Wednesday, 1 November

Seventeenth day of the ninth intercalary lunar month, Jiashen year

Dull

This morning the British broadcast reported that Roosevelt publicised the reason for sending Stilwell back to America as being at the request of Generalissimo Chiang because Chiang and Stilwell have had differences of opinion for several months, but this will not affect Sino-American relationships. Our country’s diplomatic relations are deteriorating, and on military progress we have suffered many setbacks. But Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union have made quick progress with their military, it is therefore natural that their leaders have become more arrogant. And at this time, if our country cannot be tolerant, our future will become even more difficult. In the Central Government in Chongqing those who are diligent, understand the international situation and the future and the interests of our people well are already very few. Among these people none could talk frankly to the Generalissimo and have a good influence on him. This made me feel deeply sad about the future of our country. At 2.00 p.m. the British broadcast referred to China again. It quoted that the New York Times talked about the Chinese situation, saying that in order to maintain his own strength Generalissimo Chiang only sacrificed the armies of other militarists, therefore he could not provide effective resistance against the Japanese. It also said that some foreign correspondents in Chongqing have been living in China for two years, they sent out news that because of censorship from the Chinese side foreigners are unable to know the facts. This is the first time BBC has broadcasted comment against the Chinese Government, which is enough to prove how bad Sino-British relations are. As for Sino-American relations, the situation is the same. The American side announced the recall of American Ambassador Gauss. Though they said this had nothing to do with Stilwell’s recall and would not affect the United States Chinese policy. As a matter of fact the Sino-American relationship must be very bad. I talked this matter over with Jingchen, and he is also very worried about the future of our country. The international situation is turning to the better, yet our own country is like this. We as diplomats cannot say anything even though we want to, and mentally speaking I was very pained. I also received telegrams from the Intelligence Section, saying that Yan Xishan (閻錫山)[1] came into conflict with the Chinese Communist Party army. This made me very uneasy.

At 5.00 p.m., the French Ambassador, Garreau, visited me and we talked for two and a half hours. What he said was as follows.

1) With regard to the European war, he reckoned that it would end in the spring of next year. But he said that the Red Army now attacked from Hungary. In that place there was no natural barrier and the German reserve army was inadequate. The Red Army would soon push to Vienna. After passing through this they would reach Southern Germany.

2) Last year in the negotiations between Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union, it was the Soviet Union that took predominance. Firstly, it was because the Red Army was strong, and secondly, what the Soviet Union demanded was not excessive. For instance, with regard to the Polish issue, if one were the Soviet Union, could he tolerate an anti-Soviet Polish government? Britain and the United States degraded the situation of others and they just cared about self-interest, therefore they really asked for problems. When Churchill came to Moscow, it was proclaimed that he came to discuss the Balkans question, but as a matter of fact, he just came to accept what the Soviet Union proposed. Except Romania and Bulgaria which absolutely did not allow British intervention, (in Europe) only Greece was willing to be perfunctory to Britain at the moment. But the Greek religion is the same as the Soviet Union, and after this war, Greece no longer believes the various anti-Communist propaganda, and is no longer afraid of the Soviet Union as before. Then it is greatly problematic whether Greece will come closer to the Soviet Union than with Britain.

3) The Soviet Union will never let Hungary go. There must be big political change in politics, it would, under Communist influence, be more than countries because the Soviet Union viewed Hungary, Poland, East Prussia and the East of Oden river in Germany as the bases of big landowners and warlords, as well as the cradle of anti-Soviet activities, which the Soviet Union should thoroughly reform, otherwise Soviet security would be very difficult to maintain.

3) The Polish problem. The Soviet Union has decided that it is not negotiable. According to the Soviet plan, the area to the East of the Oden River in Germany should go to Poland. It would affect about 8 million German inhabitants, two million of them would be Slavs, and another two million Slavs with German affiliation. They could try to arrange to assimilate them with Poland. The other four million Soviets could be moved to places in the Soviet Union. They could work as labourers, in order to help rebuild the areas destroyed by the Germans. The eastern area which Poland returned to the Soviet Union needs roughly four million returned Poles to fill the new areas. It meant massive migration was suitable for development. This type of plan would on the one hand undermine Germany and on the other hand help Poland, which would make the Soviet border expand from East to West. The Soviet Union would certainly do it and no one could stop it. Also its implementation must be very thorough, and it would not leave behind the so-called question of ethnic minorities. Probably the British authority understood this and could no longer interfere in the Polish Incident.

4) Austria was originally the area where Socialism was most popular. This time the Red Army also tried its best to occupy it first. So after Austria was liberated, it would naturally lean towards the groups of Slav people. 6

5) All in all, the result of this war would make people in the European nations incline to the Left because they witnessed that those who collaborated with enemies were big landowners and capitalists. Also the Red Army defeating Germany accelerated this inclination.

6) The internal situation of France is extremely complicated, recently Charles de Gaulle dissolving volunteers could be the evidence. In the personal opinion of Garreau what Charles de Gaulle did seemed to be too hasty. But the intention of De Gaulle and Interior Minister Adrien Tixier was that France had to show its unity both internally and externally and a government with order abiding to the law. The volunteers arrested traitors on their own and imposed their own punishments. Sometimes the punishments were too severe so that they incurred criticisms from foreigners, so De Gaulle instructed that this power to implement the orders of the nation should be implemented by the national troops and policemen. But there was another view. It went that the French troops at the moment were returned from North Africa, and they were in unity with the Vichy Government. When the American army landed in North Africa, they tried their best to fight against the Allied Army, and their military officers were very anti-reactionary. As for the policemen, they were all old policemen. When Germany occupied France, they cooperated with the enemy on the pretext of maintaining order and killed their own people. Now France used these types of army and policeman to arrest traitors and people are certainly not satisfied. As a matter of fact, the Communist Party did not take a prominent majority in the National Council of Resistance, the organisation which represented the volunteer armies in different places, as well as in the various volunteer units.  Its President, Bidault, who currently serves as the Foreign Minister, was the leader of the Popular Republican Movement. Now Bidault’s situation is in difficulty, and at the moment someone has proposed a compromise that all the volunteer troops in different places be regrouped as the special army of the Interior Ministry under the direction of the Central Government. Probably this could be accepted by De Gaulle. The Soviet Union certainly was unhappy with this proposal because it did not want France to have a leaning to the anti-reactionary side, which gave it the potential to become an important element in the anti-Soviet movement. All in all, De Gaulle seems to be influenced by the Conservatives, reckoning that if he doesn’t get rid of the ultra-Leftists now it will be even more to do later on. This concept is a great pity because De Gaulle has made such a great contribution to the rebirth of France, people with whatever inclinations all supported him. If he was not inclined to Rightists, then the progressive elements would all support him, and he would get the sympathy of the majority of people.

7) The French Government has been in close connections with the Vietnamese army. When the right time comes, they could join together to fight against Japan. Japan seemed to learn about it, but because it did not have enough strength, it did not dare to take action first. Also, the French-Vietnamese armies had also made preparations, therefore they stationed themselves in the mountainous area in the area around North Vietnam. The French navy’s biggest battle ships and many of their war ships took part in the battles in the Philippines. They were all slightly damaged in previous battles and underwent repairs in the United States, but the personnel were still all French.

[1] Yan Xishan (1883-1960) was a Chinese warlord who controlled Shanxi in 1911-1949.