740.0011 Pacific War/3231
The Chargé in China (Vincent) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 6.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s telegrams no. 451, March 26, 2 p.m. and no. 459, March 27,54 concerning Chinese press reaction at Chungking to the recent broadcast speech of Prime Minister Churchill55 and to enclose for the Department’s information a copy of a despatch56 concerning the reaction at Chengtu to that speech submitted by Mr. Drumright, Secretary of Embassy on detail at Chengtu.
Mr. Drumright reports that he has detected among Chinese officials, educators and others with whom he has discussed Mr. Churchill’s speech an ill-concealed feeling of disappointment, frustration and even anger. The Chinese people appear to have been led to think in recent months that Germany’s collapse would be a matter of a short time and that pressure against Japan would not be relaxed. They are consequently dismayed at the prospect of a further delay in the attempts of their allies to turn their strength against Japan. Mr. Drumright states that the Chinese people appear to be becoming tired of a seemingly endless conflict and that they feel that China is being ignored with respect to assistance which is her due. Mr. Churchill’s speech increased that feeling of discontent and disillusionment. The omission of China in the portions of the speech having to do with post-war conferences was also a cause of deep resentment, for the Chinese regard themselves as one of the four major powers and thus entitled to a suitable place in the discussion of world problems. Mr. Drumright concludes that this speech may have destroyed whatever goodwill that may have been built up in China by British propaganda efforts during the past year.
In this connection, the Embassy has noted that the Chinese seem to have been mollified somewhat by the speech given by Mr. Anthony Eden at Annapolis on March 26.57 The Ta Kung Pao welcomes his speech, terming it “to the point, clear and satisfactory”. Mr. Eden’s proposals for a new and more efficient international organization to be supported with force and to be an organ for the enforcement of the Atlantic Charter received the warm approval of the Chinese press, which generally was effusive in its praise of Mr. Eden with references [Page 48] to his advocacy of economic sanctions against Italy and his well-known support of the League of Nations.
The Chinese people tend to associate Mr. Churchill with British imperialism, suspicion of which no amount of British propaganda effort is likely to erase from their minds and distrust of which has been increased by the British handling of the Indian problem. The Chinese press is held in strict control in its comment on the Indian situation, but even in the absence of any editorial comment critical of the British it conveys a veiled hostility in its treatment of news despatches. A British Secretary to the Indian-General Agent to China has commented to the Embassy on the tone of the Chinese press in dealing with news from India and has said that at the time of Gandhi’s fast he pointed out to the Chinese Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs the attitude of the Government of India toward Chinese press comment on Indian questions simply in order to forestall Chinese press criticism on the subject.
Respectfully yours,
- Neither printed.↩
- March 21; for full text, see Onwards to Victory: War Speeches by the Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill (Cassell and Company, Ltd., London, Toronto, Melbourne and Sydney, 1944), p. 33.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Before the Maryland General Assembly; see Congressional Record, vol. 89, pt. 2, p. 2737.↩