893.00/11–2244
Memorandum by Mr. Augustus S. Chase of the Division of Chinese Affairs
Reference Chungking’s despatch no. 3174 of November 22, 1944.
Mr. Service advances reasons against continued American support of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang regime, in regard to which the Embassy offers no comment. His memorandum deserves study as representing the views of one competent political observer. While most other competent observers would probably concur in many of his opinions, it is believed that relatively few would subscribe unreservedly to some of his conclusions—as, for example: that the “Communists” or provincial troops would be more useful to us than the Kuomintang armies; that any new government (assuming that such [Page 736] a government could even be formed in time) would be better able to mobilize the country; that Chiang did not resist Japan until “forced” by his own people; that we owe him no debt of gratitude; that the collapse of the Kuomintang government would not seriously affect or interrupt China’s resistance; or even that the present Kuomintang ideology is fundamentally anti-foreign and anti-democratic. However, none of his arguments can be dismissed or easily refuted and it is believed that a re-examination of the American Government’s position toward the Kuomintang regime would be justified and very likely imperative, from the standpoint of the war effort, in the event that the still existing hopes for improvement of China’s internal political and economic situation through remedial action by the Chungking regime should not be realized.