Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Minutes of Meeting Between General Marshall, Mr. Mo Teh-hui, and General C. P. Lee at No. 5 Ning Hai Road. Nanking, November 1, 1946, 10:45 a.m.
| Also present: | Captain Soong |
General Marshall asked Mister Mo Teh-hui to express himself most frankly as to what is the most critical issue in the present negotiations.
Mister Mo stated that he thought the most critical issue today is the National Assembly. He attributed a large part of the difficulties today to the manner in which this Assembly would be convened. The Government insisted that the presentation of name lists of delegates to the National Assembly was a prerequisite to the issuance of an order for the cessation of hostilities. On the other hand the Communist Party and Third Party do not want to present their name lists unless certain their hopes are first achieved. Mister Mo further expressed that the Third Party desired peace most anxiously; however, the major role for achieving peace rested with the Kuomintang and Communist Parties. Mister Mo emphasized that he was expressing his personal view only and was not representing the opinion of any Third Party element. He felt that the Government is most concerned with the submission of lists of delegates to the National Assembly; while the Communist Party is most concerned with settling all outstanding issues at once. In this respect, Mister Mo stated that he knew his estimate regarding the Government’s view is correct. However, he was not too certain of his estimate of the Communists’ view.
General Marshall then said the Communist Party has always insisted that the Government’s generals are determined to settle the present issue by force. If that is the case, apparently the Communists are risking the continuation and great expansion of the war against the hope that the Government would make concessions in order to obtain the name lists of delegates to the National Assembly. Therefore, it appeared to General Marshall that the present stand taken by the Communist Party is not logical.
General Marshall further elaborated that the issues of State Council and of local government are not difficult to solve and it would seem that principal outstanding issue today is the reorganization of the Executive Yuan. The Communist Party and the Democratic League seem to attach great importance to this issue as a condition precedent to the convocation of the National Assembly. General Marshall asked Mister Mo whether there is any possibility of compromise over this issue.
[Page 463]Mister Mo in turn asked General Marshall whether the present situation could be settled by solving the issue of the reorganization of the Executive Yuan.
General Marshall replied that he thought it could. He reiterated that if the Government could concede to appointing members of the Communist Party and the Third Party to the posts of certain Ministers without portfolio, and to one or two other ministries, the Communists might be persuaded to come to terms.
Mister Mo stated that this procedure might only serve to push the two parties one step closer. However, it will not serve as a solution for settlement. Mister Mo stated that he had learned from General Marshall three months ago that mutual suspicion between Kuomintang and Communist Party was extremely deep. But today he would say a lack of confidence on both sides for each other is equally bad. He expressed the hope that General Marshall would draw clear lines of demarcation between Kuomintang and Communist troops so that both sides could feel militarily secure.
General Marshall commented that agreement for a line of demarcation was reached February 25 this year. However, it was wrecked through political disagreement. General Marshall emphasized that military rearrangement can not be achieved unless fighting is first stopped. Now the representatives of the Third Party—Doctor Lo, Mister Miao and Mister Tseng—came to him (General Marshall) and reported that through the last meeting they had with Doctor Sun Fo and five other Government representatives, they felt that the present situation is rather discouraging and that they were planning to go back to Shanghai. General Marshall stated that his problem was to make members of the Third Party aware of the fact that military settlement is greatly affected by political issues and that he had concentrated his effort in encouraging a build up of the Third Party so that a political settlement could be achieved.
General Marshall stated that he looked to Mister Mo Teh-hui and Mister Hu Lin as men of powerful influence in the present situation and that they could keep the Third Party together and strong under the pressures of the Government and the Communist Party. General Marshall said that there are two things he would want Mister Mo to keep in mind:
First, fighting must be stopped as quickly as possible or else the military situation will be entirely out of control.
Secondly, the Communist propaganda had developed such a hatred among the Communist Party troops against Americans that he was doubtful whether the Executive Headquarters could perform a useful function in a protracted truce.
General Marshall concluded by saying that the Third Party members must work diligently to achieve a political settlement so that the fighting would be stopped immediately.