CHINA: Ultimatum

The plane from Peiping winged down to the airfield inside Nanking's ancient wall. Nationalist Envoy Huang Shao-hsiung, back from peace talks with the Reds, stepped through the hatch into a clamoring crowd of reporters who besieged him with questions. The man from Peiping parried feebly: "Splendid weather we're having, isn't it?"

The news that Huang carried in a five-inch-thick sheaf of papers for the government was grim. At Acting President Li Tsung-jen's big grey brick house, Nationalist leaders conferred until 2 a.m. Exhausted and ill with high blood pressure, Envoy Huang went to bed. It was no wonder. The Communists...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!