793.94/17000: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 20—9:10 p.m.]
452. In his inaugural address before the second plenary session of the People’s Political Council, General Chiang dealt almost exclusively with the Chinese war of resistance and the international situation. He expressed confidence that the United States and Britain had no intention of dealing lightly with any of the aggressors, including Japan, and expressed a belief that now is the time to liquidate “the Japan incident”. To avoid disaster, he pointed out two conditions which Japan must fulfill: (1) the abandonment of the policy of aggression, “withdrawal of all forces from Chinese soil including the northeastern provinces and similar withdrawal from Indochina” and (2) the abandonment of Japan-Axis alliance.
One of the seven Chinese Communist delegates attended the meeting of the Council.
The Foreign Minister and the Minister of War addressed the Council at closed meetings. It is understood that the Foreign Minister’s report followed lines quite similar to the address by the Generalissimo and that the War Minister, in reporting on military affairs, stated that some of the best units of the Chinese Army had been transferred for the defense of Yunnan. In his speech the Generalissimo made only brief reference to [Japanese?] “Army’s massing troops in Indochina with the objective of cutting China’s lines of communication.”