Editorial Note
On May 18, 1951, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 500 (V), recommending an embargo on the shipment of arms, ammunition, and other materials of strategic value to areas controlled by the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China and the North Korean authorities; for the text of the resolution, see page 1988.
On the evening of May 18, Assistant Secretary Rusk and Ambassador John Foster Dulles, Consultant to the Secretary, discussed Sino-American relations in addresses before the China Institute in America in New York City. Rusk stated in part:
“We do not recognize the authorities in Peiping for what they pretend to be. The Peiping regime may be a colonial Russian government—a [Page 1672] Slavic Manchukuo on a larger scale. It is not the Government of China. It does not pass the first test. It is not Chinese.
“It is not entitled to speak for China in the community of nations. It is entitled only to the fruits of its own conduct—the fruits of aggression upon which it is now willfully, openly, and senselessly embarked.
“We recognize the National Government of the Republic of China, even though the territory under its control is severely restricted. We believe it more authentically represents the views of the great body of the people of China, particularly their historic demand for independence from foreign control. That Government will continue to receive important aid and assistance from the United States. Under the circumstances, however, such aid in itself cannot be decisive to the future of China. The decision and the effort are for the Chinese people, pooling their efforts, wherever they are, in behalf of China.
“If the Chinese people decide for freedom, they shall find friends among all the peoples of the earth who have known and love freedom. They shall find added strength from those who refuse to believe that China is fated to become a land of tyranny and aggression and who expect China to fulfill the promise of its great past.”
The texts of both addresses may be found in the Department of State Bulletin, May 28, 1951, pages 843–848.