"Terrible Mess-Up"

In Chungking the People's Political Council, China's national advisory forum, gathered for a historic session. Its delegates heard good news--and bad.

Said Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in an opening address: "As we are entering upon the ninth year of the war . . . final victory is now secure and the dawn of freedom is already visible. . . . The Government has two obligations to discharge: first, to do its utmost in accelerating the destruction of the enemy; second, to inaugurate constitutional rule. . . .

"While it is proper for the Kuomintang to decide on the date of the National Assembly and of terminating the period of political tutelage and returning the power of the Government to the people, the Government holds itself ready to consider opinions from all quarters. Rather unexpectedly we now find that those who were opposed to a postponement of the inauguration of constitutionalism until after the war are assailing the Government for its decision to advance the date "

Emptyhanded. The Generalissimo was referring to Communist opposition to his proposed constitutional convention on Nov. 12. That opposition, on the grounds that the convention would be Kuomintang-packed, was as adamant as ever, and as dangerous as ever to the future peace of China and Asia. A non-partisan committee, which had flown up to Yenan in a last-minute effort to persuade the Communists not to boycott the PPC meeting, returned to Chungking emptyhanded.

The prospect for Chinese unity had never seemed more hopeless. A pessimistic view was taken by Australian-born W. H. Donald, who for many years served as personal adviser to Generalissimo Chiang and who is now in New York City recuperating from Japanese captivity in Manila. Said China-wise Donald:

Open civil war in China seems inevitable. The chaos left by the Japanese war--including 90,000,000 refugees and millions of guerrilla fighters--will lead to unrest. Unabated friction between Kuomintang and Communist factions will flame into conflict, "with more bloodshed than we've had in this war. . . .

"It's all a terrible mess-up. If the Generalissimo tolerates a separate Communist army in China, then he's just asking for a revolution. But I can't see the Communists giving up their arms, because these are the only means they've got for asserting their demands."

Donald's solution: the Communists ought to give up their arms on condition that Generalissimo Chiang promise to take no retaliatory action against them.

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