893.00/12–847
The Minister-Counselor of Embassy in China
(Clark) to the Secretary of State
No. 1147
Nanking, December 8,
1947.
[Received December 17.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose as of
interest a copy of a memorandum of conversation between the Ambassador
and Premier Chang
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Chun
regarding the influence of the CC Clique from which it will be noted
that Premier Chang Chun claims great credit for the Chen brothers for
their early recognition of the Soviet menace.
It will be noted that Premier Chang is sanguine that when the new
constitution is put into effect measures can and will be undertaken
which ought to result in improvement of the situation.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
Memorandum by the Ambassador in China (Stuart) of a Conversation
With the President of the Chinese Executive Yuan (Chang)
Nanking, December 6,
1947.
I called on Premier Chang Chun with the thought of bringing to his
attention some of the obstacles to American aid within the Chinese
Government. I singled out two of these for which the CC Clique were
generally regarded as responsible: (1) the increasing power of the
CC Clique as seen in their control of most of the Government
economic and financial institutions; (2) the intimidation of
liberals through the irresponsible activities of the Party secret
police giving the widespread impression both within China and abroad
that there are no human rights as promised in the Constitution and
as essential to real democracy, such as freedom of speech and
publication.
He replied at length in an interesting historical and philosophical
comment on the Kmt since its origin, its heritage and difficulties,
with special reference to the place of the CC Clique as an almost
inevitable feature of the process. After the break in 1927 between
Chiang Kaishek and the group which remained loyal to the Soviet
advisers Russia tried in various ways to hinder the progress toward
national amity. It was then that the Chen brothers came into
prominence as the skillful and determined opponents of Russian
machinations. Chen Li-fu has remarked, quoting a phrase from
Mencius, that those who are now denounced as reactionaries were the
true prophets, the so-called liberals have only recently awakened to
the Soviet menace, and the Democratic League has not yet made the
discovery. These brothers are narrow and bigoted but their
realization of the Communist danger and their courage in meeting it
have not been without value to the national cause. As to the evils
mentioned by me he and his colleagues are quite aware of these but
the situation is now so critical that any attempt to correct them
would precipitate internal disturbances which a tottering edifice
could not stand. When the Constitution is put into effect measures
can—and he is convinced will—be undertaken which ought to result in
fairly rapid improvement. If the date fixed for
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this (December 25) cannot be kept he
thinks that the delay will not be for long and that the subsequent
procedure can be expedited so as to be concluded by about the middle
of March. Meanwhile he would keep the matter in mind and try at
least to avoid any further aggravations.
The conversation lasted for over an hour and a half and was perhaps
worth-while.
