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9.
Tuan Chi-jui is not the effete old man that
some people have reported him to be. His chess-
playing and Buddhistic study are, I think, merely an
escape from the political turmoil. He will be
equal to any duty to which the people may again call
him.
10.
Chang Hseuh-liang is clever but
inexperienced, and his head is not tightly screwed
on his body. The biggest mistake he has made was
the killing of Yang Yu-ting who, with all his
faults, was the outstanding figure in the Three North-Eastern Provinces, and was also one of the two
or three really able men in China. Chang Hseuh-
Liang had Yang Yu-ting killed because he found that
Yang was opposed to his acceptance of the Nationalist Flag and to some of his schemes which
Yang considered to be inimical to the interests of the
Three Provinces. When Chang found that in Council
he met with opposition from men who were directly his subordinates but who looked for guidance from
Yang Yu-ting, he thought that Yang was out to
supplant him, and so he did away with Yang.
afraid that Chang Hseuh-liang's position is not
very safe.
I am
11. Chang Chung-chang has now gained a fairly
firm footing in Shantung where, it is reported, he has about 80,000 men. He is not altogether an
ideal person for unfurling the Flag of Righteousness in behalf of the suffering people. Although he is a man of chivalry and intrepid courage, he is simple,
scarcely educated, and too lax in discipline. All
the
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