Monday, 29 March

At 11.00 Counsellor Liu made a report on Memorial Week. At 12.30 I paid a return visit to the Belgian Minister d’Hallebast. He was strongly against the Allies’ landing on the French and Belgian coasts, saying that people there would suffer a great deal. He was only indulging in temporary safety. He only thought of not being oppressed by Germany and this was almost impossible. He also said that since the Belgian King had surrendered he has not been allowed to leave his palace.

In the afternoon, the newly-appointed Canadian Minister, L. Dana Wilgress, visited me. He had been to South China in 1918. (His father worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and from l9l4 to l9l7 he was stationed in Siberia as a commercial officer.) He had been to the Soviet Union too. He said the Canadian Government and people felt very good towards Qinwu and Miss Dou. He also said that many new government agencies in Washington were devoid of administrative experience, and they worked on their own, without direction from the Secretary of State, therefore it was very difficult to work with them.