Saturday, 29 May

From 6.00 to 8.00 pm, the Swedish Ambassador hosted a cocktail party for us. The facilities of the place were nice, some of the food was brought from Sweden and the waitresses were well-trained. This made me aware of the shortcomings of our Embassy. I have been to the embassies of various countries. Compared with them I think our Embassy is not up to the standard of even the smallest. What Mr. Shao did really made me feel ashamed. Now the furniture can’t reach here, food is scarce and there is nothing I can do. I just feel ashamed. Perkins told me Davies and Burns will fly directly from Alaska. I am afraid I will be unable to meet him. Crosthwaite told me that Madame Chiang talked to Lord Halifax in America, saying that the transfer of Ambassador Kerr from China was a pity, but we were quite happy that Seymour was here. The British Government was quite delighted on learning it. I can say my small achievement in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the past one and a half years was to help the Generalissimo and his wife understand Britain better and comprehend the importance of Sino-British diplomacy for the future of our country. Perhaps this might make the Generalissimo unhappy with me, but as a result he has changed his attitude towards Britain. I feel that I have fulfilled my responsibility to the Party and the Generalissimo. I feel comfortable with that.