should be closed; and
(3)
The police should be punished for their inefficient handling of the situation.
2.
The Hopei-Chahar Political Council was inaugurated this morning with only Wang Keh-min, Chow Tso-ming and Cheng Keh absent. Ko Ting-yuan, who has been Sung Che-yuan’s representative at Nanking until recently, was appointed Secretary General of the Council. Liu Che, Wang I-tang, and Chin Teh-chun were made the standing committee.
3.
The situation at Tangku is obscure, but it would appear that the Japanese intend to extend the demilitarized zone to include that city so that they will control access of Tientsin from the sea. Observers in Tientsin anticipate that the zone will be extended possibly to Tientsin.

Repeated to Nanking; by mail to Tokyo.

Johnson
  1. Not printed.↩