Office of the Historian

793.94/6840: Telegram

The Counselor of Legation in China (Peck) to the Secretary of State

Nanking, January 28, 1935—9 a.m.
[Received January 28—7:40 a.m.]

16. My 12, January 25, 5 p.m.

1.
On January 26, 5 p.m., Mrs. Peck and I paid social call on the wife of General Chiang Kai-shek and in reply to questions she confirmed that an offensive and defensive alliance has recently been proposed [Page 22] to the Chinese Government by the Japanese Government but she was not definite in regard to the channel employed. She said the offer was rejected on the ground that until Manchuria is restored China cannot trust Japan. An offer to supply Japanese military advisers was rejected at the same time.
2.
Madam Chiang neither confirmed nor denied reported Japanese offer of financial assistance.
3.
She confirmed report that the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs had confidentially communicated to the Chinese authorities his desire to visit Nanking in person but said she understood this project had to be abandoned owing to complications caused by premature publicity.
4.
The tenor of replies made by Madam Chiang strongly implied that all offers of assistance including financial had been refused by her husband but certain statements resembled so closely those said to have been made to the Chinese bankers (see my January 25, 5 p.m., paragraph 2, for brief summary) as to lend credibility to the report of that interview. For example, she said it is commonly reported that Japan has 14 divisions of troops which could be utilized against China, or about 280,000 men; 4 divisions are in Manchuria while China has an equal number of effective troops; thus China would probably be defeated at the outset but would be able to continue the war because Japan would be hampered by disproportionate expense of operating away from base in an immense territory and by the danger inherent in sending its entire effective force to China. She pointed out that Manchuria is not yet subdued after 3 years’ effort.
Peck