893.102S/2496: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:25 p.m.]
173. Department’s 98, May 2, 6 p.m. I called last evening on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and read to him paragraph 2 of Department’s 86, April 23, 5 p.m. which I had communicated to him on the evening of April 24 c. f. Embassy’s 152, April 24 [25], 11 [9] a.m. I then paraphrased orally [for Dr. Wang?] Department’s 98, May 2, 6 p.m. and handed him copies of the resolution adopted by the Shanghai ratepayers on April 17 as well as a copy of the Department’s aide-mémoire13 quoted in Department’s 97, May 2, 5 p.m.14 The Minister for Foreign Affairs examined the text of the aide-mémoire and stated that the Chinese Ambassador had reported this to him and that the matter had been thoroughly discussed by the Government and that it was the unanimous opinion of the Government that a matter of principle was involved more important to the Chinese Government than the question of the legality of the municipal government of the International Settlement, namely the question of the recognition by the Chinese Government of the puppet government at Nanking. He stated that the Chinese Government was informed that two members of the Chinese group of municipal councilors, themselves illegally elected after a former election by the Chinese ratepayers, were now members of the Council at Shanghai and the Chinese Government could not acquiesce as long as puppet officials sit on or participate in the Council of the Settlement. He stated that in a day or so, I might expect a reply to the Department’s aide-mémoire along these lines as this was the attitude of the Government in regard to the matter.
The Foreign Minister then said that he wanted to offer a practical suggestion which he hoped might solve the matter to the satisfaction of all, explaining that it was not the desire of the Chinese Government to be unreasonable in this matter. The practical suggestion which he had to offer was this, that the Chinese Government would be willing to have the two councilors loyal to it stand out if it could be arranged for the Shanghai Municipal Council to carry on without the attendance of any Chinese councilors. In other words, the Chinese Government would say nothing more about the matter if it could be brought about that no Chinese councilors sit with the foreign councilors, thus eliminating the question of the status of the Chinese councilors.
I informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs that I would bring his suggestion to the attention of the Department but that I was not [Page 864] sanguine as to any success that might attend attempts to eliminate all Chinese councilors from the Council. He made the point that the Chinese members of the Municipal Council might be eliminated on the ground of the legality of the election, pointing out that the Chinese ratepayers had elected their five councilors some time previous to the election which produced the two puppet councilors.
Sent to the Department. Repeated to Peiping, Shanghai.