893.01/6–1149
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Sprouse)
Mr. Tsui57 telephoned this morning and stated that the Chinese Embassy had been instructed by the Foreign Office at Canton to communicate to the Department orally the following information:
In view of the military situation in south China, various Chinese Government ministries and commissions have begun the establishment of offices at Chungking in order to make appropriate preparations for the removal of the Government from Canton to that city in the future. The Chief of Protocol has informed the accredited foreign diplomatic representatives at Canton of the foregoing and has asked them to send officers from their staffs to make the necessary preliminary preparations for removal to Chungking. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will render all possible assistance to the foreign diplomatic establishments and will pay the expenses of air transportation for travel from Canton to Chungking. Canton still remains the seat of the Government but because of the possibility of the spread of warfare to the Canton area the Chinese Government must make these preparations. In the event that the National Govenment should decide to move to Chungking, sufficient advance notice of such a decision will be given to the foreign diplomatic representatives and assistance will be given to them in moving from Canton. The Foreign Office desires that instructions be given by the concerned governments to their diplomatic representatives to accompany the Chinese Government at the time of its removal from Canton. The Foreign Office is giving no publicity to this action and would appreciate the Department’s treating this information as confidential.
- Tswen-ling Tsui, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy.↩