711.93/1–1347: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 14—1:12 p.m.]
68. Herewith statement issued by Chen Li-fu97 at exclusive interview with Tillman Durdin of New York Times. Since story will not appear until Times of 14th or 15th, contents are confidential until publication. Chen Li-fu told Durdin that this statement would not be released for publication in China but it is almost certain that American news services and possibly Central News Agency will pick up [Page 700] story from Times and send condensed versions back to China. Statement follows in full:
“In answer to a rquest from Mr. Tillman Durdin of the New York Times asking his reaction to General Marshall’s statement, Mr. Chen Li-fu, the Kuomintang Minister of Organization, said:
‘First of all, I wish to congratulate General Marshall for his achievements in fulfilling his mission since his arrival in China. He contributed much toward bringing together the various political parties, though it is regrettable that the Chinese Communist Party finally decided to abstain from participating in the National Assembly. He contributed toward expediting the successful convocation of the National Assembly, and, above all, the adoption of what he described as a “democratic constitution which in all major respects is in accordance with the principles laid down by the all-party Political Consultative Conference of last January”.
‘Secondly, I admire him for the insight he has shown in his study of the Chinese problem. I fully share his point of view on the Chinese Communist Party. If, however, he could have devoted a little more time in contacting members who take a leading part in the Kuomintang, his appraisal of the Chinese situation, in its proper breadth and depth, might have been more enlightening.
‘Thirdly, General Marshall is correct in pointing out that China’s Communist problem is different in character from that of the US. He is also right in warning the American public against the danger of evaluating the armed and powerful Chinese Communist Party by the standards used in evaluating small Communist groups in America.
‘Fourthly, General Marshall shows remarkable knowledge in pointing out that the Chinese Communist Party is determined in conducting “a very harmful and immensely provocative” propaganda without regard for the facts, without any regard for the suffering of the people, and that they are equally determined in engineering the overthrow of the Government and the collapse of the national economy.
‘Fifthly, General Marshall is particularly sound in calling our attention to the fact that the Chinese Communists are Marxists of the pure breed and “intend to work toward establishing a communistic form of government in China”, and that in this sense they are a different species from agrarian reformers, as some Americans have unwittingly considered them to be.
‘Sixthly, I entirely agree with him on this thesis that China henceforth should bring about constitutional democracy by enforcing the new constitution and welcoming the minor political parties into the Government.
‘What is regrettable—and indeed a shame to us—is that General Marshall, a great friend from a great ally, in spite of his advanced age and in spite of hardships and pains, has labored and struggled in China’s cause during the last 13 months and in the end has earned the distrust of a handful of the Chinese, that is the Chinese Communist Party. In the deliberate misrepresentation and abuse of the action, policies, and purposes of the American Government the Communist propaganda has been without regard for the truth, without any regard whatsoever for the facts, and has given plain evidence of a determined [Page 701] purpose of misleading the Chinese people and the world and to arouse a bitter hatred of Americans—it has been difficult to remain silent in the midst of such public abuse and wholesale disregard of facts, but a denial would merely lead to the necessity of daily denials, an intolerable course of action for an American official. When I read these sentences I could well imagine putting myself in his place, how painful and disillusioned at heart he must have been.
‘But to those who are familiar with Communist tactics, it is not surprising at all. Is it not true that during the past 20 years the Chinese Communists have every day been using the same method, and even more vehemently, against the Government of their own country and their own people? Have they not been purposely distorting the truth, misrepresenting the facts, and indulging in vicious and abusive propaganda with the plain intention of misleading the Chinese people and the world and arousing a bitter hatred of the Chinese Government and the Kuomintang? Take myself as an example. I was the first pioneer in blazing a trail for cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists. In fact, I was the man who actually brought to consummation the plan of cooperation for the initial period. Yet today the one who has suffered most from their misrepresentation, insults, and abusive tactics is none other than myself. In view of my own experience, anyone, accustomed to Communist tactics, should not take their attacks on the US as something unusual or surprising.
‘Most of the Kuomintang delegates in the National Assembly are persons who have either been schooled in Anglo-American liberalism or influenced by it. Unfortunately, they are the same persons who have been painted by Communist propaganda as “reactionaries” or “die-hards”. In point of fact, however, they are also the “liberals” who have adopted a democratic constitution which in all major respects “is in accordance with the principles laid down by the all-party Political Consultative Conference of last January”. The Communists are always masters in devising catchwords and slogans and in using them as deadly ideological weapons. They do so without the slightest moral scruples and with such persistency that people are unconsciously influenced and in the end take the thing at its face value. During the last 20 years, those who have uncovered or frustrated the Communist plot of “establishing a Communist form of government in China” have come under the label of “reactionaries and die-hards”.
‘The study of political problems is the same as that of scientific problems. When the scientist approaches a problem of science, he must keep himself in closest contact with the phenomena under study, and, by thoroughly investigating and analyzing all the relevant facts involved, discover the truth. The same method should be used in the study of the problems of politics. Staying [in] China for 13 long months, possessed of immense wisdom and enthusiasm, and armed with a scientific method and mind, General Marshall, after a careful study of the situation, has come to discover [that] “a very harmful and immensely provocative phase of the Chinese Communist Party procedure has been in the character of its propaganda” and that “the dyed-in-the-wool Communists do not hesitate at the most drastic measures to gain their end”. Also it is no wonder that the General [Page 702] should have realized that the Chinese Communists are Marxists of the pure breed and that their action and words are merely the means and policy with which to attain their ultimate aim of “establishing a Communist form of government in China”. So, while the “democratic form of government of the American or British type” is the very ideal that the Kuomintang has been for years advocating and striving to achieve, this form of government, as General Marshall has rightly put it, is only a medium through which the Chinese Communist Party intends to reach its final goal.’” End statement.
Sent also direct to General Marshall at Honolulu.98
- Minister of the Kuomintang Organization Board.↩
- Colonel Underwood sent substantially the same message in telegram No. 1934, January 13, to General Marshall. It differed only in an introductory paragraph which asked General Marshall to evaluate Chen Li-fu’s statement “in the light of the rapidly dimming prospects for a Government peace delegation to Yenan”.↩