893.00/7–2649: Telegram
The Minister-Counselor of Embassy in China (Clark) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 27—11:08 p. m.]
Cantel 826. For Strong.44 Chu Chang-wei informs me Acting President Li Tsung-jen flew Hengyang this morning for conference Pai Chung-hsi. Li will then proceed Foochow, stay overnight, then go Taiwan.45 Chu believes Li will omit Hainan from itinerary and will return Canton before proceeding contemplated visit Chungking.
Chu says government is more worried by situation Szechuan than by that Canton. He says Hu Tsung-nan’s troops are falling back from Paochi down road to Szechuan plain and that general situation in that province is sour. He left me with decided impression that government may have to revise its plans and may not move Chungking; if it does so, move will be on such small scale as to make further evacuations simple matter.
Sent Department Cantel 826, repeated Nanking 553, Shanghai 463, Taipei 82, Chungking 70.
- Robert C. Strong, First Secretary of Embassy in China, was on special detail at Chungking.↩
- The Military Attaché in China (Soule) on July 29 reported that Acting President Li had flown to Taiwan “presumably [to] continue with Chiang Kai-shek his unsuccessful discussions re resistance plan for mainland” (893.00(W)/7–2949).↩