793.94/12956
The Consul General at Hong Kong (Southard) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 3.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that a couple of days ago, during one of the calls he makes occasionally on me, the Japanese Consul General in Hong Kong asked the definite question of what I thought would be the effect on American interests and public opinion of the severing by Japanese forces of communication between Hong Kong and Canton. As he arrived at the posing of this question by even more than his usual circumlocution I suspect that it may have been an inspired one.
My reply was, of course, noncommittal. I then casually asked if he thought a campaign to that end was about to begin. He said that he didn’t know definitely about that but was sure that “something must be done” soon to interrupt the flow of war supplies from Hong Kong into Kwangtung. Mr. Nakamura, who was Japanese Consul General at Canton until the present hostilities began, then went on to say that the Kwangtung authorities were becoming definitely “fed-up with Chiang Kai-shek” and were, he thought, progressively weakening in their support of the so-called National Government. Kwangtung, he said, had in the beginning sent many troops to fight under Chiang Kai-shek’s command but these troops had persistently been placed in the front firing line and killed to such an extent that no more considerable bodies of them would be sent from Kwangtung Province. He cited the thousands of Kwangtung soldiers betrayed by Chiang Kai-shek’s troops at Nanking. According to information which he claimed to have, Kwangtung troops would now be kept at home and, [Page 133] furthermore, a goodly proportion of the war materials passing through Hong Kong for the Chinese National Government would be kept in Canton for the use of Kwangtung troops. In brief, my Japanese colleague expressed the firm opinion that both Canton and Yunnanfu (Kunming) were becoming less and less inclined to support Hankow and were, of course, beginning to see more and more the light of reason and their own best interests.
Undoubtedly my Japanese colleague’s thoughts have been fathered by his wishes. On the other hand expression of many similar thoughts is heard in Hong Kong from sources which are neither Japanese nor biassed by any national or selfish motives, and that is why my Japanese colleague’s conversation has seemed to be of more than average interest. We have undertaken no special investigation to endeavor to verify the alleged state of affairs in Kwangtung and Yunnan, as such would not seem to be within the jurisdiction of this office, but copies of this despatch are being referred to the appropriate offices in China proper.
As to the intention of the Japanese soon to make an effort to cut communication between Hong Kong and Canton the only information of direct relation, which is available here, is that from usually reliable sources to the effect that there have recently been a noticeably greater number of Japanese naval units in the waters near Hong Kong. There is no reasonable confirmation that troop transports have increased in number.
Very respectfully,