893.00/6–1448
The Consul General at Peiping (Clubb) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 5.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to this Consulate General’s despatch No. 105 of June 14 [15], 194825 reporting on the appearance in Peiping of a “third party” group reputedly desirous of bringing about peace in China, and to enclose as of possible pertinency in this general connection a copy of a memorandum of conversation of June 9, 1948 between myself and General Hsu Ch’eng-chia26 in regard to the Chinese political situation.
It will be observed that the conversation centered around the present position of General Li Chi-shen, who has set himself up as opposition leader in Hong Kong. The essence of the matter is that, reputedly under General Li’s direction, there has been put afoot a movement envisaging the establishment of semi-autonomous governments in five areas in China—Manchuria, North China, Southwest China, Southeast China, and Central China. Taiwan was to have been included. General Hsu spoke in very general terms, but he did indicate that the development had reached an advanced stage. In a further conversation with him yesterday, he made the matter more explicit still by setting forth in greater detail the connections of the concerned persons. He indicated that the autonomous government proposed for Manchuria, where the movement was by schedule to have begun, would have been called the Northeast People’s Autonomous Government, and that the persons connected with this were General Li’s representative, Chou Ch’ing-wen, and a large number of others, including particularly Lo Pin-ch’i, Kao Ch’ung-min, and Yen Pao-hang. Chou is reputedly presently in Harbin. On the Communist side, according to this information, there is included as reputed leader of the “reform group” of the Chinese Communist Party the Well-known pro-Russian Communist leader Li Li-san. In Northwest China the leadership was under Tu Pin-ch’eng (executed about three months ago), in the southwest under Lung Yun (former Chairman of Yunnan Province) who, according to General Hsu, is currently under surveillance in Nanking (although General Lung is still unaware of this fact). The main supporters of the southwest group are Generals Liu Wen-hui and Teng Hsi-hou, respectively leaders of Sikang and Szechuan Provinces. In the southeast the name of the [Page 303] chief leader is given as Wang K’un-lun, with of course General Li Chi-shen being the outstanding political figure for the whole of the Kwangsi-Kwangtung area. In the Central China area the leader is Liu Ch’eng-chi.
The overall leadership for this organization is supposed to be the Chinese People’s Autonomous Committee under the leadership of Li Chi-shen himself. Under the committee in question, there are four main groups, as follows: (1) San Min Chu I Joint Comrades Society led by Sung Ch’iu-ling; (2) the Kwangsi group led by Li Chi-shen; (3) the Democratic League led by Chang Lan; and (4) Chinese Communist Party “reform group” under the leadership of Li Li-san. General Hsu said that there was, moreover, American support with the leader, still unidentified, known as Ho Erh.
It was not entirely clear, despite the implication of General Hsu’s remarks that he was on the side of the National Government, to which side in fact he belongs. The indications are that he has close connections with Shansi Province and North China Generals who are at the present time known to be endeavoring to find means of “landing on their feet” in the event of something in the nature of a collapse at Nanking. From what is known of the present tendencies, it may be said that, despite the circumstance that the National Government may be aware of certain definite political trends, it nevertheless seems in a poor position, where it is fighting for its life against the Chinese Communists, to take effective measures to suppress the growing dissension in the peripheral areas of its own camp.
According to General Hsu, General Li Chi-shen is now able to command the loyalty of 200,000 troops in Kwangtung and Kwangsi Provinces.
Respectfully yours,