893.00/4–1947: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 20—7:40 a.m.]
851. It is too early to assess with, any accuracy the eventual effect of State Council reorganization announced April 17 (Embtel 838, April 18) and any such assessment must be approached with caution in the light of a series of past Chinese Govt reorganizations which have been largely for external effect and have brought little effective change to the Chinese domestic scene.
Embassy’s initial impression, however, is that caliber and standing of Kmt appointees indicates real effort to place in positions of power and responsibility the most capable and modern figures of the party. It is indeed promising that in the case of Kmt appointees there is a notable exclusion of persons closely affiliated with CC clique.64 A possible description [exception] to this is the appointment of Wu Chung-hsin, sometime governor of Sinkiang Province.
It is also encouraging that the Political Science group is well represented by its most prominent and ablest members, including Chang-Chun, Wong Wen-hao, Wang Chung-hui, and Wang Shih-chieh. Chen Pu-lei and Chiang Mon-lin, although not generally considered as members of the Political Science group, may be expected to support Political Science group policies.
The appointment of Sun Fo as Vice President of the National Govt is no doubt intended to strengthen the progressive or liberal elements and to set [the pattern?] to the Govt. The inclusion of Shao Li-tze and T. V. Soong indicates at least a drift away from the traditional aspects of Chinese political conservatism.
Chu Cheng, Yu Yu-jen, Tai Chi-tao, Chang Chi, and Tsou Lu can be best classified as party elders, faithful to the Generalissimo and essentially conservative in political outlook, but generally accepted as being in support of high standards of public morality.
A disappointing aspect of the announcement was the failure to change any of the Presidents of the five Yuan, with the exception of Chang Chun who replaces T. V. Soong as President of the Executive Yuan and relieves the Generalissimo of his temporary assumption of the office. It had been originally planned that Chang Chun-mai (Carson Chang), leader of the Social Democratic Party, would be appointed President of the Judicial Yuan and that Tseng Chi, leader of the Youth Party, would be given the presidency of one of the other four Yuan. The final refusal of Carson Chang to accept office in the Govt, even though sanctioning the participation of his party made it [Page 103] impossible to carry out this plan and for the time being at least all Yuan Presidencies remain in Kmt control.
In the case of the Social Democratic Party, even in the final stages of reorganization of the State Council, there was continued reluctance on the part of members of the party to join the Govt and on the evening of April 17 it was only possible for the Social Democrats to name three members of their allotted four. It has been announced that they will appoint the fourth member as soon as possible.
Youth Party and Social Democratic Party appointees are largely unknown quantities. They represent in the case of the Youth Party a group of Szechuan scholar-landlords who have tended in the past to be affiliated with the right wing of the Kmt. The Social Democratic Party appointees are a group of elderly scholars without important political following in the country.
On the other hand, the independent appointees offer considerable promise, particularly in the case of Chen Kwan-pu (K. P. Chen), the most able private banker in China with a high reputation for his statesmanlike judgment and probity in New York and Washington as well as China. Wang Yun-wu, present Minister of Economic Affairs, seems also a satisfactory appointment as an independent. Both K. P. Chen and Wang Yun-wu are sympathetic to the Political Science group and will tend to strengthen its position in the State Council. Mo Teh-hui has obviously been appointed because of his long affiliation with events in Manchuria. Pao Erh-han (Burkhan), a Turki and present Vice-Chairman of the Sinkiang Provincial Govt, is no doubt intended as a placatory gesture toward the minorities of the northwest. In this same general connection it will be noted that among the Kmt appointees there is included Chang Chia Hutuktu, a Tibetan.
In summary, the composition of the State Council is as regards the Kmt and independents as good as could be expected in the circumstances. Whether or not the State Council, which will constitute itself on April 23, if its members can reach Nanking by that date, will assert itself in such a manner as to bring about substantial social and economic reform in China remains, of course, a question depending upon many factors, not the least one being the attitude of the Generalissimo toward it and his ability to control the Kmt as the still dominant political party in China.
It is interesting to note that at the same time as the appointment of Kmt State Councillors, a separate political committee of the Kmt was established. The Secretary General of this committee, is Chen Li-fu and it is a safe assumption that this committee will have an important role in controlling the Kmt political machine and establishing party policies.
Eleven seats in the State Council have been left vacant for the Democratic League and the Communist Party in the event that they [Page 104] wish to join the interim govt. On the night of April 17 Lo Lung-chi65 made known to the Embassy that Democratic League participation was at this time “impossible”. Furthermore, it seems extremely unlikely that there will be any Communist participation in the Govt between now and the end of the year when the new constitution comes into force.
The reorganization of the Executive Yuan which will be carried out by the State Council will offer some indication of how assertive and energetic the Council will be and in what direction the Govt may be expected to move. Concessions to the CC clique, however, because of its control of Kmt machinery may be expected to ensue in this reorganization.
In face of the magnitude of Chinese internal problems, aside from the existence of a state of civil war, to expect too rapid change would be unrealistic, but the calibre of Kmt and independent appointees to the State Council offer reasonable ground for hope that there will be an effort made to achieve healthy and substantial change. Such change will come slowly, however, and in the process it must be borne in mind that the CC clique while at the moment not in the forefront, is still substantially in the control of the Kmt party machinery. The inclusion of non-Kmt groups at least offers promise for the stimulation of political activity and the development of non-Communist opposition, but in final analysis the major imponderable is whether or not the Generalissimo will be capable of seeking and being guided by the advice of liberal-progressive public servants rather than acceding to the reactionary henchmen personally loyal to him.
Please repeat to Moscow for Marshall66 as 15.