393.1163/8–1049: Telegram
The Consul at Shanghai (McConaughy) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 11—1:52 a. m.]
3166. Following is brief survey certain difficulties facing Protestant missions central China as gleaned from conversations various missionaries supervisory positions, especially Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian.
Chief difficulty is limitation on freedom movement. As rule missionaries in interior cannot obtain travel permits to attend Christian conferences other points even when nearby. Chinese Christians have similar difficulty. Numerous missionaries interior points have been unable obtain permits proceed Shanghai and this difficulty may interfere with evacuation missionaries interior points who desire leave. Missionaries supervisory positions Shanghai such as Bishop Ward, Methodist, and Frank Price, Presbyterian, unable obtain travel permits to enable them visit their supervisory areas.
Fine Methodist hospital at Suchow virtually taken over by Communist authorities in absence Director, Dr. F. P. Manget. They were spearheaded by Party member who maneuvered himself into hospital staff on pretext he was expert radiologist. He has intimidated Chinese Executive Board left in charge by Dr. Manget.
Missionaries in worst famine areas such as Nanchang in potentially serious predicament because impossibility sending relief supplies to them for distribution. In some cases cash remittances hard to transmit. Since missionaries unable contribute anything to relief of famine and cannot starve themselves they are in vulnerable position, inviting criticism or worse from Chinese rendered desperate by semi-starvation. Yet in many cases they are unable get permits to leave.
Communist inspectors are showing up in most of mission schools. While Bible can still be taught as elective subject, most schools interior and theological seminaries not yet closed down, grounds already exist for suspicion increasingly unacceptable interferences with curricula will take place.
Hipps at Baptist University of Shanghai already informed courses in Theology, History of Religion, Religious Education, Ethics and Philosophy must be dropped from curriculum. He is convinced Communists intend pervert Christian universities into Communist-indoctrinated institutions. Ironically, Communists still hopeful obtaining remittances from American Christian mission boards to propagate [Page 1272] Marxism and atheism. Hipps of opinion time has about come for boards in US to cease remittances and for Christian teachers to leave. Significant that Communists now are interfering more actively with university curricula than with middle schools, indicating early Marxist indoctrination mature students contemplated.
Intermittent occupation of mission school properties by Communist soldiers, of course, constant problem.
While it is too early generalize, I share forebodings of those missionaries here who feel for sake of Chinese Christians (many of whom feel foreign missionaries temporary liability) as well as for safety of missionaries themselves and to prevent misuse missionary funds from US we must reconcile ourselves to temporary ebb foreign mission activity here—especially educational and evangelical as distinguished from medical, which will have somewhat better prospects if hospitals subject themselves Communist supervision.
Sent Department; repeated Nanking 1737, OffEmb Canton 983.