Office of the Historian

740.0011 P.W./6–745: Telegram

The Ambassador in China (Hurley) to the Secretary of State 47

Chungking, June 7, 1945.
[Received June 7—2 p.m.]

945. Following is text of statement made by General Chen Cheng, Minister of War, at foreign press conference on June 6:

“Today I wish to give a few outstanding facts concerning the work of my Ministry.

(1)
The close cooperation between my Ministry and the American military headquarters in Chungking has been such as to be able to meet all the requirements for the prosecution of the war and to the satisfaction of both sides.
(2)
I am glad to be able to inform you that the reform measures concerning both equipment and treatment of our armed forces which were decided at the time of my assumption of office have been carried out according to schedule. There is, of course, still a great deal to be done.
(3)
The recent battle in western Hunan gives us some evidence as to what our troops with better equipment and better treatment can do.
(4)
Now that there is a daily increase of American military supplies to China, I wish to use this opportunity to assure our Allies emphatically that every gun and every bullet from the American Lend-Lease have been and will be allocated only to those forces which are assigned to undertake the fight against Japan in our counter-offensives, and they have not been and will not be diverted to any other use. Of course, if any Central Government troops should be attacked by any unfriendly forces, it would be impossible to expect them not to defend themselves with whatever weapons they may have.
(5)
As to your inquiry where local clashes have taken place between Government troops and Communist forces, I deplore that there have been isolated cases of attack on the Government troops during the last few months—in fact, I may say, within the last few years. I do hope that such regrettable incidents will not recur.
(6)
In regard to your inquiry about the degree of the contracting of the enemy’s line in China, my opinion is that this would depend upon the pressure which the Chinese and Allied forces as a whole could bring to bear upon the enemy, who is now concentrating his defense upon points rather than holding lines. I can assure you that the pressure which the Chinese forces are going to exert against the enemy will daily increase.”

Hurley
  1. Extracts transmitted by the Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) in telegram No. 1331, June 17, not printed.↩