Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270: Telegram
Colonel George V. Underwood 7 to Colonel Marshall S. Carter 8
1969. While reviewing General Marshall’s final report9 I noted that the agreement entitled “The Executive Headquarters” signed on 10 [Page 706] January 1946 by General Chang Chun and General Chou En-lai contained the following final paragraph:10
“The Executive Headquarters shall remain in existence and operate until this agreement is rescinded by the President of the Republic of China or the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party after due notification to the other party.”
While General Marshall was not a signatory to this agreement, still this document covers the American Commissioner, the American Director of Operations and the American Branch of Executive Headquarters. It would seem, therefore, that any unilateral action by the United States Government to withdraw its personnel from Executive Headquarters should be accompanied by a formal notification of intent to the Generalissimo11 and to Chairman Mao Tze-tung.12 This notification could also include a deadline for return of CCP personnel to CCP areas as a U. S. responsibility.
- Officer in charge of the Embassy Liaison Office, successor to General Marshall’s Office in China.↩
- General Marshall’s special representative in Washington.↩
- See bracketed note, supra. ↩
- For text of agreement, see Department of State, United States Relations With China (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949), p. 627. Generals Chang and Chou were then, respectively, Chinese Government and Chinese Communist Party representatives in the cease-fire talks conducted by General Marshall. General Chou also was head of the Chinese Communist Party delegation at Chungking and Nanking.↩
- Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China.↩
- Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.↩