Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Minutes of Conference Between General Marshall and Mr. Chang Nat Teh and Prof, Chen Ping Hsieh at General Marshall’s House, May 17, 1946, 2:30 p.m.
| Also present: | Captain Soong |
Mr. Chang expressed his appreciation of General Marshall’s effort in obtaining peace for China and asked if there was any hope of success. He stated that Prof. Chou who visited General Marshall previously represented his newspaper and he also was a member of PPC.
General Marshall stated that he had been asked this question many times before by members of the Young China Party. He then stated that an immediate help would be for the minority political parties to get together on an interim basis in order to meet the urgent situation. He further stated he had also mentioned this to members of the Democratic League who had appealed to him for help. General Marshall [Page 862] said it would be necessary for the small groups to unite and to meet the emergency by using their influence to bring these two opposing parties together. The Kuomintang felt that the Democratic League was in union with the Communist Party and the Communists felt that the Young China Party was dominated by the Kuomintang. In this emergency, it is necessary for these minority political parties to get together and to assist in solving the problem. He then stated that the newspapers on both sides published articles calculated to make the situation more difficult and that the mutual fear and distrust evidenced in these articles were making the situation more hopeless. General Marshall then suggested that all the minority party members join in an effort to influence newspaper editors and individual Kuomintang and Communist party members toward a more tolerant point of view. General Marshall then said that certain leaders in the Kuomintang were saying that he had misled the Government to its present position. On the other hand, Communists were saying that he was in back of the Kuomintang to destroy the Communist Party. The Democratic League also attacked him in effect by radio appeals to the U. S. General Marshall reiterated that the greatest assistance the Young China Party could give would be to combine with the Democratic League at the present time to influence people to solve the problem and not confine themselves to bitterness and intolerance.
General Marshall then said that there was no one in China, he thought, that understood the meaning and working of a two-party government. He explained that the attack of one against the other in a two-party government is an Ordinary manifestation of a democracy, and that a party not in power always tries to better its position by an assault on the ruling party. The Kuomintang members could not see that point. He added that the troops of the Kuomintang could not destroy the Communist army, and the reverse was also true. However, between them, they could destroy China. General Marshall further stated that the most valuable weapon at this time would be to influence public opinion in the high levels.