762.94/110: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in China (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:05 p.m.]
521. 1. According to press despatch from Loyang, Chiang Kai Shek declared yesterday in a speech to the Loyang branch Military Academy that in his opinion the new Japanese-German agreement does not affect the general situation in the Far East. He is said to have expressed the view that the agreement contains no secret clauses, and that there still remained remnants of the Communist armies in China which would be exterminated at all costs, and that this is a domestic problem which “brooks no foreign interference”. The Generalissimo is also reported to have said that the capture of Pailingmiao has not only roused the spirit of the people and the army but has strengthened the conviction of the people that if they unite and act together there should be no loss of national territory. He described the capture of Pailingmiao as the turning point of national independence.
2. The Chinese press generally has been warm in its praise of Fu Tso Yi and the defenders of Suiyuan and the view is expressed that China has now come to the point where it may be expected that further foreign aggression will be opposed by a united military front. The Embassy believes that it is too early to evaluate the Pailingmiao victory, but that victory has at least demonstrated that the Chinese are now more definitely unified and have a new determination and that the malcontents who have been aided and abetted by intriguers within and without the country may expect a more difficult time henceforth.
3. It seems probable that Chinese officialdom will be much more concerned over the Japanese-Italian agreement regarding Abyssinia and “Manchukuo” (if concluded) than over the Japanese-German agreement. Any agreement which would actually or by implication sanction Japanese action in Manchuria in 1931 and since that time is certain not to be well received. Such an agreement strikes directly at sovereign rights which China does not admit have been surrendered, whereas the Japanese-German agreement is an instrument which might or might not have any direct bearing on China. In any event the popular view is that the latter is directed solely against Russia. The Hua Pei Jih Pao in an editorial today states that Germany, Italy and Japan have many things in common and that “they have trampled under foot international agreements and have been pursuing a very aggressive policy in foreign affairs” and on the point of recognition it states that the “de facto or de jure recognition of the illegal gains [Page 402] of the two countries” is a serious matter and most deplorable from the standpoint of international morality and righteousness. Concluding, the editorial states: “For her (Italy) to accord moral support to a group of rebels at this juncture betrays not only a wanton disregard of Chinese sovereignty but also means that she sets no store by Chinese friendship”.
By mail to Tokyo.