In 1939, after the Japanese conquest of Nanjing, Zanin remained in occupied territory,Pierre Blet, Pius XII and the Second World War (Paulist Press, 1999), p. 131. delegating to an American Franciscan his authority regarding the area held by the Chinese government, whose provisional capital was Chongqing. According to Japanese diplomatic cables, he recommended to Pope Pius XII that the Vatican should recognize the Nanjing-based Reorganized National Government of China (a Japanese puppet state) as the legitimate government of China as opposed to the KMT government in Chongqing.The "Magic" Background to Pearl Harbor, Volume 3. Department of Defense, pp. 243–247.
