Saturday, 17 June

Fine, quite warm

At 9.25, I, Ambassador Harriman and the Mexican Ambassador took Vice-President Wallace’s plane, while Shaozhou and Daichu took the plane that brought us here to leave Tashkent. All the major officials came to the airport to see us off. Our plane arrived at Alma-Ata at 11.35. As for the Shaozhou plane and the others, as it had to wait for someone, it took off late. It arrived at 5.00 in the afternoon. The Chairman of the Sakha Republic, Vondorsun, Mayor Ariof and Commissioner Semienov and all the major officials came to the airport to welcome us. Consul Yin and Deputy Consul Xie were also there. We talked to them for a while, then we took the car to the hostel in the central area of the countryside. (The hostel where we stayed last year.) After having lunch, we rested for a while. Mr. Wallace went to visit the apple orchard and because I needed to go to our Consulate, I did not accompany him. At 4.30 I went with Consul Yin to our Consulate. The decoration has been renovated and is different from what I saw last time. This is evidence that if we have the will to change, we can do it. The former Consul Zhao is really not competent enough to be a diplomat. According to what Yin said, Zhao and his “wife” originally lived together, but before he left for the post she got pregnant, so he had no choice but to marry her. Upon arriving at Vladivostok, Consul Zhang found Zhao had absolutely no knowledge of diplomatic affairs. Zhao would spit on the Consulate floor and did not know how to behave. He has also learnt that the woman Zhao has married is Russian, so he has no choice but to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the rules in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs one cannot marry a foreigner without permission. Therefore, he was transferred. Back in Alma-Ata, Zhao asked for an extension of the time before his return to the country, so that his wife could give up her Soviet nationality to go to China with him. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave him permission for a three-month grace period but after that he disappeared. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed Consul Yin to investigate where he was. He asked local commissioners about it but they replied that they had no idea, probably he took Soviet nationality and did not return to China because his elder brother ‘Wang’ was formerly the Xinjiang Commissioner, who was originally a Communist and now lived in Moscow. Zhao requested to report to me at Kuybyshev earlier with the wish to go to Moscow and to be in touch with his elder brother in Moscow. The Soviet Government did not approve and was afraid our side would know about it which would put the Soviet Union to an inconvenience. We had snacks at the Consulate and wanted to have a walk in the commercial area in the city. However, we learnt afterwards that yesterday the Municipal Government ordered all the shops to suspend business for one day because there was nothing to sell. It was afraid this would leave a bad impression with Vice-President Wallace. The area that the Consulate occupies is quite spacious with plenty of trees and flowers. What the vegetable garden and orchard produce is enough for the whole Consulate’s consumption. It is rare to get such a place in the city centre. I returned to my residence at 6.00. At 7.30 the Sakha Government held a banquet at the hostel. Both Chairman Vondorsun and Vice-President Wallace delivered speeches. At 9.30 there was a reception for us at the Grand Theatre. The programme was quite long. The female dancing star Nursulu Tapalova who had entertained us last time played the Queen in Bakhchisarai Fountain. Her figure is excellent and the Mexican Ambassador praised her again and again. In terms of appearance she is really the best so she was invited to entertain us this last time. In terms of reception, it seemed she was not as warm as before. During the interval, I talked to Chairman Vondorsun for a while, saying that after the Moscow Conference, the unity and the cooperation of China, Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union had been strengthened. Also because of geography, history and also culture, China and the Soviet Union should be in unity. Luckily the highest authorities of China and the Soviet Union are determined to advance the unity and cooperation of the two countries, so I hoped deeply that it could cooperate with our Consuls from time to time at Alma-Ata based on this spirit. He agreed and said there was a local saying that if four people can cooperate they can overcome numerous difficulties, and if six people cannot cooperate, they can do nothing.

I repeatedly instructed Consul Yin that he should cooperate with the local Commissioners, because our Chairman Chiang is determined to cooperate with the Soviet Union, and stabilise relations between the Four Powers. The Xinjiang authority probably has a different calculation but when we handle diplomacy we shouldn’t be influenced by it. When we deal with the local diplomatic authority, we should be very courteous. If there is anything that is against our wish, it is better to be tolerant and we should not be hasty. The reason why I have dispatched Yin here and Liquan to Dihua is because they know the amicable policy of the Central Government towards the Soviet Union. Though their situation will encounter some difficulties, they should, from time to time, consider the Sino-Soviet friendship as most important. The Liquan situation is much more difficult, and it is not easy for him to learn about diplomatic changes outside. So in case they encounter any difficulty they shouldn’t handle it in too hastily a manner. It is better to cable me first. I just provide one example here. Last year someone informed the Consulate that the Soviet side plotted to dispatch more than ten Overseas Chinese to assassinate Sheng Shicai. Yin immediately informed Liquan about it but this action was a big mistake because the Soviet Union had tens of thousand personnel in Dihua, and there were also many Chinese Communists in Dihua. There was no point dispatching Overseas Chinese to Dihua who did not know the place well. Probably this was a trick by the Soviet side to test its relations with the Xinjiang authority and Yin fell into the trap. In the future if there is a similar matter or other difficulties, Yin should ask for my instruction first and shouldn’t handle it in so hasty a manner. Yin also clearly knows his faults. He also told me that Liquan arrived at Alma-Ata. Liquan told him that he was in great difficulty, and Sheng Shicai could not cope with the situation in Xinjiang, so he proposed urging Sheng to resign with him. Yin also said that Sheng Shicai was getting worse because of his actions. For example, a section head from the special envoy office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs talked to Guihua children in the street. That evening Sheng Shicai dispatched people to warn the special envoy office, saying it was inappropriate to talk to foreigners. This type of ridiculous action made the whole province uneasy.

In the evening Vincent came to my room to have a long talk. He asked me how Vice-President Wallace should negotiate with Chairman Chiang. I told him some of my thoughts, asking Wallace to speak frankly based on the spirit of friendship. He also told me that Wei Daoming was back in Chongqing and the United States thought he would not return to his post. But on his return he immediately made appointments to meet President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull and accused the Chinese Communist Party of many illegal actions. This action made the American side very displeased, naming Wei Daoming himself as representing the most anti-reactionary element. Luckily President Sun Fo delivered two speeches which pacified angry American public opinion. I asked if Mr.Wallace wanted to go to Moscow again. He said the itinerary was planned and there was no such schedule, but if there was a need after seeing Chairman Chiang, it was negotiable. I gave him an overview of the dialogue between Wallace and myself, and asked for his help. He was quite willing to help. We talked for more than one hour so I did not get to bed until 2.30.