893.00/15257

The Second Secretary of Embassy in China ( Stevens ) to the Ambassador in China ( Gauss )2

No. 12

Sir: I have the honor to report that on January 4, 1944 I called by appointment on General Chang Chun, Chairman of the Szechwan Provincial Government, who received me at his private residence south of the West China University campus. I was accompanied by Mr. Aitchen K. Wu, Commissioner of Foreign Affairs for Szechwan and Sikang, who was present during the interview which lasted well over an hour. General Chang appeared to be in a friendly mood and disposed to talk more freely than during our first meeting on December 28 at the home of Dr. and Mrs. William P. Fenn. The following is a record of the principal subjects discussed:

Summary: General Chang Chun’s description of the new units of local self-government indicated no present intention to provide the people of China with a representative form of government. The drift appeared to be in the opposite direction. Members of Szechwan’s military fraternity have been divested of much former power and influence but are still a potential source of friction. General Chang predicted an all-out Chinese offensive in the spring and believed that the allies would, if possible, avoid an invasion of Japan. Americans are being restricted in travel to about the same extent as other foreigners who cannot so readily be trusted. General Chang has no objection to an American consulate in Chengtu if approved by the Central Government.

I informed General Chang that I had read with interest his New Year message to the Szechwan people and complimented him on the leading part he had taken in furthering the introduction of local self-government. He spent some time in explaining the relationship of the various governing units of the new system, laying special emphasis [Page 300] on the necessity for centralized control of both the fiscal and administrative activities of the pao, hsiang or chen, and hsien. The chiefs of the lower units, he stated, would be elected by a select number of people, but the selection and appointment of hsien magistrates would he made by the Central Government from among persons who had completed a prescribed course of training and received Party approval. He thought it probable at some future date, when the masses had demonstrated their ability in self-government, that the head of the hsien would also be a man of the people’s choice. In summarizing the position of the Provincial Government, he referred to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s General Outline for National Reconstruction, saying that this required the province to occupy an intermediate position between the Central Government and the hsien with the Provincial Governor functioning as liaison representative of the Central Government and supervisor of hsien activities. In further explanation, he asserted that the Provincial Government would no longer have a treasury of its own; that its budgets would be included in those of the Central Government; and that if a hsien or lower administrative unit required financial assistance for some reconstruction project or important commercial enterprise, beyond its financial ability, it may apply through the Provincial Government to the Central Government for a loan or, in case the undertaking was of benefit to the nation, for an allotment of public funds. He repeatedly spoke of the necessity for all executive power and authority to flow downward instead of upward in order to ensure national unity and fulfilment of revolutionary principles.

The reference to “unity” offered opportunity for inquiry in regard to the present status of Szechwan’s military fraternity. General Chang said that although this matter had given him great concern while he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had been able during his three years as Chairman of the Szechwan Provincial Government to reconcile many differences and reduce to a minimum the dangers of warlordism. He did not deny that a majority of troops in the province were still the private armies of certain individuals, but asserted that a sufficient number of Central Government troops are available to suppress any unpatriotic move. Generals Liu Wen-hui, Pan Wen-hua and Teng Hsi-hou, he thought, were not as cooperative as General Yang Sheng and others, but the fight for national existence had mellowed these leaders to a position of no great importance. His frequent mention of General Pan Wen-hua may have indicated the source of some uncertainty in that quarter.

With a view to ascertaining how he felt toward the progress of the war, I asked the commonplace question of when he thought it would end. His reply was to the effect that Japan’s collapse would occur some time this year but that an allied invasion of Japan proper would [Page 301] be a long and costly undertaking. I inquired whether the Chinese Government had any plans for sending Japanese-trained administrators to Japan to assist in restoring order. He assured me that this question had been fully discussed and settled at the Cairo Conference3 and that the Generalissimo4 had informed him recently that the conferees had agreed that as soon as Japan’s military power had been broken the Japanese in Japan proper would be permitted to work out their own destiny without outside direction. China, he said, desired no part of Japanese-controlled territory other than that which had been wrongfully taken from China. He expressed himself so forcefully that I concluded he had a keen desire to see Japan spared the humiliation of an allied occupation. His further statement to the effect that when spring comes the Chinese would attack vigorously on all fronts and that preparations for their greatest offensive were in an advanced stage impressed me as unusual for a man in his position.

We next discussed restrictions on travel by Americans. I informed him that quite recently I had heard that Americans desiring to travel from Szechwan to Shensi or Chinghai had experienced difficulty in obtaining Chinese visas of their passports, and asked whether he could throw any light on the reason for this. In reply, he said that he did not remember any recent requests for visas to travel in Chinghai or Shensi but that because of robberies on the highway he had recently advised against the issuance of a visa to one foreigner who wanted to visit Paan in Sikang. I asked whether he thought the Communist situation in Shensi had made travel in that province unsafe for foreigners. He said that it probably had, but that he had had no opportunity to examine the matter as Shensi was not within his jurisdiction. I expressed the hope that it would soon be possible for Americans to travel in all parts of the Northwest as freely as Chinese nationals were now travelling in all parts of the United States. At this juncture, Mr. Aitchen K. Wu, who had taken little part in the conversation, remarked that he thought that the principal reason for the restrictions mentioned was a desire on the part of the Chinese authorities to avoid any charge of discrimination between Americans and the nationals of other allied powers who could not so readily be trusted.

After acquainting him with the temporary and informal nature of my assignment here, I requested that he kindly inform me of his views in regard to the opening of an American Consulate at Chengtu. He said that he was glad to be able to assure me that he had no objection [Page 302] whatever to an American Consulate, provided that it was established here with the advance approval of the Central Government. He then related briefly the “unhappy history” of Szechwan in dealing with previous British, Japanese, and French representatives sent here to function as consuls despite the fact that Chengtu had never been a Treaty Port. When I told him that the local American community had informed me of his friendly and helpful attitude, he said that the American authorities could rely upon his good will and assistance and that I would perhaps find it unnecessary to take up with him direct matters pertaining to the American community. He suggested that specific cases affecting Americans be taken up with Mr. Wu. I asked whether he would object, in case of some extraordinary development affecting Americans or their interests, to my calling on him informally. He replied by stating that he would, of course, see me from time to time at the homes of various missionaries, and then repeated the suggestion that wherever possible all matters involving foreign relations be taken up first with either Mr. Wu or the Mayor of Chengtu. Mr. Wu, he added, had been assigned here for the express purpose of dealing with foreigners and was better informed than he in regard to the Foreign Office’s current policies. Before concluding this subject, General Chang very pointedly mentioned the “precedent” set by the Vichy and Free French authorities in settling their consular issue by closing their office here for the duration of the war.

On departure I thanked General Chang for the courtesy of his reception, assured him that Mr. Wu and I would work in close cooperation, and, in accordance with Chinese custom, requested his guidance in the performance of my duties.

Respectfully yours,

Harry E. Stevens
  1. Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in China in his despatch No. 2062, January 24; received February 12.
  2. For documentation on the Cairo Conference, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943.
  3. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, President of the National Government of the Republic of China.