893.00/15303
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 15.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch no. 2216 of February 23, 1944, in regard to the Central Government’s blockade of the Communist-controlled areas in Shensi, I have the honor to enclose a copy of a, memorandum of February 23, 1944,86 prepared by an officer of the [Page 365] Embassy reporting discussion at the press conference of that date of Kuomintang–Communist relations and the proposed trip of foreign newspaper correspondents to Yenan.
Summary. Mr. H. C. Liang, (Party) Minister of Information, informed the correspondents that President Chiang Kai-shek had assented to the correspondents’ request that they be permitted to visit Yenan and that arrangements would be made for the trip as soon as possible. The Minister explained that the Government had come to the conclusion that the time had arrived to make known abroad information regarding the Communist problem. He said that he was unable to release for transmission abroad despatches filed by the correspondents based on an interview with the Communist representative at Chungking (Embassy’s despatch no. 2219 of February 23) and suggested that these reports be held up until the correspondents’ return from the trip. Correspondents are of the opinion that the trip is assured while some Chinese observers state that excuses will be found for postponement of the trip and others say that permission is being given only because the Kuomintang authorities feel that conditions in the Communist-controlled areas will not result in a favorable reaction on the part of the correspondents. End of Summary.
Mr. Liang informed the foreign newspaper correspondents that their request for permission to visit the Communist-controlled areas in north China had been handed to the Generalissimo, who was quoted as having made the following reply: “It has also been my idea to invite members of the foreign press to visit Yenan and north Shensi. The Government will send you formal invitations when the time comes for the plan to be carried out.” The Minister added that General Chiang had expressed the hope that the correspondents would remain in the Communist areas sufficiently long to enable them to obtain a well-rounded picture of the situation, a picture which could not be obtained from a hasty visit.
Pressed for the setting of a definite date for the trip, Mr. Liang informed the correspondents that he did not think the trip would take place in the near future but assured them that it would be arranged as soon as possible.
In connection with the failure of the Kuomintang censors to release for transmission abroad the correspondents’ despatches reporting the Communists’ side of the situation, one foreign correspondent requested and received permission to send a telegram to Mao Tse-tung at Yenan asking for a statement in regard to Kuomintang–Communist differences. The telegram, which was first subjected to censorship resulting in some deletions, is as follows:
“Central Government spokesman states that situation north Shensi recently eased stop Expresses hope for solution of issues by political means stop May I ask you cabling me statement your views about present situation for my newspapers Manchester Guardian and Christian [Page 366] Science Monitor Boston United States. Guenther Stein Press Hostel Chungking.”
One well-placed Chinese has informed an officer of the Embassy that a statement by the Communists (possibly a statement by Mao Tse-tung) would be published in Great Britain within a week and that the Kuomintang would simultaneously release a statement for publication exposing the Communist crimes. The Minister of Information’s statement that the time had now come to give to the world some facts regarding the Communist problem may be a reference to the impending release by the Kuomintang of the summary of Communist crimes which was prepared in August 1943 and which has up to the present not been released for general public consumption (Embassy’s despatch no. 2171 of February 16).
There has been much conjecture among the correspondents in regard to the possibility of the trip’s being carried out by the Chungking authorities. They feel that permission for the trip was given due to the insistent questioning by foreign correspondents at the Government’s weekly press conference and that the questioning had reached such intensity that some action had to be taken to quiet the correspondents. They also feel that the Kuomintang cannot now gracefully refuse to allow them to proceed to Yenan after so much publicity has been given to the matter and to the denial by the Kuomintang of the blockade of the Communist-controlled areas. The date of the trip has not, however, been set and there are divided opinions whether it will actually take place, Chinese being generally more sceptical than foreign observers. According to one informed foreign source, Dr. H. K. Tong, Vice Minister of Information, states that the correspondents will probably leave for Yenan prior to the arrival at Chungking of the Communist delegates being sent for negotiation of Kuomintang–Communist differences.
Some qualified Chinese observers state that the Kuomintang was placed in such a position that it could not refuse permission for the trip, but that pretexts will be sought to delay the trip. Other Chinese are of the opinion that the Generalissimo and many high ranking Kuomintang officials are convinced that the favorable publicity received by the Chinese Communists in the past has resulted from the picture drawn of conditions in that area by Edgar Snow, the American journalist, and that conditions in the Communist areas are actually so bad that the correspondents will be compelled to paint a debunking picture of the Communist-controlled area. The Kuomintang is said to have received first-hand reports of conditions in those areas from its agents upon which it bases its conclusions. Kuomintang critics comment that these agents would not dare present a favorable picture to their superiors and that the trip of the foreign correspondents [Page 367] to Yenan may result in the Kuomintang’s having to face “eleven Edgar Snows” instead of just one.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩