893.00/15320
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 25.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch no. 2172 of February 16, 1944, in regard to Madame Sun Yat-sen’s difficulties, I have the honor to enclose a copy of a memorandum of March 5, 1944, prepared by Second Secretary John S. Service,96 on detail to General Stilwell’s [Page 377] staff, reporting observations made by Madame Sun to him during a conversation on March 4.
Summary. Mr. H. C. Liang, (Party) Minister of Information, had called on Madame Sun in connection with a message allegedly sent by her to the United States and published in the February 14 issue of Time. He had charged that she was spreading abroad untruths about Kuomintang–Communist differences, a domestic problem. Mr. Liang had also discussed a radio address which Madame Sun had been requested to give on Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s birthday at the invitation of Mrs. Pearl Buck and other influential Americans. Madame Sun had refused to give the address after her speech had been heavily censored by the Ministry of Information. She referred to implications that she might be interned if she continued to talk freely about present-day questions in China, described certain activities of Tai Li (the head of the notorious secret police) and added that liberals among the Chinese leaders are unhappy but can do nothing. End of Summary.
Madame Sun did, however, make her radio address on March 12, after what she described confidentially as “a nasty session with the censor.”
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩