893.76/105
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Third Secretary of Embassy in China (Drumright)91
Mr. Drumright called on Dr. S. S. Liu at the Foreign Office today and discussed the radio situation at Shanghai, particularly with [Page 476] reference to the numerous protests of the Foreign Office in regard to the arrangements entered into by Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and R. C. A. Communications, Inc., with the Japanese.
Mr. Drumright referred to various notes received from the Foreign Office on this subject, including the note dated September 10, 1938, and stated that the substance of these notes had been or were being communicated to the Department of State, the Consulate General at Shanghai, and the American radio companies in question. Mr. Drum-right briefly reviewed the events leading up to the present situation at Shanghai, including the withdrawal of Chinese troops and authorities from the Shanghai area, the action of the Japanese in seeking a measure of control over the radio communications service at Shanghai by virtue of their military occupation of the area, and the difficult situation in which the foreign radio companies would have found themselves faced should they have failed to take Japanese desires into consideration. Consequently, in order to preserve their interests and property and to maintain a constant radio service with the outside world, a matter of vital interest to people in China and abroad alike, the foreign radio companies, after much consideration and consultation, had decided upon their own responsibility to continue the radio service at Shanghai. They had, according to information available, arrived at a temporary de facto arrangement with the Japanese in order to meet the de facto situation existing at Shanghai. It was difficult to perceive how the foreign radio companies at Shanghai could have pursued any other course, for to have refused to cooperate with the Japanese as the military masters of the Shanghai area would have resulted in difficulties and possible loss of investments, not to mention disruption of essential radio service.
Mr. Drumright hoped that Dr. Liu would bring the realities of the radio situation at Shanghai, as outlined above, to the attention of the Ministry of Communications and other competent organs, with a view to closing the case.
Dr. Liu replied that he would, of course, bring the above-mentioned views to the attention of the Ministry of Communications, but expressed regret that the American authorities seemed unwilling to cause the American radio companies to sever communications with the Japanese. He considered the activities of the American radio companies to constitute a breach of China’s sovereignty and to be inimical to the traditional friendship existing between the United States and China. He requested that these views be brought to the attention of the Ambassador and the Department of State.
Mr. Drumright replied that the views of the Chinese Government, as outlined by Dr. Liu, would be brought to the attention of the competent American authorities. He stated that it was, as Dr. Liu was [Page 477] aware, the desire of the American Government to respect the sovereignty of China but that it appeared that the preservation of Chinese territory and sovereignty seemed to rest with the Chinese. The present situation had arisen out of the occupation of Shanghai by the Japanese who exercised de facto control there. In order to prevent disruption of the normal processes of life, it seemed necessary to recognize the actualities of the situation and to be governed accordingly.
In concluding the discussion, Dr. Liu, in response to a question from Mr. Drumright, stated that to his knowledge only one foreign radio company—a Netherlands organization—had severed radio communications with Shanghai. When questioned whether similar protests had been lodged concerning the use by the Japanese of the railways in which there were foreign interests, Dr. Liu stated that he was not aware that protests had been made in connection therewith. He stated it to be his opinion, however, that the cases of the radio companies and the railways were not analogous.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in China in his despatch No. 75, September 17; received November 7.↩