CO129-499-4 Canton situation- governor's despatches 18-3-1927 - 22-4-1927 — Page 147

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that its weight must count, and also because this propaganda work has already borne good fruit. Certain generals now under the command of Chiang Kai-shek have

been much influenced by the principle of government by a party, and this makes Chiang's position very difficult. Certain members of the Hankow clique have already expressed the opinion that unless Chiang came round to their view,

he was bound to fall soon or late

Chiang Kai-shek has apparently seen that

Bolshevism has had too great an influence over the members of the Government in Hankow, and he accordingly worked to lessen such influence. He made an announcement

sometime ago that he did not wish to see Bolshevism in China. This announcement has already had good effect, for certain generals who were fighting the South because of its alleged Bolshevic tendencies, but were at the same time antagonistic to Chang Tso-lin, have thrown in their lot

with Chiang Kai-shek.

I should like to make it quite clear that not all the members of the Hankow clique, because of their view of government by party, are necessarily communistic or Bol- shevistic, although there are some men in it who are very much tainted by these doctrines, and are extremists in political views.

Hankow has sent down the Yangtse River troops who have captured Wuhu. The ostensible object was to help the Nationalist Army in Chekiang to capture Nanking, but the real motive is to have a sufficiently powerful check

on Chiang Kai-shek's army.

I think that in spite of the split between the two cliques, Chiang Kai-shek is, militarily, still very

strong.