793.94/6863
The Counselor of Legation in China (Peck) to the Chargé in China (Gauss)11
Sir: I have the honor to state that in the course of a conversation with a prominent Chinese official, who exacted a promise that his name would not be mentioned, the informant made sundry observations regarding Japan’s political program in China, which may be summarized as follows:
The recent termination of the Communist bandit suppression campaign in Kiangsi left the National Government in a comparatively strong position, with prospects of bringing the entire country under its effective control brighter than they have been for a long time past. [Page 8] This has not pleased the Japanese Government, since it is the desire of that Government that China shall remain disunited and weak. Proofs of this desire on the part of the Japanese Government have been numerous. For example, a military attaché to the Japanese Legation very recently frankly told an official of the Chinese Government that munitions were being supplied to the Kwangsi militarists and to certain disaffected elements in the Province of Hopei (at Tientsin) from Japanese sources. The Japanese informant said that whether with, or without, the assistance of the Chinese Government, the time had come for Japan to carry out the “Tanaka Plan”,12 and that if General Chiang Kai-shek, or the National Government, opposed Japan, the latter would assist those factions in China insubordinate to the Government.
The Chinese official with whom I was conversing remarked that it was perfectly evident that Japan wishes to achieve domination over China, possibly by dividing the country into three portions, i. e. creating independent states to the north and to the south of the Yangtze Valley, or by permitting “Manchukuo” to expand into North China. The domination of China, the informant pointed out, was but a step toward the attainment of Japan’s intention to obtain complete control of the trade of the Orient and, finally, the mastery of the Pacific Ocean.
The informant remarked that the present course of events threatened to play into the hands of Japan. He said that the Communist forces ejected from Kiangsi were seeking to entrench themselves in the Province of Szechuan and if they succeeded in taking root there they might create a Communist state in West China which would be a threat to the peace and order of British possessions in India and might readily effect junction with Russian Soviet territory. In the face of this danger, he added, Japan would probably offer to send a military force to suppress the incipient state and this offer might be accepted, at least by Great Britain. The sending of such a military expedition would be utilized by Japan as an occasion for consolidating itself militarily in China. The informant said that the Japanese openly state that if Japan became involved in war with the Soviet Union, Great Britain would assist Japan, and if with the United States, Great Britain would remain neutral.
I asked the informant whether he could give me any information regarding a society said to be in existence called the “New China Economic Reconstruction Society”, composed of Chinese who believe in economic cooperation with Japan. The informant said that he could not confirm the exact name in Chinese of the organization in question, but he knew of its existence. He said the tendency of its members was [Page 9] to accept at face value the statements of the Japanese that if China would collaborate with Japan in the economic development of China, then Japan and China would constitute a bloc which would be able to expel the white races from eastern areas.
Respectfully yours,