Office of the Historian

893.00/1–1049

33

Document Prepared in the Embassy in China

[Chungking,] October 17, 1944.

Suggestions

1. We suggest that General Hurley34 hold a talk with Messrs. Lin Tzu-han and Tung Pi-wu, the Communist members of the P. P. C now in Chungking. Such talk is of course of a private and confidential character; Lin and Tung should be made to understand that they must not give it any publicity without the General’s approval.

2. It is hoped that when the aforesaid talk takes place, the General will state the attitude of the American and Russian governments concerning the Chinese Communist Party, and stress the necessity of the Communists to come to an immediate agreement with the Chinese government. A question may be put, we think, to Lin and Tung whether the Communists desire the General’s good-office for bringing about a settlement with the government. It may be indicated to them that if Yenan is willing to accept the General’s good-office, he will put forward a proposal of settlement, provided he can obtain a previous assurance from the Chinese government that the latter would not object to his making such a move.

The press and radio at Yenan is conducting a very violent anti-government propaganda which benefits nobody except our enemy and the puppet government at Nanking. This propaganda handicaps our negotiations seriously. It will do well if the General can persuade the Communists to stop it.

Some arrangement for a personal contact between the Generalissimo and Mr. Mao Tze-tung, leader of the Communists, appears to be necessary if a speedy and real settlement is sought. We should like the General to give Lin and Tung a hint on this point.

3. Should Yenan react favorably toward the General’s suggestion, he will, we submit, proceed to draft a proposal of settlement and hand it over to both the Chinese government and the Communists. Before the drafting we should like to give the General a full account of what the government has conceded and may possibly concede regarding the [Page 651] various points of dispute. We hope that the General’s proposal will not go beyond what we may possibly persuade the government to accept.

  1. All documents on this file number—893.00/1–1049—were taken from a microfilm roll received by the Department in January 1949 from the Embassy in China, at Nanking.↩
  2. Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley, Personal Representative of President Roosevelt in China.↩