893.00/6–445
The Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Rice) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 22]
Sir: Reference is made to my despatch to the Embassy at Chungking no. 100, December 23, 1944,59 entitled, “Statements of General Liu [Page 401] Chien-hua in regard to the Attitude of Authorities in Inner Mongolia”, and particularly to the final paragraph of that despatch in which mention was made of General Li Shou-hsin, the Chinese in command of the puppet Inner Mongolian army. Reference also is made to my despatch to the Department no. 23, May 21, 1945 entitled, “Attitude of Inner Mongolians toward Possible Incorporation in Outer Mongolia and Communist Activity Directed toward that End”. I have the honor now to report as follows statements in regard to Li Shou-hsin made to me by a usually reliable Chinese who is very well-acquainted with personalities and conditions in Inner Mongolia.
My informant quotes General Chin Hsien-chang, an ex-bandit and former subordinate of General Li Shou-hsin, now at Sian, as stating on May 26 that General Li is in contact with agents of Tai Li who now are engaged in lining up puppet commanders on the side of the Central Government (assumably for a coming struggle with the Communists) and that at the proper time he will be “forgiven” and taken back into the fold. General Chin is further quoted as saying that Li Shou-hsin has on several occasions secretly taken action to preserve property and interests in Inner Mongolia of the Bank of China and that he consequently can count on the help of Dr. T. V. Soong—who long directed the Bank of China’s affairs.
As a commander of numerous troops in strategic Inner Mongolia, General Li Shou-hsin may indeed be holding a key position; by gaining his adherence the Central Government may be able to thwart Chinese Communist efforts, mentioned in my despatch to the Department referred to above, to gain control of Inner Mongolia and to establish a common frontier with Russian Communist-controlled territory. However, Li Shou-hsin has been serving the Japanese as a puppet commander ever since 1933. If the Central Government will overlook his record and take him back in, it seems to me that it will be in no moral position to punish any other puppet official or commander. Moreover, if puppet commanders are to be taken into the Central Government fold in very considerable numbers (in order to get their support against the Communists or for other reasons) I should expect the level of moral character of army commanders as a whole to be unfavorably affected. (A similar effect might be expected in the civil administration, it seems to me, were considerable numbers of puppet officials taken back into the fold—as I fully expect them to be.)
Respectfully yours,
Approved for transmission:
For the Ambassador:
Robert L. Smyth,
Counselor of Embassy
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