[This Dozament is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
To CHINA.
Code telegram to Sir M. Lampson (Peking)
Foreign Office, 20th May 1927, 10.00 p.m.
No. 391. (R)
XXXXXX
Your telegram No. 825.
Your attitude is fully approved.
19
46
You should in any further conversations or communi- cations with Chang Tso-lin explain to him clearly that his suggestion that His Majesty's Government should assist him in fighting Bolshevism in China and that his future movements depend upon the intentions of the powers towards the Bolshevist menace in that country practically consti- tute an invitation to His Majesty's Government and the other powers to co-operate with him in action amounting, on their part, to direct intervention in the internal affairs of China.
Such an invitation cannot possibly be accepted by His Majesty's Government, whose main object at the present time is to refrain from any action which might be inter- preted as interference in China's internal affairs and to observe complete neutrality between all the con- testing factions.
His Majesty's Government cannot believe, moreover, that they would be in fact assisting Chang Tso-lin's cause or helping on the campaign upon which he is already successfully embarked for dealing with the extremist ele- ments in territory under his control by adopting a new policy on the suggested lines, which would publicly associate his name with their action, and so probably serve to discredit him with other Chinese elements and perhaps produce a general reaction from the tendency now becoming apparent all over China to deal with extremist and Bolshevist movements as they deserve.
Repeat to Tokyo, Shanghai, Mr. Newton, Canton for
Hongkong.
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