CONFIDENTIAL.
Enclosure No. 1.
115
Information given by Mr. Chan Yau-ka, a friend of General Tang Seng-chi.
19th February, 1929.
General Tang Seng-chi is in the Colony. He is
here as a private individual, and is not concerned with
politics whatsoever. It is true that about three months
ago he went to Shanghai on the invitation of Chiang Kai-shek
who endeavoured to enlist his support to strengthen his
own position. Although General Tang is now a private
individual it is the common belief that his former
subordinates, such as Li Pen-hsien and Ho Chien are still
loyal to him and would rally round him, should he hoist his flag again. Li Pen-hsien is now at Peiping, and
Ho Chien at Hunan, and the two have between them about
60,000 men. These two generals are under the command of
Pei Chung-hsi whose retirement from the army will soon
become, if it has not already become, an accomplished fact.
Although Chiang Kai-shek never once mentioned Pei Chung-hsi
by name in his conversations with General Tang Seng-chi,
there is no doubt that he intended to secure through Tang
the deflection of Li Pen-hsien and Ho Chien from their
allegiance to Pei. Chiang offered Tang $200,000, but
the latter refused the gift in order to preserve his own
independence. When Tang was leaving Shanghai for South
China, Chiang tried to persuade him to stay on. Tang's objects in coming to Hong Kong was to make a clean cut from politics so as to show all parties that he had nothing to do with politics. Tang knows Chiang well, and because of this knowledge he does not trust him.
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