234. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State Washington, February 12, 19571
PRESENT
- The Secretary
- Governor Herter
- Mr. Murphy, G
- Mr. Phleger, L
- Mr. McCardle, P
- Mr. Cartwright, SCA
- Mr. Howe, S/S
The Secretary agreed to hold a meeting with a small group representing the press and asked Governor Herter to make the arrangements. He thought Monday afternoon2 would be the best time.
In agreeing to the meeting, the Secretary said that the best possible and most complete and articulate statement of our policy on this subject should be pulled together as a basis of his discussion and that of the other Departmental participants. Essentially the Secretary felt that our policy was entirely correct but that it would have validity only if it was effective and it would only be effective if it was really “saleable” to the American people. Conversely the Secretary felt that we should not hold to this or any other policy which was not understood and not supported by the American people.
The Secretary recognized that the newspaper correspondents were only one group of the American people concerned with the problem of entry into Communist China; that missionaries, businessmen, etc, were also involved. He thought however that a special problem was created by the journalists as representing the source of news on Communist China and also because they were so conspicuously in the forefront of those involved in pursuing the policy; that therefore the proposed meeting should not include representatives of groups other than the press and radio.
The Secretary agreed with the point made by most of the participants that we had not yet articulated properly the policies under which we were operating in this area, i.e., the relationship with Communist China in terms of admission of U.S. citizens, and that we therefore had not had any success in selling the policy. He looked to the proposed meeting as a testing ground from this standpoint, to take high-minded, public-spirited and interested people and put to them our policy with the greatest force and see whether it would stand up.
The Secretary at the outset of the meeting had read Mr. Phleger’s brief (dated February 83) and made extensive comments upon it, principally along the lines that, while the document was an able marshalling of the elements of the problem, it overlooked, it seemed to him, the most important basis for our present policy. He pointed out that the strongest single motivation of the Chinese in their international conduct was a desire to be treated like everyone else and that our unwillingness to concede to them in this had been the greatest sanction upon them which we held. The Secretary believes [Page 478] that we should not accede to their desire until they have earned it in the sense of demonstrating a determination to conduct themselves properly and in accord with international law and custom.
The Secretary expressed serious concern on two other elements of the problem. In the first place, he saw that a concession on the particular issue of the correspondents was the first step in a long slippery path on which he saw little possibility of halting; the missionaries and businessmen and then tourists would follow upon the correspondents. In the second place, he was sure that any revision in our present policy would be wrongly interpreted in a number of areas but particularly in those countries whose morale we spent much energy to bolster because of their closeness and yet their resistance to Communist China, i.e., Korea, Formosa and Southeast Asia; these would assume that this was simply the first step to recognition of Communist China and their reaction would be one of great nervousness.
The Secretary made this further comment. He felt that there was no doubt whatsoever that, if we can keep the correspondents out of Communist China, it was in the best interest of the U.S. He was not sure however that, as with the CHINCOM controls, it might not be better to have violations than to agree to a relaxation.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 993.6211/2–1257. Confidential. Drafted by Howe. A note on the source text, in an unknown hand, reads: “For record, no distr.”↩
- The meeting took place on Monday, February 18. See Document 237.↩
- Not found in Department of State files.↩