China's Military Chief in U.S., Lieut. General Hsiung Shih-fei, sitting with Ambassador Wei Tao-ming, wears "Do or Die" battle dagger (lower right).
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China's Military Chief in U.S., Lieut. General Hsiung Shih-fei, sitting with Ambassador Wei Tao-ming, wears "Do or Die" battle dagger (lower right).
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China's Military Mission to the U.S. was last week pulling up stakes to quit the U.S. and go home to report to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
This extraordinary act, in the middle of a war, mystified nobody in Washington.
There everybody knew that for nine months the U.S. High Command had outrageously ignored the Mission headed by boyish-looking, 20-year-old Lieut. General Hsiung Shih-fei (pronounced Shung Shee-fay), shown at left.
General Hsiung is Chiang's right-hand man, ex-governor of Kiangsi Province, co-revolutionary of Sun Yat-sen, veteran of all the wars in China and a general rating a 15-gun salute.
Chiang sent him here to sit in on United Nations strategy planning.
In nine months he has been asked just once to the United Nations Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings.
He has had a weekly luncheon with the Dutch, Australians and General Marshall.
He has inspected one airplane company and some slum projects.
And he has been virtually snubbed by diplomatic Washington, except for one party in October.
When he goes, he will take with him the best military maps of China and Japan in the U.S. and more first-hand knowledge of Jap tactics, psychology and weapons than any American will have for years.
The theory behind ignoring Hsiung has been that this is an Anglo-American war for the present.
Since Russia does not want to sit in on Anglo-American strategy now because of its neutrality toward Japan, it is not considered polite to Russia to let China sit in either.
This is obviously nonsense.
A veteran Chinese army of 5,000,000 men, with a backlog of 15,000,000 trainees and five years' experience, deserves better.
With British Field Marshal Dill (right), China's Lieut. General Hsiung Shih-fei gives official Washington his only party.
Picture on wall is of Hsiung's old chief, the late great revolutionary Sun Yat-sen.
The flag of Sun's Nationalist Party stands in rear.
With U.S. Admiral King (right), Hsiung speaks a little English.
He also speaks German and Japanese.
Hsiung did not meet King's boss, President Roosevelt, until recent press stories falsely rumored that Hsiung's boss had called him home in huff.
With Russian Colonel Sarayev (right), Hsiung (left) uses his interpreter, Captain M. H. Robert Lee, at the Military Mission party.
Hsiung thinks Russia must inevitably fight Japan, knows Russia may in the end help China more than the U.S. can.
Chinese Mission staff on Washington's Embassy Row includes, from left, Chancelor Shuly Koo, Captain Liu, Gloria Li, Jennie Hong.
They submitted China's requests for arms, of which only 2% has so far been delivered to the fighting Chinese.
Two major generals, wearing one triangle on collar tab, are German-trained Chief of Staff DeKung Hsu, 46, and Ordnance Expert Dai Fung King, 42, with aides.
They will go to London with Hsiung and may come back if U.S. will use their knowledge.
