Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Minutes of Meeting Between General Marshall and General C. P. Lee at No. 5 Ning Hai Road, Nanking, December 26, 1946, 6 p.m.
| Also present: | Captain Soong |
General Lee opened the meeting by stating that the National Assembly had finally closed yesterday after adopting a sound constitution. General Marshall said that the adjournment of the National Assembly on the 25th of December was prearranged. It was exactly 10 years ago that the Generalissimo left Sian.
General Marshall commented that he had carefully examined the text of the constitution with some American experts prior to the opening of the National Assembly, and had found it to be a reasonably democratic constitution. His chief concern at that time was whether the National Assembly would adopt the constitution without serious changes. Now that this constitution has been adopted, the prime question concerns degree and manner of enforcement. General Marshall pointed out that the passage of this constitution was only the beginning. General Lee said that the adoption of such a good constitution was entirely due to General Marshall’s effort and that his presence is needed to insure implementation of the constitution.
General Marshall stated that the Communists had no desire for his mediation. He questioned whether his presence would do more harm than good. His presence in China might cause an increase in the anti-American propaganda since the present propaganda attack upon the United States was, in fact, an attack on him. Furthermore, his continued presence in China might increase the cleavage between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. General Marshall said that [Page 660] he would like to see the development of a truly liberal party which, in his opinion, was the present hope for China. However, such a liberal party would be extremely difficult to organize. With the adoption of the constitution, and the adjournment of the National Assembly, a liberal party was the only guarantee of honest reorganization of the Government and the enforcement of the adopted constitution.
General Lee stated that the Democratic League is going to have a meeting on January 6. He said that there are only three large minority parties—the Youth Party, the Democratic League, and the Democratic Socialist Party. He then asked whether General Marshall wanted to see Mr. Chang, the Chairman of the Democratic League Party, if the latter would come to Nanking. General Marshall replied that he would not ask to see Mr. Chang, because it would cause resentment among other political parties. However, if Mr. Chang wanted to see him, General Marshall would be available. General Marshall then said that the Generalissimo now needed support from sources other than the reactionary clique in the Kuomintang. He (General Marshall) believed that a well-organized, patriotic, liberal party, formed by a coalition of minority parties, would give the Generalissimo the kind of support he needed.
General Lee stated that in the Kuomintang there were four factions: 1) the CC clique, 2) the militarists, 3) the liberals, and 4) the political scientists. If Mr. Shao Li-tze, Dr. Wang Shih-chieh, Dr. Sun Fo and Dr. T. V. Soong could get together, they could defeat the CC clique easily. It is important to keep the CC clique separated from the militarists because together they would constitute a formidable bloc. General Lee outlined the possibility of joining all liberals in the Government with the political scientist group under the leadership of Governor Chang Chun. General Lee thought that it would be a good idea to retain General Chen Cheng because his military knowledge would facilitate reorganization of the National Army. However, General Lee felt that General Chen must adopt a more liberal viewpoint. He then emphasized that this could not all be done without the support of General Marshall. General Marshall said that one difficulty was the Generalissimo’s reliance on the CC clique in moments of crisis.
General Marshall stated that the Communists had utilized the Executive Headquarters as their communications center. They have used the American equipment to make propaganda attacks against the United States and General Marshall. He believed that the Communists wanted to continue the Executive Headquarters only because of its communications. The Government wanted to continue Executive Headquarters because it would not want the United States to [Page 661] withdraw from the negotiations. However, General Marshall felt that he would have to clarify this situation very soon.
General Lee said that the CC clique was not liked by the Chinese people. He believed that what the CC clique did for the Generalissimo could also be done by General Chen Cheng. However, he reiterated that General Chen must change his viewpoint.