793.94/7905
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 18.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a copy of a memorandum54 of a conversation which I had on April 14, 1936, with Dr. S. G. Cheng, who was until recently the Special Delegate of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for Hopei Province, with regard to Sino-Japanese relations, during which he stated that the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs, General Chang Ch’un, regarded Peiping as inevitably lost to China, that he (Dr. Cheng) did not believe that the Japanese would occupy Peiping, although they would probably achieve a greater interest in matters in North China, that he believed that the Japanese were anxious for a more active cooperation, that the National [Page 117] Government had an incorrect view of the situation in North China, and that General Chang Ch’un was not prepared to assist General Sung Che-yuan with either money or munitions.
Dr. Cheng has recently been transferred from Hopei to the Provinces of Sikang and Szechwan as Special Delegate, his post in Hopei being given to Mr. Lo Chia-heng who continues to hold the post of Special Delegate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Chahar Province. It is believed that the National Government has given the post to Mr. Lo because he speaks Japanese, which Dr. Cheng does not.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩