CHINA: Communist Break?

While Premier T. V. Soong flew back to Chungking from apparently fruitful talks with Generalissimo Joseph Stalin in Moscow, the Yenan radio broadcast startling news. Last week in Yenan 116 delegates from all the Communist areas of north, south and central China met in plenary session.

Their purpose, said the Yenan radio, was to promote the national war effort against Japan, to give vigor to the democratic groups throughout China and the “formation of a coalition government as well as the liberation of the Chinese people.” The present meeting was only a preparatory committee to set the date and technical details for a full-dress conference of the people’s representatives of liberated China.

What did this mean? TIME Correspondent Theodore White cabled from Chungking: “This was the first concrete move of the Communists to set up a government of their own. It meant that the Communists are now not only rejecting the current People’s Political Council in Chungking as a representative body of opinion, but are going further and establishing a parallel Communist council. It means that, as of today, the Communists no longer consider the promise of Chiang Kai-shek nor his proponent national assembly as an adequate program for unity; and that they are on their own preparing to establish another national assembly. This would be based on the millions of people and vast areas that pay allegiance to their own standards. At the end of this long road lay the tragic picture of two Chinas sharing sovereignty of one people; and from this could only result bloodshed and violence for untold years to come.”

The news shocked Chungking, where the People’s Political Council is in session. The National Government feared that Yenan might declare itself independent.