111.11/1–1147: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 12—8:40 a.m.]
61. The impact of three startling developments concerning General Marshall within a period of 36 hours has shocked the Chinese public and Chinese officialdom into silence—be it from surprise or evasion. Typical of this reaction was statement by Minister of Information (Embtel 47, January 10) which was read carefully and with obvious unease. Chinese were ill-prepared for this rapid succession of events since they had assumed from President Truman’s December 18 statement that General Marshall’s departure would not come so soon, nor [Page 697] had they been prepared in any sense for resignation of Secretary Byrnes or his replacement by General Marshall. It is evident that most comment will be exceedingly guarded until the meaning of these developments can be studied and their possible consequences for the groups concerned weighed and sifted as well as some decision to be taken at a top level as to what Chinese policy must be to meet the situation. Certainly there had been no expectation that any pronouncement would have been as forthright as was General Marshall’s statement. The only comment by the Foreign Minister was typical in this respect when he said to Minister-Counselor that the statement was “unusually frank”. Both T. V. Soong and the Generalissimo told me that they were delighted with the statement and were happy as they could be with the appointment. In the case of T. V. Soong, it seems likely that his reaction was at least partially the malicious pleasure of a politician without a political party who sees the two leading parties equally castigated. The suggested initial pleasure of the Communists (Embtel 50, January 10, noon) is undoubtedly attributable to the fact that this is the first statement which, though it censures them, is equally hard on the Kuomintang.
The statement and White House announcement of General Marshall’s appointment were lead stories in all papers January 9. Text published in full as released by USIS,94 except that Kmt papers deleted the word “reactionaries” two [so?] that the phrase read “there is a dominant group in the Kmt” and the line “devastating in its effect” was modified to read “its influence has become invulnerable”. Kmt papers also published text of statement with a simple explanatory headline whereas independent papers used several descriptive sub-heads. Kmt papers coincidentally gave almost equal prominence to Minister of Information’s statement under headline “No Change in US Policy Toward China After Marshall’s Appointment to New Post”.
Preliminary comment has assiduously used generalities and has avoided coming to terms with the issues posed by the statement and the appointment. Several papers tried to read into it their own particular views, though tending more to concentrate on the appointment and so far as possible ignoring the statement. In Shanghai the powerful C–C95 clique’s Sin Wen Pao said the appointment shows the importance the US attaches to the China problem and expressed the belief that General Marshall by his understanding of China will continue to help the country. C–C clique Shun Pao praised General Marshall’s spirit of tolerance as having had a great deal to do with the enactment of the constitution. After congratulating him [Page 698] on his new appointment, the paper said it would refrain from commenting on his statement. Paper emphasized the development of China’s situation to the present stage as against its historical background and hoped that General Marshall would continue to help China from a “new and broader angle”. Shanghai conservative independent Ta Kung Pao said the appointment indicates a shift of American attention to the Far East and that his knowledge of Chinese affairs is an indication of this emphasis—“General Marshall’s failure in his China mission is very much to be regretted, but this is China’s failure—not his …96 His statement shows his strong hatred of the extremist elements in both the Kuomintang and the Communists. He also tells frankly of his earnest desire to see the Liberals in the Kuomintang and the minority groups work together to broaden the democratic basis of the Government and to practice constitutionalism in China under the leadership of President Chiang. China must strive by herself to stop civil war and achieve internal peace.”
Shanghai English language press also featured statement and appointment. China Daily Tribune commented but without taking any line more definite than to recapitulate the statement and express regret that events had forced this development. British-subsidized North China Daily News saw in statement confession of American failure in China. H. H. Kung’s China Press was the most candid: “Further mediation in China must be ruled out under the present circumstances prevailing in this country. On the evidence at hand it would seem that the United States is through with hoping for an 11th hour miracle to materialize out of the present situation. In any case, the report made by General Marshall indicates that the US will not commit itself further in this country either politically or economically, until she is absolutely certain of what the prospects for peace are and exactly who is to benefit from the aid given to China.”
The Nanking press was equally cautious in its preliminary comment. The only prominent independent paper, Hsin Min Pao, went no farther then to say that General Marshall as Secretary of State will be a deciding factor in American policy and that since he understands China, there will be no drastic changes in the fundamental principles of American policy: “It is probable that there will be improvements in the techniques of executing American China policy and there will be certain desirable measures which will be adopted.” Whampoa clique Ta Tao Pao came to the remarkable conclusion that developments of the last few days had been caused by student demonstrations. The Army Ho Ping Jih Pao congratulated General Marshall on his appointment and said, “With his departure he will no [Page 699] longer be directly responsible for the restoration of peace to China. He is going to shoulder greater responsibilities.” The Chiu Kuo Jih Pao, subsidized by the Ministry of National Defense, apparently read only those sections critical of the Communists, because it drew the conclusion that General Marshall, since he now understands China, will dedicate the US to the complete extermination of Communism in China by all-out support to the Central Government. Catholic Yi Shih Pao congratulated him and wished him well.
Kmt Chung Yang Jih Pao used several hundred words in avoiding any opinions or conclusions except to express its conviction that General Marshall, by this experience, was well qualified for his new assignment and the problems of China. The papers did, however, go on to lay practically the entire blame on the Communists—“Out of the desire to make China a stabilizing force in the Far East and a pillar of peace in the world, every patriotic Chinese hates war, dissension and dictatorship. However, the Communists are worshippers of war, dissension and dictatorship. Without getting over war, dissension and dictatorship, obstacles placed in the way by the Communists, China cannot hope to have real peace, unity and democracy. To get over the three obstacles will require a reasonable amount of time. This may have caused impatience to China’s friends. But we wish to inform them that they must not get discouraged because there are so many obstacles to surmount.” The most extraordinary editorial was C–C clique Ta Kung Pao which confined itself solely to discussing the domestic American political scene and the relationship between the American Executive and Congress. The only reference it made to China was that American policy toward China naturally is an outgrowth of the American scene.