861.77 Chinese Eastern/230
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Chinese Minister asked for an interview at twelve o’clock.
- 1.
- He told me that he had brought to me the note58 which he had discussed with Mr. Cotton59 during my absence ten days ago; that his government had decided to make it public as we had suggested, by communicating it to the various signatories of the Kellogg Pact; that he was finding some difficulty in doing this because China did not have diplomatic relations with many of those signatories, but that his note was being given out, as I recall it, to certain capitals like London, Paris and others, and that he, Dr. Wu, was distributing it among his colleagues here from other countries. He said that his country would welcome any assistance in making it public. I asked him if he wished to have us give it to the press. He told me that he did.
- 2.
- He told me that he wished to repeat to me what he had told Mr. Johnson, namely, that his country was mobilizing 60,000 troops to protect their frontier. I asked him what the purpose of mobilizing was, as to whether it was to protect the frontier or the railway and he told me that the report which he had from his government did not say which. He afterwards told me that these troops were Manchurian troops, local troops, and not from the South of the Wall.
- 3.
- He told me that his government had directed him to bring to the notice of this Government a direct violation of Chinese territory resulting in casualties to Chinese troops which was contained in the report from Chang Hsueh Liang, who is in command of the Army of Manchuria. This report from Chang Hsueh Liang was dated August 19 and was to the effect that the Russians having designs on Dalainor60 in order to cut the Chinese [Eastern] Railway between Manchuli and Hailar had made an attack on the afternoon of August 16 at 3:30 upon Dalainor. The attack had begun at 3:30 and lasted until 7:30. The Chinese lost one platoon commander and twenty-five men killed, and one company commander, one platoon commander and between twenty and thirty men wounded. That same night at 3:30 a.m., on the morning of the 17th at the Dalainor Mines Russian forces opened artillery attack which was still going on on the date of the report. The Nanking Government had replied to Chang Hsueh Liang to go no further than self defense actually required.
- 4.
- Minister Wu said that he himself had communicated directly with Chang Hsueh Liang and that the latter had stated that there were repeated incursions of Russians across the line, but that he was keeping his troops in control pursuant to instructions from Nanking.
- 5.
- Minister Wu had received word from a Chinese news agency that 1,000 Chinese were being forcibly compelled to dig trenches and do other military work in the maritime provinces which includes Vladivostok.
I asked Minister Wu how about the White Russians and he admitted that Chang Hsueh Liang had White Russians enlisted in his forces much as the French had the Foreign Legion. There were also many White Russians in that entire country who, being without means of support had become little better than bandits, but this was a situation which had lasted for several years and he did not think that any of the despatches to the press had reported that any organized Chinese forces had transgressed the Siberian border. This was said in response to a statement of mine that it was very difficult for neutral observers to distinguish between the rights and wrongs of border skirmishes and that in case the situation came down to a conflict brought on in that way it was very difficult for neutral observers to form a clear opinion as to which country was in the right. I took occasion again to point out the importance in this respect of governmental action by China in clearing her skirts for the original impression she had given of being wrong in regard to the Chinese Eastern Railway. He admitted that public impression had been given and asked me again what could be done. I told him that there must be many ways of making clear the difference between China protecting herself against propaganda on the one hand and infringing the Russian rights in the railroad management on the other, and that it seemed to me she ought to be able to make some public disclaimer of anything like the latter intention and to make an offer which would make this clear.