702.4193/4–649: Telegram
The Ambassador in China ( Stuart ) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 6—9:11 a. m.]
714. Following text of coded letter sent by open mail March 9 by British Consul Mukden to British Consul General Peiping and handed us by British Embassy, Nanking:
“For first 2 weeks after Communist occupation Consulates had ‘normal’ relations with authorities. On 15th November peremptory letters were received demanding the handing over of wireless transmitters. French Consul and I replied that we had none. US Consul General replied that he could not deliver his transmitter, but would close it and authorities could remove if they wished. On November 19th, French Consul and I received second letter about transmitters, this time addressed to us personally (not as Consul) and referring to ‘former’ Consulates. On November 20th US Consul General and his staff including servants were confined to their house where they have remained ever since incommunicado. All are believed to be well. At the same time, my light and telephone (and not French Consul’s) were cut off.
2. Since then French Consul and I have been officially ignored. Letters are not answered and interviews are evaded. The very few communications we have received e.g. from police about registration have been addressed personally. My light was restored after 5 weeks but telephone is still cut, car is unlicensed, sentry at gate intimidates visitors and till very recently plain-clothes men followed me and the staff everywhere. French Consul has been consistently treated one degree better.
3. Foreigners (except Americans) have however no personal ill-treatment to complain of. Most important damage to British interests has been the occupation of Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, with the consent of the Russian left in charge, by Government Trading Corp. Missionaries are working without interference.
Present position is therefore that US Consulate General has ceased to exist and British and French can hardly collect information except from the press and are quite unable to protect nationals though their presence does support morale. On the other hand, authorities have never directly stated that they regard the Consulates as closed and I think they do not wish to commit themselves either way. I have therefore (having first made every effort to obtain interview or answer to letters) refrained from pressing the authorities for the past 3 months in hopes of facilitating ‘normal’ relations should general settlement make them possible later on. I am convinced that while action on my part might well aggravate the situation it could not conceivably improve it. Mukden authorities obviously receive their orders from elsewhere and I do not think any local improvement is likely till agreement is made either in North China or more probably Nanking.”
Sent Department 714, repeated Shanghai 340, AmEmbassy Canton 226.