Office of the Historian

36. Telegram From the Secretary of State to the Embassy in Burma1

Washington, August 22, 1955—7:13 p.m.

150. For Ambassador from Secretary. Pass following personal message from Secretary to Prime Minister.

“I appreciate your message through your Ambassador here.2 We are indeed at somewhat of a deadlock. It was agreed that the first subject to be dealt with would be the repatriation of civilians and we had expected quickly to resolve this, since Chou En-lai in his July 30 speech said ‘it should be possible in the forthcoming talks at the Ambassadorial level to reach, first of all, a reasonable settlement of the question of the return of civilians to their respective countries. The number of American civilians in China is small and the question can easily be settled.’ However, the Chinese Ambassador now insists that these Americans are involved in civil or criminal cases and that the best he can do is to say that these cases will be reviewed and the results subsequently announced. This is not to us an acceptable settlement of the agreed first item. However, I do not want to call upon you for the help you so kindly offer lest the Chinese should feel that we are attempting to exert pressure upon them. I feel therefore it may be better to let matters continue, even at some risk of the negotiations breaking, rather than for me to be in the position of seeming to go behind the back of the negotiators at Geneva.

“Again thanking you for your kind offer of good offices, I am,
“Sincerely yours, Foster Dulles”.

Dulles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.95A251/8–2255. Secret. Drafted by Dulles; cleared in draft by Phleger; and approved for transmission by Sebald.↩
  2. The message from Prime Minister U Nu to Secretary Dulles, dated August 22 and delivered on the same day by Ambassador Barrington, stated that he had read in the papers that the talks in Geneva had reached a deadlock and offered his assistance in finding a solution. (Ibid., Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Dulles–U Nu Correspondence) Dulles’ meeting with Barrington is recorded in a memorandum of conversation by Sebald, August 22. (Ibid., Central Files, 611.93/8–2255)↩