793.94/5255
Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson) of a Conversation With the Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs (Quo)17
Mr. Quo Tai-chi called at 7 p.m. He said that until yesterday he had not realized that we were discussing the terms of an agreement. He had assumed that the items under discussion represented items in an agenda to be used at a formal meeting. I told Mr. Quo that, while it was true that the items which we had discussed were intended to be an agenda to be used in a formal negotiation, we hoped that these items might become the terms of a formal agreement.
Mr. Quo stated that at the next meeting he would have to take a firm stand to the effect that we were arranging for the withdrawal of Japanese troops and that agreement must show something to that end. He said that malcontents both in and out of the Party18 were attempting to exploit the situation at Shanghai for their own ends. He intimated that he had talked very frankly about this to Mr. Sun Fo, pointing out that it was obvious that Mr. Sun Fo and his group were not in any position to force the Japanese to leave by superior strength, and that therefore it was necessary for them to discuss the matter with the Japanese. In order to disarm these critics Mr. Quo stated that he would have to insist that the terms upon which we were to agree would contain some proposition specifically calling for the withdrawal of the Japanese in line with the terms of the League’s Resolution of March 4th. Mr. Quo referred to the matter of the use of the “pao an tui” or constabulary and said that they wished to make this “pao an tui” a permanent thing at Shanghai; otherwise radical agitators among his own people would make use of the fact to embarrass the Government.
Mr. Quo seemed quite wrought up and very much discouraged. He pointed out that he yielded to no Chinese in his attitude as a revolutionary; he had always been a revolutionary; he could talk as high as [Page 614] the best of them. The only reason he was acting now as the Government’s representative was that he had been requested to act by his lifelong friend, Mr. Wang Ching-wei. He felt that his status was that of a public slave, rather than that of a public servant. He referred to the fact that a mob had visited his house. He said that many had argued that he should never settle with the Japanese; that all negotiations should be broken off and none entered into with the Japanese until they had withdrawn all their troops; otherwise they were in the position of a conquered people negotiating with their conquerors. He expressed the fear that the British and Japanese are getting together; that the Japanese had intrigued to get the League Commission to visit Hankow. On the other hand, the League Commission had suggested a delay at Shanghai. He could not understand why the League Commission did not proceed upon its journey, in view of the fact that Japanese were utilizing the time wasted by the League Commission in consolidating their position in Manchuria.