893.01 Inner Mongolia/23
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to despatch No. 611 of March 10, 1934, addressed to the Legation by the Consul General at Tientsin, copies [Page 77] of which were forwarded to the Department.91 With this despatch were enclosed copies in translation of “Provisional Regulations Governing the Office of the Director General of the District Autonomous Movement of Mongolia” and “Provisional Regulations Governing the Organization of the District Autonomous Political Council for Mongolia”,91 which were the recent outcome of protracted negotiations between Mongols and officials of the Nanking Government and which are regarded as having solved, at least temporarily, the question of the autonomy of Inner Mongolia and its relation to the Central Government.
Mr. Lo Sang Ch’u Ch’en, a Mongol who is chief of the Peiping Office of the Panchen Lama, gave his views yesterday to a member of my staff with regard to the future of Inner Mongolia. He was pessimistic. He said that the measures recently adopted for the autonomy of Inner Mongolia are satisfactory for the time being, except to those Mongols who do not want autonomy, but that he does not regard them as of much significance in the long run because of Japanese aggression. He stated that many Japanese agents are active, in that part of Inner Mongolia which still remains outside of “Manchukuo”, in attempting to persuade the Mongol leaders of the desirability of allegiance to “Emperor Pu Yi”; and Mr. Lo added that the Mongols naturally prefer an emperor to a republican government. Especial efforts are being made by the Japanese to gain the allegiance of Prince Ta,92 whom Mr. Lo described as the head of the Silingol League, as the Mongol leader having the most military strength, and as residing in Uchumuchin (Ujumchin) which is in that part of Chahar Province which forms a wedge between Outer Mongolia and “Manchukuo” and which is therefore of especial strategic importance to the Japanese. (The Silingol League occupies all of Chahar Province with the exception of the southern part.) Mr. Lo stated that Japanese officers are in residence near Prince Ta but that he has not yet been persuaded by them. With further encroachment by the Japanese in the Peiping-Tientsin area, which Mr. Lo regards as inevitable, though he believes it will be manipulated by the Japanese so as to appear as much as possible like an invasion by “Manchukuo” and not by Japan, he feels sure that Inner Mongolia must inevitably turn over to “Manchukuo”.
With regard to the future movements of the Panchen Lama, Mr. Lo said that the Lama is so fearful of the future of China because of further and further Japanese aggression that he is very anxious to return to the quiet of Tibet. He will first, however, visit Inner Mongolia for a short period.
Respectfully yours,