893.01 Manchuria/1508
The Consul at Harbin (Merrell) to the Ambassador in China (Johnson)87
Sir: I have the honor to enclose translations of two official press releases88 which appeared in the February 12 issue of the Harbin Times* containing detailed information regarding a communist roundup in Manchuria in April 1937 and the investigations which followed. The arrests were reported at the time by the Consulate General† but little information was then available as to the reasons for them, although it was generally supposed that they were aimed at communist organizations. The press ban has been removed, and details have been given to the public.
Before discussing the articles, it should first be stated that this office is of the opinion that they are substantially true, despite the notorious inaccuracy of the Harbin press and the ambiguity of official [Page 444] pronouncements in “Manchukuo”. There has never been any doubt that the well-equipped bandits received material assistance from Russia, and although the present release may not contain the whole truth, its general accuracy can hardly be questioned. Another point deemed worthy of note is that in no place is there any indication that the various communist organs discovered in Manchuria were in any way connected with Chinese Communists now operating in northwest China; it is alleged throughout that the communists of Manchuria received their orders directly from the Comintern, and scrupulous care is taken to avoid mention of the Soviet Government.
It is stated that 482 persons, mostly of the Chinese race, were arrested in all; of these, 85 received death sentences, 64 were sentenced to hard labor for various periods, 31 have not yet been sentenced, 26 will not receive sentences, 135 are still under investigation, and the remainder have been set free.
The release to the press states that communist activity in Manchuria was started well before the Mukden Incident of September 18, 1931, with headquarters in Mukden, and that after the occupation of that city by the Japanese the agents were forced to transfer their main activities to Harbin and North Manchuria. It is alleged that the bandit depredations which were so serious in the years following 1932 were instigated by the Comintern and carried out by such local organizations as the “Manchurian Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party” and similar groups. It would therefore appear that the “anti-bandit campaigns” which have been reported by this office and by the Consulate General at Mukden for the past four or five years were in reality campaigns against armed communist groups which received substantial assistance from Russia. These drives have to a great extent been successful, as depredations in North Manchuria so far this winter have been much less than anticipated, and Mukden reported last year that large-scale banditry was decidedly on the wane in South Manchuria. This would appear to bear out the contention of the authorities that they seized the principal communist leaders.
It is not surprising that the articles fail to mention the mutinies in the “Manchukuo” Army during July and August 1937, and their probable instigation by agents of the Comintern.‡ According to information believed to be reliable, the mutinies, in the Harbin area at least, were only discovered through the arrest in the Chinese city of communist agitators during the latter half of July 1937. These arrests were undoubtedly connected with the anti-red activities now made public.
[Page 445]Although the assertion is made that communist activity has been brought to a standstill in Manchuria by the recently announced arrests, it remains to be seen whether such is really the case. Russians in the employ of the Japanese forces have said that large scale smuggling goes on across the border, especially in the Pogranichnaya (Suifenho) region, and it seems hardly likely that the Comintern will cease attempting to harass Japan and “Manchukuo”. Although direct evidence is lacking, there is reason to suppose that many of the incidents and armed clashes which have taken place on the Russian border resulted from attempts of the Japanese to put a stop to this activity.
Respectfully yours,
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Consul at Harbin in covering despatch No. 39, February 17; received April 18.↩
- Neither printed.↩
- Russian language Japanese-owned daily. [Footnote in the original.]↩
- Despatch No. 325 of April 23, 1937; No. 502 to the Department. [Footnote in the original; for despatch No. 325, see Foreign Relations, 1937, vol. iii, p. 918; covering despatch No. 502 not printed.]↩
- Despatch No. 359 of September 22, 1937; No. 554 to the Department. [Footnote in the original; neither printed.]↩