893.00/4–149: Telegram
The Minister-Counselor of Embassy in China (Clark) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 2—1:55 a. m.]
Cantel 181. Soviet Ambassador71 sought me out at reception yesterday and in line present Soviet tactics was most cordial. His conversation seemed obviously directed toward lulling me into sense security and persuading me (1) that peace efforts Li Tsung-jen would fail because Li spoke only for himself and Pai Chung-hsi, but that [Page 218] nevertheless (2) when Communists finally took over they would be “riding a tiger” and confronted with situations impossible of solution.
In response to my inquiry whether he would return Nanking now that Ho Ying-chin Cabinet seemed to be establishing itself there, he said Nanking in effect only puppet; neither Li nor Ho could make any major decision without first consulting Central Executive Committee of Kmt which is in Canton and Generalissimo who is at Chikow. Had not Wu Tieh-cheng publicly upheld right of CEC to approve composition cabinet and peace proposals and had not Chang Chih-chung gone Chikow to see Generalissimo before proceeding Peiping head peace delegation? Even at that he did not see how “other side” could take seriously and [any?] promises Li’s delegation might make as he certainly was not authorized to commit Ma brothers, Szechuan leaders or Lu Han in Yunnan. There was also considerable doubt in his mind whether the “Canton boys” would agree to any solution Li was able to work out.
He spoke at length on subject of traditional independence northwest leaders, of secret societies in Szechuan, of self assertion Chinese when suppressed too severely by their overlords, as witness recent uprisings Hunan and Yunnan and obviously sought magnify difficulty ruling China and leave impression that we should not worry too much about trend events as history indicated that no one could, in final analysis, control clannish Chinese. “Other side” therefore could not succeed any more than had Kmt.
Sent Department, repeated Nanking 167, Shanghai 122, Moscow 7.
- N. V. Roschin.↩