Nanking Embassy Files, Lot F–79, 800 China: Airgram
The Consul at Shanghai (Pitcher) to the Ambassador in China (Stuart)80
A–52. Carsun Chang’s Attitude Towards Elections. In a conversation with the American secretary of Carsun Chang, a member of this [Page 386] Consulate General’s staff gained the following impressions in regard to Chang’s attitude towards the elections.
Carsun Chang is now convinced that the Democratic Socialist Party will have only a voiceless, ineffectual and token representation in the new Government, which is destined to be “coalition” in name only because of the Kuomintang’s determination to relinquish none of its control.
Some months ago Chang stated privately that the Kuomintang had placed agents in his party who worked to aggravate internal dissension and were to a considerable extent responsible for the party split which followed the convocation of the party’s national congress in August.
Chang holds little hope that his party will fare better in the Legislative and Control Yuans’ elections than it did in the National Assembly elections in which it failed by an estimated 25 to 40 seats to obtain its “allocated quota”. He feels keenly his party’s weakened position and its loss of prestige. The local Kuomintang “mosquito” papers, especially those controlled by the CC. Clique, have taken considerable delight in playing up the failure of the Democratic Socialist Party to make a showing even with the support it extorted from the senior party. Chang has indicated privately that he will make no public protest in regard to the outcome of the elections. The last two issues of the party’s weekly publication Rebirth (Tsai Sheng) carried no comment on the NPA81 election returns.
In his negotiations with the Kuomintang over what he considered a fair geographic distribution of seats, Chang held out for an allocation of election districts in which the Kuomintang had long been firmly entrenched and refused to consider the proposal that he direct his efforts toward winning support for his party in the Northwest where the Kuomintang’s influence has not been strong. The outcome of the elections clearly shows that Kuomintang district leaders have no intention of permitting minority party men to replace them, instructions from the Central Kuomintang notwithstanding.
Ambitious Democratic Socialists who sought election have complained that Chang showed them little personal consideration in the recent elections; that he made no effort to rally support for them, directing no publicity campaign in their behalf. (Chang admitted that he had neglected to cast a ballot in the recent elections.) The Democratic Socialist candidate defeated in the Shanghai district elections reportedly told the press that his defeat was partially due to lack of enthusiasm on the part of his party, which should have given him stronger support.
[Page 387]In spite of the pressure being put upon him, Chang is determined not to enter the present Government, apparently having little confidence in its ability to survive and fearing that his participation in it would jeopardize his future political career. His colleagues feel that he is exhibiting unseemly haste in his insistence upon leaving the country by December 17, as the winter term at the University of Washington, where he has a teaching engagement, does not commence until January 10. However, Chang apparently feels his presence in China during the coming elections will serve no purpose, and there appears to be a strong possibility that it is his intention to proceed directly to Washington for the purpose of presenting his views and recommendations to the American Government.
- In a memorandum of December 12 the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Ringwalt) invited the attention of the Secretary of State to this airgram. A subsequent notation, undated but probably about January 7, 1948, by the Assistant Chief of the Division (Sprouse) read: “Dr. Chang has seen the Secretary.” (893.00/12–1247).↩
- National Assembly.↩