793.94/5838
The Consul General at Nanking (Peck) to the Minister in China (Johnson)85
Sir: This Consulate General has already invited the attention of the Legation to two divergent policies now advocated by Chinese political leaders bearing upon measures which should be taken to meet the [Page 458] crises arising from Japan’s aggressive action against China. One school of thought, prominently represented by Cantonese leaders in particular, urges that immediate military measures be taken to recover possession of Manchuria, while the other school urges that immediate war with Japan would be disastrous and that the best interests of China would be served by organizing and strengthening the country politically so that open opposition to Japan, when undertaken, may have a prospect of success.
General Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee, recognized as being the dominant political figure in China at the present time, is the principal exponent of the second, or more conservative, policy. There is enclosed herewith a copy of a Kuo Min news release dated Nanking, December lo,86 entitled “Outspoken Address by General Chiang Kai-shek”. The address, which was delivered before the National Civil Affairs Conference on December 14, as summarized in translation by Kuo Min, has as its theme “We must first set our own house in order before we can successfully resist outside aggressions”. In this line of argument General Chiang may have an ulterior motive, which does not appear on the surface. It is probable that he agrees with the view expressed to the writer on an earlier occasion by Dr. Lo Wen-kan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, that a powerful stimulus is required to overcome the inertia and disruptive tendency so characteristic of the Chinese people in the face of their need for political organization, and that this stimulus is to be found in the necessity of opposing “foreign imperialism”. General Chiang shows a determination to utilize this stimulus to the fullest extent in goading the leaders and the people of China into the suppression of their internal antagonisms and into sincere and united effort to transform China into an efficiently organized state.
Respectfully yours,