Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1936, The Far East, Volume IV

793.94/7823: Telegram

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

Peiping, April 2, 1936—6 p.m.
[Received 7:35 p.m.]

163. Paragraph 4 of the Embassy’s 102, March 3, 11 a.m.³¹

1. Some tens of students among those arrested in late February and in March are still in custody. In addition to these, about 50 were arrested March 31 for participating in demonstration at Peiping National University in memory of the one student known to have died (of pneumonia) while in custody. The demonstrators numbered about 1,000 students from various universities.

2. The situation is quiet at present. Many students appear to be aware of the fact that if demonstrations get out of hand, the Japanese may use that as an excuse for interference in educational institutions on the ground that Communism is endangering them. It is reliably reported that the Hopei-Chahar Political Council is not taking steps to obtain control of the administration of the universities and is not interfering other than to arrest demonstrators and alleged agitators. The proposal for the establishment of an education committee under the Hopei-Chahar Political Council for control of education is not being pushed at present.

3. Of the three professors mentioned in the telegram referred to above, two have been released. The whereabouts of the other professor and his wife is not known. No students have been sent to Nanking for discipline.

4. It is possible that the student question may have serious implications for the future for the reasons that, (1), students are restless and dissatisfied and these factors are being made use of by communistic students, that (2), the Chinese authorities may make matters worse by inept handling, and that (3), the Japanese military, although they are merely watching the situation at present, may in the future make use of student troubles to aid their own interests in some way.

By mail to Tokyo.

Johnson

31. Not printed. In this telegram the Embassy stated: “Angered by recent student activities, Sung Che Yuan has taken severe measures during the past few days, arresting more than 20 students and 3 professors allegedly for Communist leanings. … The arrested professors are understood not to be Communists but to have incited students to participate in recent student demonstrations.”