893.00/8–1744: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1 p.m.]
1424. According to reports from United States military groups at Yenan received by United States Army HQ here, Service has had repeated conversations with Chou En-lai and other principal Communist leaders and as result of endeavors to direct conversation to Marshal Li Chi-shen’s movement, both Service and Barrett believe that Communists here are ignorant of or not interested in his plans. They are also of opinion that Hu Tsung-nan and his group are so firmly loyal to Generalissimo that they were not even approached by Li.
HQ also states, presumably on basis of local information, that Lin Tsu-han who is still in Chungking professes that Communists are not participating with Li and that Mme. Sun Yat-sen has refused to associate herself with movement after being approached by representatives of Li although she had stated that if movement were aimed at unification and reform and would guarantee minority rights both she and Lin Tsu-han would support it.