Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Meeting at Tsinan, March 2, 1946
Col. Lake: “General Marshall, distinguished guests, our team came here on January 19. When we came here we were confronted with a very bad situation. We hardly landed before I heard that I had to take off for Taian. There were many hot spots in the area, and when I say we were a ‘Field team’, I mean all that the word implies because we were on the go night and day from the 19th until the present time. There were very ugly situations at T’ai-An, at Chang-tien, at Yen Chou, and also Ta-Wen-K’ou, and also at Yao Chou: We started in at T’ai-an and we thought we had the thing settled there on the 20th, so we immediately went to Chang Tien which was reported to be very hot. We got to Chang Tien on the 22nd and we finished there on the 23rd and started back. Consequently, as we started back, we ran into a Jap battalion that was marching into Tsinan. I stopped the Jap battalion there, and, much to the satisfaction of the Communists.
“I made an agreement with the Communists there that we could find out whether or not the Communists had the right to disarm the Japanese. So after they stopped, the agreement was that we would get a decision from Peiping as to whether or not they had the right of disarmament. To facilitate getting the message into Peiping, I stopped at the first station here at Lung Shan and called by telephone to Lt. Holliday here and asked him to send the message to Peiping. When I talked with him he said they were fighting at T’ai An again. So, just as soon as I could, I rushed back to T’ai An. The Communists were determined to take the city and disarm the so-called puppet troops. All the time we were in conference there, there was fighting going on all around the area around T’ai-an. It looked to me like a hopeless situation so I went into the city and at that place there the two lines were not over 50 yards apart. When I went into the lines, I looked down the Nationalist rifle barrels and when I came back, I looked at the Communist rifle barrels.
[Page 469]“I came back to the train to report it to our Headquarters in Peiping. But I must say that General Chao, the Communist there, had a change of heart while I was waiting there, and he said to me that they were not going to fight any more.
“Our next hot spot was Wen Kou and we went there by plane and up until this time, we had never been able to contact anybody in authority with the Communist troops. We were unable to contact any Communist generals and we could not contact them at T’ai-an. So consequently I decided our only way out was to contact General Chen Yi at Lin-I. So on the 31st of January I flew to Lin-I and General Chen Yi was not there at the time, but they said he would be back either the next day or the following day. So, on Chinese New Years, February 2, I flew to Lin-I again and contacted General Chen Yi, and from that time on, I must say that our road has been very, very easy sailing.
“General Marshall, I want to say right now, I appreciate from the bottom of my heart the help that I have gotten from General Chen Yi and also General Wang Yao Wu. On the 5th of February, I was called back to T’ai-an again.
“There I ran into a mob and my team had to fight the mob for two and one-half hours to keep them from lynching the magistrate. During the course of the argument, they threw a couple of bricks through the window, but that was all right—nobody was hurt. I know that if it had happened a little later after I contacted General Chen Yi it would never have occurred. From that time our problem has been one of enforcing the cease-fire order and allowing food to come to and from the cities. Also to allow the reconstruction of the railroad to go on. All these cities that you see here are surrounded and the conditions there are all the same in every one of them.
“At Yen Chow, the airfield is ‘No man’s Land.’ The Nationalists are on one side and the Communists on the other. Now the situation at Lau Chung was very bad—almost as bad as T’ai-an. As far as withdrawal of troops was concerned, I didn’t insist on it because I knew it would not be complied with. My mission was to keep them from fighting, allow the food to come in and the construction of the railroad. We have been unable to [do] anything except those things, pending the decision from your Committee on what was going to happen to the so-called puppet troops.
“I want to compliment the two members of my team, General Kuang Jen-Nung and Colonel Tu Shu-Wu. They have done the work and I have sat idly by. We worked under all kinds of difficulties and we [Page 470] worked night and day, and I say that I am just as optimistic now as I was pessimistic on the 5th of February.
“I want to express again my appreciation for the fine cooperation that has come from the Governor of the various places and all the people I have come into contact with. I will say frankly that we have the problem in Shantung Province whipped. There will be several rough spots that we will have to smooth over, but with the cooperation that we have developed and with the earnestness with which they are going, there will be no question about it. As I said, the biggest problem we have got here is how to break clown the feeling of distrust that has existed in the past between the Communists and the Nationalists. And, General, we can do it.”
General Chang Chih Chung: “We appreciate the consideration and hard work that Colonel Lake and the other officers on his team has undergone. All those difficulties you have come across you have managed to overcome them with your earnestness and sincerity, I wish to express my thanks.
“The Government member and the Communist member as just heard from your briefing are both making efforts to solve their problems with sincerity and of course, are also to be commended.
“I have the same point of view that I have just heard about the mutual confidence and mutual understanding is very important, and the representative of the Government side will spare no effort in reaching an amicable effort to reach a mutual understanding of the Communist side. With that spirit and with that understanding, I am sure we can overcome these difficulties. It is vital for both sides to give up their interests of their respective armies and should let the main interest be for the welfare of the people to alleviate the suffering of the people. If both sides will keep their eyes on the interest of the people the mutual understanding and confidence can be better.
“The reasons for the people being unable to get food is due to the hostile attitude made by both armies and because of the communications. In order to help the people get food, we must relieve the hostile stand made by the two sides and we must repair and reopen the communications, therefore food can be brought in. If both armies make some sacrifices in order to help the people in their suffering, the people’s wants would not be so much.”
Col. Lake: “We only have one place where we have a little difficulty and that will be straightened out tomorrow or the next day. It all goes back to this one thing about what is going to happen to puppet troops, and the reorganization is going to take care of that and all our problems will be solved.”
Gen. Chang Chih Chung: “We are not in time to assist the right or wrong in the past and we have no such thought in our mind, but I [Page 471] ask that on both sides they pay the greatest attention to the welfare of the people, I hope that the accomplishment made by this particular team will be well ahead of the other teams. I wish to reiterate my thanks and appreciation of your work very much.”
Gen. Chou En-lai: “In the first place, I wish to point out that the area under the jurisdiction of this team and the problems confronting this team are of a very vast scale and very complicated. Therefore, the team in which Colonel Lake and the Government and Communist representative have accomplished so many things during this period shows this team is very distinguished in its work and I wish to extend my appreciation and thanks to Colonel Lake and to the Government and the Communist representative in this team.
“Many problems confronting this team are actually problems which cannot be solved by the team itself, such as the puppet troops which have been incorporated by the Government forces. This is not a problem which can be solved by the team and therefore the team, under the leadership of Colonel Lake has overcome many, many difficulties and finally brought about this cessation of hostilities and this is a highly admirable accomplishment and the team also has overcome such difficulties as the people coming to them with petitions.
“After the first problem, this problem arises from the opposition of cities to villages which has been established from the cities which is characteristic in war time. This is a peculiar situation, but today we are facing a change of this situation. We have to bring the villages and the cities together and let the food be imported. This is also a task which is not so easy to be solved.
“Furthermore, we have here the railway problem. From the map, we can see that the railways are actually cut into short sections and now we have to start repair work from both ends and finally we shall accomplish it so that the trains may operate. This is also a quite difficult problem.
“To solve these problems we need mutual confidence and mutual trust just as General Chang has commented. In solving these problems we are likely to be brought to the question as to who was right and who was wrong in the past and also we are making it confident that as to whether the present status is to be changed or not, but we have to lay aside all this, and I feel sure that we can find a way out if we would connect this problem with the other decisions we have so far reached such as the cessation of hostilities, restoration of communications, and basic agreement of Nationalization.63 If we take all these agreements as a whole section, we see a complete picture of the problem facing us and in light of this we will feel sure that all the [Page 472] problems can be solved under the direction of the Peiping Headquarters.
“Another peculiarity of this team is just as Colonel Lake has said. This team is a field team in its true sense because the team is moving day and night around and it tries to be at the hot spots itself and this is a true model of the other teams and I notice that Colonel Lake has not dreaded to go himself to all the places by train or other facilities and he tries to certify for himself the actual situation and also tries to solve the issues at the spot and this is worthy to be commented. I think that the spirit to solve the problem at the spot and to conduct a survey of the actual situation should be endowed to the other teams.
“I also share Colonel Lake’s view that we are likely to have more difficulty ahead but at the occasion of the conference of Three [who] have come here, I would like to take the liberty of introducing General Wang Yao-Wu and General Chen Yi and they will cooperate and assist Colonel Lake and the field team and all the difficulties will be overcome and we will have smooth sailing henceforth.
“Lastly, I want to thank Colonel Lake very much.”
Gen. Marshall: “Colonel Lake, Gentlemen, I am very much gratified to learn that the great difficulty in this region is approaching a solution. I would really like to emphasize what has already been said—that we have an agreement of the cessation of hostilities, restoration of the communications, and the evacuation of the Japanese. That lifts the matter above local difficulties, above the arguments of the past, and places it on a plane with the interests of the people. The hostilities have ceased and the reopening of communications should be pursued at top speed. We have to lift this situation out of its local aspect as soon as possible to one of national significance.
“The way has been cleared for that by the more recent agreement or the demobilization of the armies. That is a tremendous problem and it has to be carried out in much the same way as these other problems have been carried out—that is, a decision on the highest level of the Government and of the Communist party. Everything else, all of us, and local circumstances sink into insignificance.
“It is not human nature to expect individuals to forget the events of the past but they haven’t time now to cogitate on that. They have something else to do for the good of China. The rights and wrongs of the past 18 years will be debated for 18 years to come. We have something now that demands that we look entirely in the future. I am tremendously encouraged by what I have learned here and I wish to express my direct personal thanks to the three members of the team for their arduous and most admirable labors. And I wish to express my appreciation to the Commanders of the two factions, especially for [Page 473] their consideration with which they treated the officers of the United States Army.
“Our position is difficult at best. We are always open to the feeling on the part of those who are antagonistic that we are interfering into something that is none of our business, and especially that we are unfamiliar with China and therefore cannot judge things on a sound basis. I know my associates understand that we are merely trying to help and that we were requested to help; that we will assist and that we will help and that, and nothing else.
“This is a very serious occasion, but I am going to risk a comment less serious by way of illustration. Back in the United States, all the people love a game called baseball. There are two teams in the contest. There is very bitter feeling for the day, and there is an umpire to interpret the rules. Everybody disagrees with the umpire. He is the most unpopular individual in the United States on the day of the game. But the game can’t go on without him. It becomes a riot. We have not the authority of an umpire, but we endeavor to interpret the rules and agreements that have been arrived at in Chungking. And baseball goes along with American democracy.
“The time is short and we have to proceed to Hsuchow and I therefore suggest that before lunch we adjourn to the rooms for General Chang and his people and General Chou and his people and they can meet at the table.
“It is so ordered.”