893.00/9–848
The Consul at Peiping (Touchette) to the Ambassador in China (Stuart)3
Sir: I have the honor to refer to this office’s telegram No. 478 (No. 325 to the Department) of August 30, 19484 and to report certain information provided by two Chinese employees of the American Board Mission in Fenyang, Shansi Province, who recently travelled overland to Peiping reaching here on August 23rd. These men hold responsible executive positions in the mission’s hospital and middle school in Fenyang and are regarded as dependable sources of information.
They travelled by cart from Fenyang to T’aiku and thence to Yangch’un, a station east of Yutz’u, where they boarded a train for Shihchiachuang. From there they again rode a cart to Ts’anghsien and thence northward to a point about midway between Ts’anghsien and Tientsin where they crossed over to Nationalist territory. The entire trip from Fenyang to Peiping took them twelve days and was entirely peaceful.
They reported that the Communists have the railroad running all the way from Linfen in southern Shansi to Yutz’u, thence eastward to Shihchiachuang and southeastward to Techou. In view of military operations in the Taiyuan area traffic along the T’aiku–Yutz’u stretch was temporarily limited to military trains. They were informed that the Communists expected to have the Techou–Ts’anghsien line in operation in the near future, permitting through traffic from Linfen to the area south of Tientsin.
The two men were given travel passes by the Communist authorities in Fenyang which were accepted all along their route and also were permitted to carry out personal mail and a large amount of Nationalist currency. The Fenyang Communists told them that it would not be possible to assist the Mission school out of public funds but that they were free to go to Peiping to raise money there. Moreover, they were informed that Communist agents in Peiping could help them in arranging their return trip. This offer was, however, politely declined since they feared trouble with the Nationalist authorities.
They reported that following the Communist occupation of Fenyang and T’aiku peaceful conditions have prevailed in these two cities. Up to the time they left no one had been executed by the Communists; the only persons killed died as the result of strafing [Page 456] and bombing by Nationalist planes. Fenyang had been so bombed twice and T’aikn once, they said. In the area of Shansi recently occupied by the Communists, according to their statements, there has been no tou cheng, no drastic land distribution, and no persecution of the wealthy. Even the two highest Nationalist officials in the region, the special administrative district magistrate (chuan yuan) and the county magistrate (hsien chang), were not harmed but were merely subjected to a Communist indoctrination course. Those who wished to leave for Nationalist territory have been freely allowed to do so, and many wealthy families fearing a future reversal of policy have left.
Upon evacuating Fenyang the Nationalist troops opened their granaries to the people. For this reason and because the Communists have not yet begun to levy taxes, the people are enjoying the most prosperous times they have known for many years. The two men stated that the Fenyang market-place was four times its former size and that business was flourishing. Silver dollars constitute the chief currency in circulation.
However, several factors have caused the people to become apprehensive as to how long the present honeymoon conditions will last. In the first place, the Communists after occupying the area immediately began to remove all military supplies westward to their stronghold in the Yu Ta Ho valley and are now also removing substantial quantities of foodstuffs. This action might well herald a withdrawal of Communist troops from the Taiyuan perimeter. However, it might be merely a precautionary measure in anticipation of a possible strong Nationalist counter-attack.
The two informants reported that the Communist troops in Fenyang and T’aiku consisted solely of partially trained militia. However, they mentioned no concrete evidence that the Communists planned to withdraw, stating that the latter had on the contrary frequently claimed that they would capture Taiyuan itself before long. Up to the time they left Fenyang the Nationalist troops had shown no signs of striking southward to recover the recently lost territory. The bulk of the people, they said, hoped that the present status quo would be maintained as long as the Communists continued their policy of moderation. Their greatest fear is that the region will be fought over again in the future.
They reported that the four American Board Mission workers in this area, Miss Gladys Williams and Miss Mary Dewar in T’aiku, and Miss Emma Noreen and Miss Louise Meebold in Fenyang, were being well treated and allowed freely to carry on their hospital and school activities. They plan to stay as long as they are permitted to perform useful and necessary work. The Mission’s two hospitals were crowded [Page 457] with civilians wounded by Nationalist strafings and with some Nationalist soldiers; the Communists had their own military hospitals. The Communist authorities have granted permission for the Mission’s schools to reopen this fall, with the proviso that nothing of an anti-Communist nature be taught. Weekly church services are permitted, and the Communist authorities have posted notices on all Mission property ordering that it not be molested in any way. The two men reported that the Communist leaders had said they would take steps to protect all missionary personnel and property after they took Taiyuan. They believed that the lenient attitude of the Communist leaders might be due in part at least to the fact that some of them had been educated in Mission schools in Shansi.
The men mentioned that while on their trip they saw a pamphlet containing a speech by Mao Tse-tung, dated December 12, 1947, which in the name of the Communist Central Committee, reproved local cadre for undue harshness and for carrying tou cheng too far. The speech ordered that in the future no one was to be killed, and that where people’s property had been confiscated to too great an extreme, a portion of it should be returned (this applied only to such property as household furniture and personal effects and not to land). It also contained instructions that private business should be encouraged to a greater extent. Notwithstanding this pamphlet, they reported, drastic tou cheng was still the rule in the areas of Hopei through which they travelled.
According to them, crossing the lines between Ts’anghsien and Tientsin is a simple matter and there is considerable two-way traffic in commodities over this route. Taxes are collected on both sides of the line. Cotton comes northward, while sugar and tea are shipped southward to the Liberated Areas.
The attitude of the Communist officials towards America that they encountered faithfully followed the standard Communist line. They only opposed the present American Government, they argued; the bulk of the American people were good as witnessed by the existence of persons like Wallace.
Respectfully yours,