Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Minutes of Meeting Between General Marshall and General Li Weikuo42 at No. 5 Ning Hai Road, Nanking, December 23, 1946, 6 p.m.
| Also present: | Col. Underwood |
General Li informed General Marshall of recent actions by the National Assembly to complete the new constitution. General Marshall commented that he was becoming increasingly disturbed that the National Assembly and the Government might indulge in excessive changes in China’s laws and procedure. He observed that China already had many good laws and that the prime need was for honest, thorough enforcement. The means of obtaining effective execution of the law presented a difficult problem, closely related to the further problem of making proper use of the capable young men of China.
General Li compared the Generalissimo to Mr. Stalin with respect to type of advisors. The Generalissimo relied on the old associates of his revolutionary days, while Mr. Stalin had surrounded himself with younger, more modern advisors. General Marshall noted that the Generalissimo was actually served personally by young men, but in a crisis always turned to the reactionary or conservative elements in the Kuomintang for guidance. General Li hoped that General Marshall would find an opportunity to criticize these irreconcilables. General Marshall replied that a vigorous attack on these elements might well constitute the best service which he could render China at this time. General Li agreed.
General Marshall discussed the need for organizing the liberal progressive elements into a single patriotic party. A truly liberal party represented China’s best hope. It was imperative, one way or another, to destroy the reactionaries’ control of the Government and the associated feudalistic state of mind in the Government. It was completely [Page 654] possible that the Generalissimo, himself, would lead such a liberal movement, if properly organized.
General Li stated that it would be most difficult to obtain the permission of the Generalissimo to organize openly a new liberal bloc. General Marshall referred to his recent efforts to achieve a coalition of the minority parties. He had suggested the formation of a steering committee containing representatives of the minority parties, but controlled by trusted, respected, selfless, non-party men. He had considered Mr. Hu Shih, President of Peking University, and Mr. Hu Lin as possible selections. He had also considered Mr. Mo Te-hui, although he was not impressed at present by Mr. Mo Te-hui’s political illness.
General Li stated that while attending the United Nations Conference in San Francisco, he had talked confidentially to members of the CCP and the Young China Party. He found that the younger men in the Communist Party were dissatisfied with Communist reactionaries, just as the younger men of the Kuomintang were dissatisfied with Kuomintang reactionaries. They had agreed that the time would come when young liberals would step over party lines to act in concert for the good of China.
General Li described his associations with the Generalissimo since 1931. In 1931 and 1932 the Generalissimo had faith in young members of the party and selected three to fill key positions in the Government. Unfortunately these three men either blundered or proved to be dishonest. As a result, the old reactionaries in the party were able to discourage the Generalissimo from reliance on young men. This attitude prevailed until the outbreak of the war with Japan. During and since the war the Generalissimo has shown an interest in training young men in statecraft. However, General Li felt that the Generalissimo should also give these young men a chance to render advice and to operate directly. His failure to do so stemmed from his deep fear of a split within the Kuomintang. His recent harsh speech to the party regarding the draft constitution indicated his desire to hold members in the party against their will. In this connection Mr. Hu Lin hoped for a split in the Kuomintang and would be willing to join the liberal faction, if the Generalissimo would permit this faction to operate openly within the party. General Li did not believe that the Generalissimo would permit free expression and activity within the party.
General Li believed that General Marshall’s mission required the following two actions: First, he should convince the Communists that a party army should not be used to attain political ends; secondly, he should modernize the Generalissimo mentally and persuade him to lead a new revolution of progressive, liberal elements. General Marshall [Page 655] took issue with the first point. The Communists were retaining an army primarily because of fear of extermination through secret police and other terroristic organizations. In this connection he cited the deplorable beating of Communists in Chungking and the recent beatings of non-Kuomintang people in the Nanking Railroad Station.
General Li wished that General Marshall could influence the Generalissimo to travel to the United States, where he could see Congress in action and could see democracy at work. Moreover, he could observe the relation of the American Government to industry. He could also witness the workings of the American Civil Service. General Marshall did not believe that mere observation would convert the Generalissimo to democratic processes. It would probably be better if the Generalissimo had near him a great student of constitutional government and democracy who could constantly press those issues.
- Chinese Vice Minister of the Kuomintang Ministry of Information.↩