893.00/15289
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 6.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch no. 2172 of February 16, 1944, in regard to Madame Sun Yat-sen’s position vis-à-vis the Kuomintang, I have the honor to enclose a copy of a Central News Agency despatch of February 1674 reporting remarks made at a press conference on that date by the (Party) Minister of Information, Mr. H. C. Liang, in regard to the publication by Reynolds News (British cooperative weekly) of a statement attributed to Madame Sun.
Summary. Mr. Liang stated that Madame Sun denied that she had issued an appeal to British and American labor, as reported by Reynolds News, for aid in lifting the Chinese Government’s blockade of the “guerrilla” areas. The Minister referred to the report in the publication of Madame Sun’s accusation against “reactionary forces in China” for responsibility for the blockade and, after reading a message which Madame Sun said that she had sent to the New Masses, he pointed out that there was nothing in this message about “reactionary forces” or a “blockade”. Following the publication of Mr. Liang’s statement at the press conference, Madame Sun is authoritatively said to have written a letter to him, and subsequently to have sent a similar communication to the Foreign Press Correspondents Association, saying that while she had not issued a statement referring to the blockade she had not denied to Mr. Liang or to anyone else that the blockade exists. Madame Sun’s message to the New Masses contained implied criticism of the Chungking administration’s policies. End of Summary.
Although the Minister of Information was not so quoted by the Central News Agency, he stated at the press conference that Madame Sun’s wish is that there should be cooperation among all parties engaged in fighting aggression. When asked by a foreign newspaper correspondent whether Madame Sun’s message meant that all elements in China actually engaged in fighting Japan are not supported, Mr. Liang gave an evasive answer. While Madame Sun’s message quoted above does not contain the specific charges reported by the British publication, there are pointed implications in it of the need for real democracy in China rather than for discussion of the subject [Page 352] and of the need for American support of the Communist as well as the Central Government forces fighting against Japan.
According to reliable sources of information, Madame Sun has become quite angry over this matter and allegedly said to Mr. Liang during his call for discussion of the subject “The next time you see me will probably be in prison”. In her letters to the Minister and to the Foreign Press Correspondents Association, Madame Sun is said to have explained that she has written no message of any kind for Reynolds News, which apparently based its report on portions of letters written by her to friends in England, and that she has never denied the existence of the Central Government blockade of the Communist-controlled areas. She added that for three years she has protested against this blockade in letters to relief organizations at home and abroad and in letters to her friends on the grounds that it was impossible to carry on relief work in areas to which the Chungking authorities would not permit the sending of supplies and that for her now to deny the existence of the blockade would be to deny the truth of her previous protests.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩