893.50/6–3044
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
No. 2729
Chungking, June 30,
1944.
[Received July 15.]
Subject: China’s Postwar Reconstruction Plans.
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s
airgram A–128, May 23, 1944,28 on the above subject, and to enclose a copy of a
memorandum of conversation of June 28, 1944 between an officer of the
Embassy and Mr. K. P. Chen, Chairman of the Economic Planning
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Commission, who stated that the
report issued by the Chinese News Service was “altogether premature” and
that the final report of his Commission would probably not be completed
until about the end of September 1944.
The Embassy will expect to report additional information, when available, in
regard to the progress made by the Chinese authorities in formulating
postwar reconstruction plans. Several Chinese officials and business men,
assumably well informed, have stated to officers of the Embassy that no
agreement has yet been reached regarding any reconstruction plans. These
statements appear to be authentic, judging by the remarks attributed to Mr.
Chen in the enclosed memorandum.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
Memorandum of Conversation by the Second Secretary of
Embassy in China (Boehringer)
I called by appointment today upon Mr. Chen for the purpose, inter alia, of discussing a report which appeared
in the May 20, 1944 issue of the Chinese News Service, published in the
United States, to the effect that the Central Planning Board had
completed an outline of China’s postwar reconstruction plans and that
the outline was to be referred to various organizations and provincial
and municipal governments for discussion before its adoption.
Mr. Chen stated that this report was “altogether premature” and that the
Central Planning Board had not yet received any of the plans now being
drawn up by the two organizations appointed to carry out this work. Mr.
Chen then explained that these organizations included the Economic
Planning Commission, of which he was chairman, and the Political
Planning Commission for which a chairman had not yet been named. He said
that the Economic Planning Commission consisted of several sections such
as those on finance, industry, conservancy, et cetera; that some of the
sections had completed their reports but that the final combined report
of his Commission would probably not be completed until about the end of
September 1944. Mr. Chen said that he was not free to discuss the plans
which had been drawn up by certain sections of his Commission and added
that he had not yet had time to study them carefully.
Mr. Chen said that he knew little about the work of the Political
Planning Commission and intimated that it had not made progress
comparable to that of the Economic Planning Commission.
Mr. Chen then said that the final reports of the two Commissions would be
referred to an organization which has not yet been established
[Page 1058]
and which will be called the
Central Examining Board. This Board, which will be under Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek, will probably include as members such high Chinese
officials as the heads of the Legislative, Judicial and Examination Yuan
and others, Mr. Chen stated.
Mr. Chen concluded his remarks on this subject by saying that he was
unable to state when the final plans of the two Commissions would be
ready for transmittal to the Central Examining Board or whether the
Board would eventually make public the contents of the plans. Mr. Chen
had previously stated, however, that he expected that the final combined
report of his Commission would probably be completed by or soon after
the end of September 1944.
