811.91293/8–145: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Hurley) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 1—8:02 a.m.]
1265. Please forward following secret and urgent message to the Secretary:
Henry Luce, publisher of magazines Time and Life, is a native of China. For some time he has desired to visit China. During the period of very limited transportation facilities, there was a regulation or order that admitted only correspondents and no publishers to this area. Later I obtained permission from the State Department and brought Paul Patterson, publisher of the Sun papers, Baltimore, to China. He in turn sent Mark Watson, Pulitzer Prize war correspondent for 1944, to China. I feel that they are rendering excellent [Page 143] service in giving the people of America a more definite and reasonable understanding of the American policy in Asia. Today I mentioned the fact that Luce wishes to come to China to the Generalissimo, General Wedemeyer and Prime Minister Soong. They all thought that his attitude would be constructive, and they would welcome him to this theater. His war correspondents in this area have been opposed to the Chinese National Government and opposed to the American policy in China. Notwithstanding this, Luce has editorially consistently supported both the Chinese National Government and the American policy.
The purpose of this telegram is to request authorization for me to invite Luce to come to China. Should you for any reason not consider an invitation from me to be appropriate, then I suggest that word be sent to him indicating that there would be no objection to his visiting China.
I also suggest the advisability of giving permission to publishers of various shades of opinion from different areas of the United States to come to China. With a growing friendly attitude toward freedom of the press in China, a rational program of permitting editors and publishers to familiarize themselves with the issues on the ground would, I believe, create an interest in Asia in America and would help to clarify American public opinion on Asia.