793.04/17044
Memorandum by the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)
The Chinese Ambassador called on me yesterday. I learned from him that on Friday, October 31, T. V. Soong called on the President and brought to the President’s attention the telegram from Chiang Kai-shek. In reply to inquiries on my part, the Ambassador said that he earlier had received from the Chinese Foreign Office a message that the Foreign Office would send him shortly a message for the President from Chiang Kai-shek and that the same message would be communicated in Chungking to the American Ambassador. The staff of the Chinese Embassy here had awaited receipt of the message until midnight of October 31. The Embassy had not yet received the message. The Ambassador had finally inquired of T. V. Soong whether he had received a message; and at that point Soong had informed the Ambassador that he had received the message and had taken it to the President; that the message asked that the American Government warn the Japanese against an attack on Yunnan and urge the British to send air assistance to China; that the President had stated to Soong that we might be able to do something with regard to the requested warning but that it would be difficult for the British to give the assistance suggested; that Soong did not supply the Ambassador with a copy of the message; and that the Ambassador hoped that we would be able to respond helpfully to Chiang Kai-shek’s requests.