793.94/7859
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 20.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the alleged agreement reached in June or July of last year between General Ho Ying-ch’in (Minister of War, then Acting Chairman of the Peiping Branch Military Council) and Lieutenant-General Yoshijiro Umetsu (then a Major-General in command of the Japanese North China Garrison), with regard to affairs in North China, and to enclose in English translation and in the Chinese original copies of various documents dated from May 29 to July 6, 1935,20 purporting to be a record of the negotiations between the Chinese and Japanese sides which led to the written acceptance of the Japanese proposals by General Ho Ying-ch’in on the latter date. This material was obtained recently by Third Secretary O. Edmund Clubb from a foreign source in Shanghai under the injunction of strict secrecy.
Although this text was not obtained directly from a Chinese official source and no definite proof can be obtained of its authenticity in the face of the Chinese official statements that no such document as the “Ho-Umetsu Agreement” exists, nevertheless, it is felt that this record of memoranda of conversations and the purported document itself adhere so closely to what was known of the negotiations at the time as to give the whole an aspect of verity. It is to be observed, in this connection, that the China Weekly Review of March 14, 1936, carried a translation of the memorandum (as it is entitled) allegedly as finally presented to General Ho Ying-ch’in by the Japanese side for [Page 90] signature and that this text is essentially the same as that which is enclosed in more careful translation. The China Weekly Review’s account, however, does not include General Ho Ying-ch’in’s acceptance of the Japanese proposals. As regards the subject of these negotiations, Mr. Clubb was recently informed by an officer of the Japanese Embassy that 1) there was no “agreement” between General Ho and Lieutenant-General Umetsu, but an exchange of communications, 2) the officer believed the substance of this exchange to be substantially as reported at the time (he had not seen the actual documents), 3) the Chinese acceptance of the Japanese proposals was definitely given by General Ho Ying-ch’in after his return to Nanking, and 4) he (the Japanese officer) regarded the evidence as indicating that General Ho Ying-ch’in had given the acceptance only after consultation with General Chiang Kai-shek and by the latter’s authority. The statement that the Chinese acceptance was given only after General Ho’s return to Nanking, if true, would be in accordance with the impression prevalent at the time that the War Minister left on June 13 from Peiping without accepting the Japanese proposals and also in accordance with the date appearing on the brief note of acceptance as it was alleged to have been sent from Nanking under date of July 6, 1935. The Fengtai disturbance outside the walls of Peiping, occurring as it did between the time of General Ho’s departure from Peiping and July 6, may have been the Japanese threat that forced Chinese compliance.
The record of the verbal representations made by the Japanese side beginning on May 29 and continuing until June 11 is not at variance with the information obtained at the time and forwarded to the Department in the Embassy’s telegrams 233, June 1, 4 p.m., 236, June 2, 2 p.m., 243, June 5, 2 p.m., 245, June 7 [6], 5 p.m., 259, June 10, 6 p.m., and especially 270 of June 13, 3 p.m.21 Those telegrams and this record of verbal representations outline the dissatisfaction of the Japanese military with the then existing state of affairs in North China, with particular reference to various activities alleged to be primarily anti-Japanese, and show the development of Japanese measures designed to “correct” those factors felt to be detrimental to the future of Sino-Japanese relations. They indicate also the resistance offered by General Ho Ying-ch’in, under the instructions of the National Government, to the signing of the proposed document, which was described by Mr. Wang Ching-wei, President of the Executive Yuan, as being “actually no different from signing a treaty to give up Hopei”.
General Ho’s alleged letter of July 6 in reply to the Japanese stated that the items under consideration were all accepted, and [Page 91] that General Ho Ying-ch’in on his own part hoped they would be made effective. Subsequent actions of the Chinese authorities have not run counter to the Japanese desires expressed last June, and the circumstantial evidence inclines one to believe in the genuineness of the documents submitted herewith. Any additional information which may come to light regarding this general matter will be forwarded promptly to the Department.
Respectfully yours,