Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Notes on Meeting Between General Marshall and General Yu Ta-wei at No. 5 Ning Hai Road, Nanking, October 21, 1946, 3 p.m.
| Also present: | Colonel Caughey |
General Yu Ta-wei opened the meeting by asking whether General Marshall had heard anything official from the Communists. General Marshall indicated that he had received no reply to the letter7 containing the Government’s 8 proposals which he had relayed to General Chou En-lai, but that he would let General Yu Ta-wei know when he had received an official reply.
General Marshall continued by stating there was a possibility that the Communists might object to his (General Marshall’s) sitting on the Committee of Three, and that this might be the reason for their recent propaganda directed against him. General Marshall added that this propaganda might be the Communists’ idea of how to obtain, in the United States, a popular reaction against U. S. attitude in relation to the Generalissimo. General Marshall stated that he had asked the Generalissimo not to rise in his defense on this matter. It was a matter for General Marshall to handle or the U. S. Government.
General Yu Ta-wei stated that negotiations (i. e., meeting of the Five Man and Three Man Committees) would probably have to wait until the Communists had agreed to the 8 points issued by the Government. To this, General Marshall indicated agreement and further stated that it would probably be best to let the third party members come to the fore in an effort to bring the two major parties together. [Page 397] This procedure would operate toward establishing a firmer basis for subsequent negotiations.
To this, General Yu Ta-wei assented and told General Marshall he would keep him informed of any development and requested that General Marshall do the same.
General Yu Ta-wei said that General Hsu Yung Chang’s sickness would preclude his being able to serve on the Committee of Three and that General Chen Cheng8 would take his place. He added that he (General Yu Tai-wei) would assist General Chen Cheng.