THE CONFLICT IN CHINA

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 14049, 2 May 1946, Page 3

THE CONFLICT IN CHINA

CEASE-FIRE ORDER DELAYED HIGHER PRICE ON PEACE TERMS Chungking, April 30. According to informed Chinese sources the utmost powers of General Marshall have been insufficient to bridge the differences between the Nationalists and the Communists, and settlement of the Manchurian civil war faces indefinite delay. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek is believed to have rejected the Democratic League’s cease-fire formula, which would have left the Communists in possession of a large part of Manchuria. Chinese sources indicate that the Generalissimo preferred to wait until the Nationalists fought northwards and captured Changchun before halting hostilities. General Marshall, who has been conferring almost ceaselessly in recent days with the Generalissimo and General Chou En-lai, the Communist leader, will transfer his headquarters to Nanking to-morrow. Informed sources said the Communists, who a month ago were willing to surrender claims to Changchun, Harbin and also the MukdenHarbin railway line, in return for the cease-fire order and the retention of interior areas of Manchuria, are now putting a much higher price on the peace terms, and insist on a status quo settlement leaving them in possession of approximately eightninths of Manchuria. » Central Government reports declare that the Communists are blockading inner Shangtung Province, where millions of war refugees aie badly in need of fuel and foodstuffs. They add that Government forces hold only about a dozen places in the province. The Communist strength is estimated at 400,000, mostly along the railways The Communist Chungking Daily News, admitting it reported erroneously last week that United States airmen attacked Communist troops in Manchuria, explained that the planes originally belonged to America, but the Chinese Government had covered the American Army markings with thin water paint. The Democratic League is a combination of a number of small groups, who take a middle course in Chinese politics between the Kuomintang (Nationalists) and the Communists.