794A.00/8–1850
The Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Rusk) to the Governor of Taiwan (Wu)
My Dear Governor Wu: Your letter of August 18, 19501 has been received and I wish to express my appreciation for your comments upon certain aspects of the situation on Taiwan. Ambassador Koo has called upon the Secretary and me since his return and we have also found of considerable interest his own observations on conditions in Taiwan.
Your description of the endeavors being made to carry out free elections was informative and, I must say, encouraging. You are, of course, fully aware of the importance which we attach here to popular suffrage and representative government. While it might be possible theoretically for government to be good, or at least effective, without [Page 510] popular participation, the record shows that government does not in fact continue good for very long without it. Taiwan, particularly because it is of manageable dimensions, affords a happy opportunity for the progressive development of a truly popular government.
The matter of personal and political liberty under the rule of law is equally important and, at the moment, perhaps even more exigent than that of electoral procedures. This is particularly true because of the spotlight now being thrown by international agencies on guarantees of human rights, and the increasing emphasis which the free countries are placing on this aspect of their system as a mark of differentiation between them and those countries which suppress the basic freedoms. I need hardly mention to you the deeply adverse effect which reports of mass arrests and executions by extralegal processes always have in this country. The expression of your particular interest in this question and your intention to use the fullest measure of your influence in orderly and legal procedures is therefore gratifying. In this sort of thing the road is always uphill and the fight for due process of law, even in those countries which have long enjoyed stability, frequently has to be renewed. Here again, as you indicate, any success achieved on Taiwan will be a long step forward for the Chinese people generally.
With reference to your proposal for a $30,000,000 currency stabilization fund, I believe you will now have received my letter of August 25, 1950 commenting on the matter.2
It is always a pleasure to hear from you. I send best wishes.
Sincerely yours,
- Not printed.↩
- Mr. Rusk’s letter, not printed, adverted to the lack of sympathy in the Economic Cooperation Administration for such a fund and stated that, in the circumstances, the Department of State did not wish to recommend approval to either the ECA or the Export-Import Bank. The letter concluded with an expression of hope that progress would be made toward stabilization of the Taiwan economy in the coming months with the increased flow of anticipated assistance from the United States. (794A.00/8–1850)↩