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To: Ambassador Pauley
28 November 1945
From: Lattimore or
Subject: American public opinion on China and Manchuria
1. It would be a good idea to have some public opinion
samples taken and analyzed on current reactions to
the trend of policy in China and Manchuria.
2.
American opinion on China shows remarkably steady long-
term characteristics. Among them are the following:
a.e When things are relatively quiet in China, with no
marked degree of civil war and no foreign intermen-
tion, the specialized periodicals devoted to the Far
East and China tend to fall off in circulation.
b. When there is foreign intervention in China, interest
shoots up, and most of this "new" interest is hostile
to
the intervention. The left wing is always active in
this expansion of interest, but the expansion reaches a
public which is far beyond any left wing /trend, and it is
capable of taking the form of votes. People interested in
China were, for instance, heavily against Hoover, who was
regarded as having a "bad" record on China.
C. In the years when there was no direct foreign inter-
vention, there was still a strong trend of American
public opinion hostile to the attempt to suppress the
Chinese Communists by civil war. Dating from those years
there is a remarkably widespread conviction, now strongly
solidified, that the Chinese Communists are not a bad
crowd, and a strong suspicion that the Chinese Government
likes to push around a lot of people who are not Communists
at all.
d. In contrast with questions involving such countries as
Poland, large numbers of Americans who are notpro-
Russian, and even a good many who are more or less anti-
Russian, refuse to be anti-Chinese Communist. Also, many
Americans who are anti-Russian and anti-Communist are also
anti-Chungking Government, because they think that Govern-
ment is full of crooks and militarists.
3. It would therefore be incautious to take it for granted that
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"ocrText": "COPY\nTo: Ambassador Pauley\n28 November 1945\nFrom: Lattimore or\nSubject: American public opinion on China and Manchuria\n1. It would be a good idea to have some public opinion\nsamples taken and analyzed on current reactions to\nthe trend of policy in China and Manchuria.\n2.\nAmerican opinion on China shows remarkably steady long-\nterm characteristics. Among them are the following:\na.e When things are relatively quiet in China, with no\nmarked degree of civil war and no foreign intermen-\ntion, the specialized periodicals devoted to the Far\nEast and China tend to fall off in circulation.\nb. When there is foreign intervention in China, interest\nshoots up, and most of this \"new\" interest is hostile\nto\nthe intervention. The left wing is always active in\nthis expansion of interest, but the expansion reaches a\npublic which is far beyond any left wing /trend, and it is\ncapable of taking the form of votes. People interested in\nChina were, for instance, heavily against Hoover, who was\nregarded as having a \"bad\" record on China.\nC. In the years when there was no direct foreign inter-\nvention, there was still a strong trend of American\npublic opinion hostile to the attempt to suppress the\nChinese Communists by civil war. Dating from those years\nthere is a remarkably widespread conviction, now strongly\nsolidified, that the Chinese Communists are not a bad\ncrowd, and a strong suspicion that the Chinese Government\nlikes to push around a lot of people who are not Communists\nat all.\nd. In contrast with questions involving such countries as\nPoland, large numbers of Americans who are notpro-\nRussian, and even a good many who are more or less anti-\nRussian, refuse to be anti-Chinese Communist. Also, many\nAmericans who are anti-Russian and anti-Communist are also\nanti-Chungking Government, because they think that Govern-\nment is full of crooks and militarists.\n3. It would therefore be incautious to take it for granted that\nRECORDS\nSERVICE\nco\nservices"
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