Friday, 18 June
Today the Soviet Union press denied a report from a certain Swedish agency saying that the Soviet Union and Germany had held secret peace talks. But because they were unable to come to any settlement with regard to territorial issues, the negotiations broke down. The Tass Agency said that this was merely a rumour made up by the enemy, and not even worth a laugh. I also thought that there was no possibility of peace talks between the Soviet Union and Germany, because the Soviet Union couldn’t break up with Britain and the United States. Furthermore Germany’s power posed a threat much bigger than those of Britain and the United States. If Germany could have peace talks with the Soviet Union, of course it could have peace talks with Britain and the United States as well. Therefore the Soviet Union would definitely not take this retrograde step. For sure it is a rumour fabricated by the Germans, so I sent a telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to report.
Military Attaché Guo invited me to dinner in the small garden, and this is managed by a branch of the Grand Hotel. The place was very small and very few people were having dinner there.
From this month onwards, the food ration here will be decreased again. I was only allowed to buy 3 kilograms of meat per month and even bread has been reduced by one third. My appetite is not very big so it is fine, but our servants are having a bad time. Last night at the American Embassy the Diplomatic Corps talked about this situation. A certain Secretary of the Australian Embassy said probably all the other embassies in the Soviet Union used food or other materials to exchange with the Soviet people for other things. Only the Chinese Embassy was stern about this and didn’t approve of this. The American Charge d’Affaires also thought it very strange because the American Embassy did the same. So the Diplomatic Corps were respectful regarding what I have done in the Chinese Embassy. I thought that if we don’t look for small advantages, and just try to make the best out of what one can get so as to maintain the country’s integrity, is an act of self-respect. I always thought that we could be a little liberal when we lived in China, but when we are diplomats, and head of the Embassy in particular, we have to be very careful with our private lives. I keep reminding myself that I should treat myself sternly and be generous to others.