893.00/15341
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 13.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch No. 2260 of March 2, 1944, in regard to Kuomintang-Communist relations, I have the honor to enclose4 (a) copy of memorandum of conversation dated March 8, 1944, between the Counselor of Embassy and Dr. Chang Ping-hsun, Counselor of the Executive Yuan and Government spokesman, regarding the Kuomintang-Communist situation and (b) excerpts from an informal letter of March 20, 1944, from the Secretary on detail at Sian relating to this subject.
Summary. During a recent conversation Dr. Chang asked the Counselor the reason for the “sudden interest” of foreign correspondents at Chungking in the Communist question, Mr. Atcheson informed him that Americans had long been interested in the question from the standpoint of the desirability of a strong united China and that at present any development which threatened that unity or impaired the war effort against Japan increased that interest. He assured Dr. Chang that the Chinese Government’s problem of a separate government within its territory was well understood.
General Lo Tse-kai, new Chief of Staff to General Hu Tsung-nan (Deputy Commander of the 8th War Zone with headquarters at Sian), denied to Mr. Drumright, during a call on March 19, that the Communists had withdrawn troops from north Shensi, as previously reported by Mr. Drumright. General Lo admitted that the Communists are militarily formidable, pointing to their expulsion of all Central Government forces from north China, and expressed the opinion that there is an understanding between the Japanese and the Chinese Communists in as much as there seems to be no fighting between the two [Page 388] forces. (This is poor propaganda from the Kuomintang point of view as Japanese Domei news broadcasts in recent months have reported numerous Japanese clashes with “red” forces in Hopei, Suiyuan and Shantung and very few with Central Government troops.) General Lo stated that the Chinese Communists no longer see eye to eye with the Soviet Union since the dissolution of the Comintern, that many Chinese intellectuals have become disillusioned with the Communists and are deserting Yenan and that the Communists must be regarded as enemies and traitors who are hampering the war effort. He expressed the view that the Central Government has no intention of attacking the Communists and their “Border Area”. End of Summary.
Respectfully yours,
- Enclosures not printed.↩