893.00b/1119
Memorandum by the Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Drumright)55
During the course of a call on Dr. Wang Shih-chieh, Minister of Publicity, Secretary General of the People’s Political Council, and an acknowledged authority on Kuomintang-communist relations, on November 7, 1941, I took advantage of the occasion to query him in regard to the recent trend of relations between these two political groups.
Dr. Wang said that, broadly speaking, there has in recent months been no outstanding change in Kuomintang-communist relations: The National Government desires the Chinese communists to comply with its instructions, particularly in the military field; specifically the National Government still desires the transfer of all Chinese communist forces to north China. Pending an indication of compliance on the part of the Chinese communists, the National Government continues to adhere to its policy of furnishing no military and financial aid to the communists. The Chinese communists, for their part, Dr. Wang continued, continue to demand the release of General Yeh Ting of the New Fourth Army (now detained at General Ku Chu-tung’s headquarters in the third war zone), the reconstitution of the New Fourth Army and the furnishing by the National Government of military supplies and money to the communists. In this relation, Dr. Wang stated that there had been conversations of a desultory nature between the two groups during the past few months, but none of a concrete nature. In reply to a question, Dr. Wang said that the communists had not of late made demands for the legal recognition of the Chinese communist party. Dr. Wang went on to say that although there had been no significant change in the Kuomintang-communist relationship in recent months, there were some minor points worthy of note. For one thing, there have been minor clashes during the past month (presumably October 1941) in north Kiangsu and southern Shantung between communist and Government military forces, the communist having attacked troops commanded by General Yü Hsueh-chung in Shantung and by General Han Te-chin in north Kiangsu. It is not known, Dr. Wang said, whether these clashes were deliberately provoked by the communists or whether they resulted from the propinquity of the two forces. It was Dr. Wang’s own view, however, that the communists were still endeavoring to enlarge their sphere of influence in these two provinces, a condition which the National Government could not tolerate. In connection with the continued stationing of communist [Page 544] troops in north Kiangsu and southern Shantung, Dr. Wang said that the National Government has not recently renewed its instructions to these troops to move north. He added that National Government troops have orders not to attack communist units unless they themselves are attacked.
Dr. Wang said that another point worthy of stress is that since the start of the Russo-German war the Chinese communists appear to have adopted a “softer” or “more polite” attitude toward the National Government. For example, Dr. Wang continued, the Chinese communists have ceased the publication in their press of the “nonsense” which they formerly printed about England and the United States drawing China into an “imperialistic war” against Germany and are now advocating all-out defense against fascism. Dr. Wang went on to say that communism has lost ground in China this year for two reasons: (1) the signing by Soviet Russia of a neutrality pact with Japan which disillusioned a great many of the Chinese intelligentsia with regard to the bona fides of Russia’s motives and (2) the volte face of principles involved in the Chinese communists’ policy since the start of the Russo-German conflict, that is, the complete reversal of Chinese communist policy from that of noninvolvement in the European conflict to all-out aid to Russia, which served to disillusion a great many of the Chinese student elements as to the genuineness of the principles advocated by the Chinese communists.
In response to an inquiry, Dr. Wang said that he could not definitely say whether the Chinese communists would participate in the coming session of the People’s Political Council (scheduled to be held in Chungking from November 15, 1941). Dr. Wang added that the communists have not indicated that their delegates will not attend, but that they are too unpredictable a group to make a conclusive forecast regarding their intentions. Dr. Wang explained that in any event only two of the seven communist delegates to the People’s Political Council are in Chungking and in a position to attend, namely, Tung Pi-wu and Mrs. Chou En-lai. Dr. Wang continued that some delegates of the People’s Political Council are bent on solving Kuomintang-communist differences, and that an attempt may be made during the coming session to bridge the gap. It was apparent from Dr. Wang’s comment that he had very little hope of an all-round settlement being reached in the near future. On the contrary, the tenor of his discussion suggested that he believed that Kuomintang-communist relations would continue indefinitely in their present status of what might be described as “suspended animation”.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Ambassador in China in his covering despatch No. 211, November 13; received December 8.↩