893.00B/6–1349: Telegram
The Ambassador in China ( Stuart ) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 13—10:19 a. m.]
1274. Controlled press and radio of Communist China provide some substantiation of our surmise that sun of Chou En-lai is being eclipsed by that of Liu Shao-chi.
Only honor received by Chou during at least past year was appointment as chairman of CCP delegation to abortive peace discussions in Peiping last April. Press has not carried any speech delivered or article written by Chou. On May 10 press reported he addressed All China Youth League Congress in Peiping May 7 but, contrary to custom, it failed to publish text.
On other hand, Peiping radio reports of arrival of central committee of CCP and general headquarters of PLA at Peiping March 25 listed arrivals of Mao Tse-tung, Chu Teh, Liu Shao-chi, Chou En-lai, Jen [Page 382] Pi-shih and Lin Tzu-han in that order. Following Communist capture of Tientsin, Liu had important assignment as economic trouble shooter that area. He delivered report about May 5 to North China labor congress, and it was published. He, as “leader of Chinese labor movement”, May 30 was elected honorary president of All China Federation of Labor. His biography was broadcast to world June 3 by Peiping radio English Morsecast. He received signal honor of having his article “On Internationalism and Nationalism” published in Cominform Journal and Pravda (re Embtel 1258, June 10).
Sent Dept 1274, repeated Shanghai 687, American Embassy Canton 527, Peiping 214, Moscow 41.