Office of the Historian

811.42793/1689

Memorandum by the Acting Assistant Chief of the Division of Science, Education and Art (Pierson)

[Washington,] April 3, 1944.

I quote below the text of a motion adopted at the meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Adjustment of Foreign Students in the United States, which was held in the Department on February 10 and 11, 1944, with respect to the proposal of the Chinese Government to send a large number of students to this country in the near future: [Page 1130]

“The Advisory Committee on the Adjustment of Foreign Students has considered the plans of the Chinese Government for the selection and supervision of a large number of students who propose to come to American colleges and universities. On the basis of the information available to the Committee, the following recommendations and comments are made:

  • “1) The appropriate governmental agencies should study the proposals of the Chinese Government and should draft a statement of policy regarding the admission of Chinese students to the United States. Such policy as is adopted should take into account the conditions under which higher institutions operate, particularly during the war; the stated purposes for which the Chinese Government is sending these students to the United States and the controls established in the appointment and supervision of these students; the importance of assurance that these students will have sufficient financial resources or support to enable them to achieve their educational objections [objectives?]; the assurance that these students will be able to return to China immediately upon the completion of their programs of study, or at the determination of their adviser, and the necessity of according comparable opportunities for study to students coming from other foreign countries.
  • “2) If the Government favors the admission of these Chinese students, the number to be admitted should be determined by the opportunities for study, housing, and counseling that are available to Chinese students in the colleges and universities as indicated by them.”

You will note that the text of the motion understates the apprehensions expressed by the members of the committee when Mr. Dennis read the regulations to cover students who are coming to the United States on their own funds. I believe that the Department should take a firm stand with respect to the activities which the Chinese Government proposes to engage in within the territory of the United States to supervise its students. The regulations referred to above left grave doubts in my mind as to the right of the Chinese Government to undertake these activities.