Evening star., 1941-11-29
Germans Reported
Making Offer 10 China
To Call Off Japan
Chang Declared TO Have
Sent Virtual Demands
To America on Aid
By ROYAL ARCH GUNNISON.

MANILA. Nov. 20 by Wireless TO
NANAl-C China's Generalissimo
Chang Kai-shek recently sent a
strongly -Worded statement-almost
demands-to President Roosevelt and
Secretary of State Hull on an either
or" basis in regard to American aid to
this correspondent can now reveal
following an aerial trip from Batavia
to Singapore, Rangoon, Chungking.
Hong Kong and Manila.
II can also be revealed that the
Germans made an appeal 10 GER
tain high Chungking officials who
are presumed to have influence with
the generalissimo. The Nazis were
said to have promised the Chinese
that they would call of the Japa-
nese in South China and also grad
ually in North China. This appealed
TO some Chinese. tired Of the war
and willing to agree TO almost any
thing if the japanese get out of
China.
In return, the Germans asked that
the Chinese give approval to the
japanese remaining in French Indo-
China, to special japanese economic
privileges in Thalland and China, TO
an agreement that Manchukuo
would have dominion status under
Japan. and to Sino-Japanese eco
nomic pact, negotiated through the
Nazis, giving Japan special rights
to trade in China.
Would Be Hard TO Resist.
Chiang's position was that this
pressure would be hard to resist if
the democracies. protesting friend
ship and promising aid to China,
let China down. even lightly, at this
critical time. This. I learned from
authoritative sources in Chungking,
was behind Chang S recent demands
on Washington and the subsequent
statement by Secretary Hull setting
forth certain basic principles on
which a readjustment of American
japanese relations might be made.
Official American quarters in Ma
Mia feel that any breakoff in the
American japanese talks in WASH
ington would not necessarily mean
an immediate showdown in the Far
East between the United States and
Japan. More likely than a United
StateS-JapaneSe war at present
and this also was the view in Chung
king-it is felt that Japan would
intensity its war in South China,
making threats to Washington that
it would strike from Indo-C China to-
ward the Burma road and the Yum
nan-Burma railroad now under con-
struction from Lashio to Chungking.
This japanese attack. it is be-
lieved, would be largely air-borne
and it would embroil the American
volunteer air force now in China
The Chinese have been shifting
troops southwark in numbers de-
signed to top the Japanese forces
from Indo- China at least four to
one. I believe it is safe to say that
close to two million Chinese troops, !
including guerrillas, are in South |
China today.
Suspicious Of Germans.
No country in the Far East seeks
a war blowup now. The japanese
are said to be getting suspicious of
the Germans activities in the Far
East, particularly since Capt. Fritz
Wiedemann, former German consul
at San Francisco and one of Hit
lers pressure men. arrived in Nam
king and Tientsin. Capt. Wiede-
mann is reported to have urged
Wang Ching vie, Japans puppet
premier in North China, to demand
more rights for his regime.
The new Nazi policy in occupied
China appears to be designed to
keep the Japanese from swallowing
the whole of China's economy and
to look toward the day when Ger
many can tap China's resources |
without being concerned with Japan.
Japan is trying to be nimble-
footed, playing for time in the role
of opportunist as it watches in
tently the progress of the war in
and North Africa. I had a
talk in Hong Kong with a japanese
official whose statement helped to
confirm other points OF information
I gathered in China. Thailand and
Malaga. In regard to Japanese
policy toward Thailand, pressure is
being exerted to induce the Thai
tSee CHINA, Page A-3D