Office of the Historian

793.94/8798: Telegram

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

Peiping, July 16, 1937—7 p.m.
[Received July 16—1 p.m.]

248. Embassy’s 239, July 15, 4 p.m.26

1.
It is learned from a foreign source and from a local Chinese official that the following eight demands have been presented by the Japanese to the Chinese negotiators at Tientsin for acceptance by July 18: (1) Tientsin to be under the East Hopei régime; (2) Peiping, Fengtai and Wanpinghsien (district) to be part of the demilitarized zone; (3) Tangku to be made into a naval base for the East Hopei régime; (4) the Peiping railway from Peiping to Mukden to be administered by the Japanese; (5) the 29th Army to be removed to Paoting-Shihchla-chuang; (6) note issue of East Hopei and Manchukuo to be permitted free circulation in “North China”; (7) Japanese to be granted special concessions (powers recombined) in Tientsin; (8) every means must be taken to check Communist propaganda in “North China”.
2.
The Embassy is not convinced that the Japanese demands are as stated but believes that it is probably true that considerable Japanese pressure is now being exerted on the Chinese negotiators who have gathered at Tientsin (Chin Teh Chun and Liu Ju Ming being the only important 29th Army officials who are absent). The negotiations would appear to be directed, as far as the Japanese are concerned, toward the achieving in part at least of the program they have harbored so long for increasing the degree of autonomy in North China in favor of Japanese projects in this area. Whether the Chinese negotiators will sign is generally believed by observers to depend [Page 189] largely on the amount of support given by the National Government to the 29th Army group at this juncture. An officer from the Military Attaché’s office reported this morning from Hsuchow (Anhwei) that no troop movements northward are to be observed on the Tientsin–Pukow Railway. An observer sent to Paoting has not yet reported. However, Japanese planes make daily reconnaissance flights over the Marco Polo Bridge area and Paoting. It is believed probable that no National Government planes are to be found in Paoting although some former Chang Hsueh Liang or Kuominchun troops may have arrived.
3.
Repeated Tokyo, Nanking and Shanghai.
Johnson
  1. Not printed.↩