Office of the Historian

893.01 Provisional/142: Telegram

The First Secretary of Embassy in China (Salisbury) to the Secretary of State

Peiping, September 21, 1938—4 p.m.
[Received September 21—1:30 p.m.]

577. Embassy’s 574, September 20, 4 p.m.11

1.
Announcement has now been made of inauguration tomorrow of the “United Council of the Republic of China” established by the Provisional and Reformed Governments and composed of six members, each regime being represented by three, with Wang Keh Min as Chairman and the temporary seat Peiping.
2.
The stated functions of the new council are “to supervise matters of common interest to the two governments and to pave the way for the establishment of a new central government of China”. The Council will meet once a month and “deliberate on matters relative to communications, traffic, postal affairs, finances, customs, coordinated taxes, salt affairs, education and other matters which shall require government control”. In addition to Wang the members named are: for the Provisional Government: Chu Shen (President of the Legislature Commission), Wang I-tang (Home Minister); for the Reformed Government: Liang Hung-chih (Chairman of the Executive Yuan), Wen Tsung Yao (President of the Legislature Yuan), and Chen Chun (Home Minister). Chen Lu (Foreign Minister of Reformed Government) is appointed Secretary General.
3.
According to announcement by Wang and Liang, a new “Hankow Government, after the overthrow of the Chiang Kai Shek hegemony, and possibly a southwestern government, as well as the Mongol autonomous Mengchiang Government, shall be incorporated into the structure in the future.”

Repeated to Chungking, Nanking, Hankow, Shanghai, by mail to Tokyo.

Salisbury
  1. Not printed.↩