Sunday, 2 April

Today all Soviet newspapers published the telegram sent from Küriye on 1 April. It said that the authorities in Xinjiang province began forcing the majority of Cossack residents to move to Southern Xinjiang from the end of last year. Many of them were unwilling to go. In order to escape the Xinjiang army searches, they took refuge in the Mongolian People’s Republic with their families. They were accepted, kept locally and regarded as refugees. The Chinese army stationed in Northeast Xinjiang suddenly entered the Mongolian People’s Republic territory to chase these Cossack residents. Chinese planes shot at the areas where the refugees and the people of the Mongolian People’s Republic resided. With regard to this destructive and savage act the Mongolian People’s Republic had to react, so it attacked the Xinjiang army which entered their territory unexpectedly. The Mongolian People’s Republic deeply believed that if the Xinjiang army took similar action again by invading their territory then the Soviet Government would provide assistance and support to them based on the Soviet-Mongolian Mutual Pact of 12 March 1936. The Soviet side did not respond to our protest for a long time and suddenly made this indirect declaration. According to what it said it was interference in the internal affairs of our country. Our country has been fighting hard in the War of Resistance for seven years and striven for the independence of our people. As a matter of fact we helped the Soviet Union so that it did not need to face a simultaneous invasion by Germany and Japan at the same time, which has already been a big help to the Soviet Union. But the Soviet Union is not only numb about it, it does not express sympathy towards our struggle against the invasion. It invaded us when we were in deep difficulty. The evil of human beings is unlimited and I am very pessimistic. I studied the main purposes for the Soviet Union in declaring this with Shaozhou and Jingchen. Probably the motives are as follows: 1) To warn China that Outer Mongolia is already independent. China shouldn’t expect it will be given back to China. 2) Just as Liquan said, what the Soviet Union did was to respond to the Chinese Communists and warn China that they cannot purge Chinese Communists. 3) The Soviet Union wanted to express its dissatisfaction towards Sheng Shicai, warning that if the Chinese Government doesn’t replace Sheng Shicai more disastrous things will happen. Reporters from various countries came to interview me but I declined them all. I said I could say nothing until I received instruction from the government. As there is still one dash of hope we should still try our best so as not to let the matter deteriorate. As our country is now in great difficulty, we have to be tolerant. We have to try to bear suffering and do our best, until is is absolutely hopeless; and yet still try.  But for me personally, this is extremely painful and bitter.

In the evening, I heard the Free France broadcast from North Africa. It has broadcast the declaration from the Soviet Union in its entirety. In the end an explanation was attached saying that the population of Outer Mongolia is only 1,000,000, but the mineral resources are quite abundant. This implies the Soviet Union has territorial ambition towards it.

In the evening, I invited Chen Diachu and his wife, my Russian teacher, Jibang, and Chengyong to the auxiliary theatre of the Grand Theatre to watch George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. It was quite good. But the main female character playing the flower girl was a little bit too old.

Liquan’s telegram on 30 March said as follows: 1) From 12 to 22 March a Soviet plane made reconnaissance trips over the sky above our garrisons, but after this there has been no news about Soviet planes crossing the border. 2) The Cossack rebels were defeated and they did not come to disturb us. It seems they have retreated into Mongolian territory. 3) Within the territory of Koktokay Nahiyisi there are small bands of Kossack rebels causing disturbances. But they number only slightly over 1,000. 4) Commander-in-Chief Zhu Shaoliang came to Xinjiang and he has made concrete arrangements regarding military matters. Four divisions have been secured to guard important strongholds. We are now transferring the troops. Our Central Government has placed great emphasis on this, and it is crucial in solving the problem. 5) We will purchase the manufacturing agricultural devices factory, and we are negotiating the contract.