793.94 Advisory Committee/143: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Bucknell) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 31—2:15 p.m.]
30. The Chinese delegation issued the following statement to the press this evening:
“In view of the various reports in the press regarding the Sino-Japanese conflict, the League, and the United States of America, the spokesman of the Chinese delegation issued the following statement to clarify China’s position as well as the general situation.
In asking the League to take effective action vis-à-vis Japanese aggression in China, the Chinese Government has been pursuing a legitimate and logical course in accordance with the Covenant of the League of Nations.
The efforts of the Chinese delegation at Geneva have been so directed and it is ridiculous to attribute to it the intention of maneuvering for the intervention of the United States of America. It is equally grotesque to say, as was reported in the press, that the Chinese delegation, or for that matter, any delegation attempted to involve France and the United States in the war in connection with the Sino-Japanese conflict.
During the deliberations of the members of the Council it was suggested—and the suggestion was an agreeable one to the Chinese delegation—that Washington should be informed as before of the discussions at Geneva as undoubtedly the United States have a very deep interest in the Far East. Such a step was considered all the more necessary as the results of the Geneva discussions would, it was hoped, furnish the American Government with useful elements for exercising its own judgment.
It is unnecessary to emphasize that the American policy of independent judgment and parallel action is well known here. Therefore recent reports which have appeared in the press implying or alleging that certain delegation or a group of delegations has been maneuvering to force the American Government to concerted action with the League are entirely unfounded.”