893.9111/88
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 17.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a copy of despatch no. 22 of January 22, 1944, from the Consulate General at Kunming transmitting a translation of an editorial in the Yunnan Daily News entitled “China Is Also Fighting”.36
Summary. The editorial states that China’s heroic contribution to the war has been forgotten in the interest in the European conflict but that, malicious reports to the contrary notwithstanding, China still stands firm against the enemy and there is no slackening in her war effort. Mr. Ringwalt observes that the editorial may have been written by a representative of the (Party) Ministry of Information at Kunming under instructions from Chungking. He comments that the mounting criticism of the Chinese tendency to mark time and to [Page 11] allow China’s allies to assume the burden of the war effort in the Far East is of some concern to the Chungking authorities, who perhaps realize how much China depends upon foreign good-will and assistance, and that it is remarkable that a loose and unwieldy organization ruled by a clique almost completely lacking in popular support should be able to continue in power as long as it has.
Respectfully yours,
- Neither printed.↩