893.102S/1813: Telegram
The Chargé in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 23—9:10 a.m.]
341. Department’s 90, May 19, 6 p.m. On May 22, 4 p.m., I read and delivered to the Minister for Foreign Affairs as the record of my oral statement the aide-mémoire contained in the Department’s instruction.
The Minister immediately expressed his deep appreciation of the way in which the American Government had been able to envisage the Shanghai problem from China’s point of view and of the spirit of friendship and justice that had motivated the American Government in the position it had taken toward that situation and that had led to this communication. At the same time he still wanted to emphasize the view of his Government that the Municipal Government was imposing greater restrictions on Chinese residents than on Japanese and that it was not being “neutral”. He said that he had particularly remonstrated with the British Ambassador about the six rules for the conduct of British registered Chinese language newspapers issued by the British authorities and that the Ambassador had expressed surprise that regulations of this sort had been issued.
The Minister said that if a speech by General Chiang could not be published then statements by “puppet” organizations should likewise be forbidden. He hoped the Municipal Council would be as fair in all these matters as it was able to be. He made further observations which may be summarized by quoting his [him?] that the occurrence at Kulangsu showed that if the interested powers were firm [Page 60] with the Japanese they could deal with the International Settlement in an impartial way without fear of forcible action by Japan.
I confined my remarks to a discreet reference to the fact that the Chinese Government could not of itself protect its citizens in Shanghai and that even foreign powers had not been able by negotiation to assure the full enjoyment of their rights to their own citizens.
I felt that the Minister in his own mind conceded the correctness of the Department’s position and that his continued insistence on freedom for the Chinese press equal to that accorded Japanese was for the record.
Repeated to Peiping and Shanghai. Peiping air mail to Tokyo.