Comments on Telegrams from Dong Biwu and Lin Boqu

(October 19, 1944)

From the second half of September to the first half of October, Chiang Kai-shek stiffly resisted the pressure from Roosevelt and Churchill for several weeks. During this period, he also adopted a hard-line attitude toward us. However, after letting off steam in his Double Tenth speech, he softened again—soft toward the United States, and correspondingly somewhat softer toward us. The meeting of the Nationalist, Communist, and third-party representatives convened by Shao Lizi, which decided to send five members of the People’s Political Council to Yan’an and demanded that Yan’an stop denouncing Chiang, is a manifestation of this. Chiang fears being criticized by name most of all, and the United States also fears that we might reject Chiang. Therefore, under the condition of allowing Chiang to continue to exist, some deals favorable to us can be made.