Tuesday, 26 January

Twenty-first day of the twelth lunar month

At 9.30 in the morning, I went to Henglu at Xuetianwan to see Chen Guofu (陳果夫)[1]. He also knows that the diplomatic relationship with Soviet Union is very trying. He criticised seriously the British policies towards India and also thought we should train more diplomats proficient in Russian.

At 5.00 Minister Song summoned the Soviet Ambassador and Commercial Attaché Bakulin, Minister Weng Wenhao (翁文灝)[2], Deputy Ministers Wu and Hu to his residence to discuss the matter relating to the Dushanzhi oil field. Minister Song explained in detail why our side had to insist on the original idea. It was a question of principle, and Britain and the United States had already accepted and it was inappropriate on our side to set a bad example. In this regard, he hoped the Soviet Union would understand. Ambassador Panyushkin said that he would discuss with Commercial Attaché Bakulin when he returned to the Embassy. His reply was just that he would discuss with Bakulin, but he did not say he would ask for governmental permission. This might imply that the Soviet Union has already given him full power. What he wanted was to fight for some more trivial privileges so as to put them to his advantage. It is a great pity that he still has old diplomats’ habits. When I raised this issue, I would give in those parts that we could give in, and would not use them as leverage because I think is the most important thing for diplomacy, and this is useful for national friendship and cooperation. The time of “Wise Man” diplomacy is already over.

At 7.00, I went to Wang Chonghui’s as he and Wu Shangying had organised a farewell dinner for me.

Furthermore, at noon Guo Taiqi (郭泰祺)[3] invited me to a farewell lunch at the residence of Chen Guangfu (陳光甫).[4] I re-entered the field of diplomacy purely because of our friendship. He is extremely honest and straightforward, and is erudite and experienced. He is surely a talented asset for our Party. With regard to the 1941 matter, I felt very sorry for the Party. As for our friendship, I felt very sorry too. I learnt a good lesson from his experience, and was more careful concerning my private matters.

[1] Chen Guofu (1892-1951) was a close associate of Chiang Kai-shek.

[2] Weng Wenhao (1889-1971) had studied in Belgium. He was a geologist and politician.

[3] Guo Taiqi (1889-1952) was a famous Chinese diplomat of the Nationalist era. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.

[4] Chen Guangfu (1881-1976) was a wealthy Chinese banker. He also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.