701.0093/6–1349: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State 52
[Received June 13—7:48 a. m.]
1275. Diplomatic Corps has been subjected series restrictive measures which is beginning make many chiefs mission doubt wisdom remaining here longer. First, official automobiles were required registered in name of individual. In case of each ambassador, he was required add after his title “acting in capacity of foreign national”. Following registration, automobiles were limited on purely arbitrary basis, from 1 to 5 cars each mission depending on its size. For most missions this is crippling and constitutes direct interference in official activities. Finally and most important, since resumption of commercial telegraphic facilities overseas, diplomatic missions have been unable to send coded messages. This has been made subject of informal protest to local Aliens Affairs Office by at least one mission without result.
There has been some agitation for meeting Diplomatic Corps and concerted action by that body vis-à-vis local authorities. However, Dean of Diplomatic Corps, who is French,53 is unwilling to take initiative or responsibility for political reasons involving French-Chinese relations. At his suggestion, however, series of small meetings including all chiefs mission who remained Nanking were held last week at four embassies to discuss individual but parallel action. Plan of approach to local authorities on basis generally recognized privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions, drawn up by French Ambassador and approved by British, Indian and myself, met sufficient opposition from other colleagues to be discarded. Strongest objection was that if Corps approaches local authorities on this basis and receives rebuff or flat negative answer, chiefs mission, at least, would be forced to withdraw or find their position even more intolerable. Since all are not prepared to take this step now or are uninformed of their governments’ desires in this connection, there is sufficient lack of unanimity to make parallel approach impractical. Abortive attempt of Diplomatic Corps to assert itself may have following beneficial results, however: (1) will inspire those chiefs mission without instructions concerning their future moves to request them and (2) quiet temporarily those chiefs mission who have been most vociferous in their complaints and demands for concerted action.
Sent Department 1275, repeated AmEmb Canton 528, Shanghai 688.