893.00/9–748
The Consul at Mukden (Rinden) to the Ambassador in China (Stuart)1
The Consul has the honor to transmit a memorandum dated September 7 [6], 1948,2 entitled “General Summary of the Military and Political Situation in Chinchow, China”, which has been prepared by Vice Consul Fred E. Hubbard.
Chinchow is a large city on the Mukden–Peiping rail line. It is the northernmost Government-held rail road station on the Peiping–Chinchow section of the line. It possesses the only air field in Government-held Manchuria from which supplies can be flown to the isolated cities of Mukden and Changchun. Its advantage as a supply point to the Northeast can not be over-estimated—both because of its air port facilities and its close proximity to the excellent Government-held port of Hulutao.
Government occupation of Chinchow is presently blocking a potential Manchuria Communist move from the North to the vital port of Chinwangtao, from which port some 70 percent of the coal consumed in the Shanghai area is loaded for water shipment.
The Government has strengthened itself in the Chinchow area by the assignment of General Fan Han-chieh to the region, but there still is no clear cut determination of who is actually responsible for the garrisoning of the rail line from Chinchow to Chinwangtao. Lack of coordinated and capable leadership has resulted in widespread corruption in the military organizations in the Chinchow area. Improvement however has been noted since Fan replaced the former commander, and presently Governor of Jehol Province, Sun Tu, and morale of the approximately six Nationalist Divisions in the area seems good.