811.20200(D)/1–1248
The Consul General at Shanghai (Cabot) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 20.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the United States Information Service program in China and to point out the immediate need for [Page 32] a vigorous and aggressive campaign by USIS-China to correct the widespread misrepresentation of the United States and its policies as reported in the Chinese press and as circulated in Chinese Communist propaganda and official Soviet Union press handouts.
Of late the Chinese press, in one or more instances, has blamed the United States for China’s civil war; has accused the United States of economic imperialism, power politics, dollar diplomacy, ruthless expansion and monopolistic practices; has charged the United States with not helping and aiding but pressing for domination of the world through the dollar, atomic power and food. We have been called arrogant and stupid.
Some of these charges have been widespread while others have appeared only in the so-called independent press. But, the most important fact is that these misrepresentations have been published in the non-communist Chinese press in the Shanghai and Nanking area.
It is little short of tragic that there should be such gross misunderstanding of American aims. It is apparent that the oblique approach used by USIS in quoting statements, citing newspaper editorials and selecting news items is not sufficient. The point is made once but the campaign of lies continues and soon gains far more currency.
It is time now to come out with direct refutation of such beliefs, not through actual denial but through constant repetition of the true facts. We need to say more definitely what our aims are throughout the world. We need to point out again and again the facts relative to our actions whether or not they happen to be mentioned in certain public statements. Every media should be used—the Voice of the United States of America, the newsfile, the Chinese Newsletter, movies, filmstrips—to hammer these facts home again and again and again.
If USIS is to succeed in the job it is supposed to do we must meet these charges and correct these misunderstandings of the United States and its policies. We must supply the facts. We should determine which are the false beliefs, which are most fundamental, most dangerous to an understanding of our policies and then should make a systematic effort to supply the facts which belie them. We must repeat these facts over and over again in all media until the truth gains the currency which untruths and half-truths about us now enjoy.
The Acting USIS Director57 recommends that the Department give very serious consideration to changing the basic policy under which USIS has been operating so that a vigorous and aggressive program can be begun to undo some of the damage wrought by this campaign of lies. It is time now to meet these issues.
[Page 33]Of course, any change in the policy of USIS operations should not be allowed to divert our attention from a steady flow of the basic picture of American social work, science, education and other long-range subjects—which we hope may have an uplifting influence on the people of China, the dividends from which may not be so apparent, but are nonetheless real. Even to people in China who disagree most vehemently with United States policy, there are countless aspects of American life and government which command their respect and admiration and upon which solid ties may be built. It might be speculated whether or not the controlled papers which indulge so freely in attacks on American policy do so in part to distract their readers’ attention from the hardships and shortcomings of life in China today. It has always been the policy of the Chinese to blame foreigners for their troubles and the United States has become the number one whipping boy.
USIS in China has tried to meet some of these attacks through repetition of specific material in all media available to us, through special statements by the American Ambassador when possible, and through use of American editorial comment. In some cases we have been successful but all too often the attacks on the United States and its policies continue and thus the untruths gain greater currency. We are handicapped by not only a lack of suitable material to draw upon when needed but also by the lack of sufficient personnel to do the research and writing required.
It would appear to us in the field that these same criticisms and unjust charges are being hurled at the United States not just in China but in other countries of the world so that it would be in the best interests of the Department’s information program to prepare much of this needed material in Washington for distribution to all USIS posts overseas.
Based on experience in China, the Acting USIS Director does not recommend that the Department prepare specially written material to counteract these false representations but rather that the Department provide basic material drawn from authoritative and objective sources such as American newspapers, magazines and public statements tailored to meet specific charges. With this basic material available for immediate use it would then be possible for USIS-China to make use of such material as was needed from day to day.
At the same time the Department might consider preparation of pamphlets and certain visual material, such as graphs and pictographs, for simple underlining of facts which we need to emphasize. Since timeliness is often an important factor, pertinent articles should be air mailed or sent via Signal Corps to permit their use while the [Page 34] given situation pertains. For example, there was much good material preceding the Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in London,58 which we could have used to prepare the ground for our attitude and possibly prepare our readers for the resulting break-up if we had had it. Instead this material arrived long after the meeting had adjourned.
In the case of Soviet propaganda designed to give a false picture of our policies and our aims, the Department should be prepared to provide the true facts via the Wireless Bulletin59 since Soviet propaganda is, for the most part, carried on on a world-wide basis. The Chinese Communists follow this same line on world affairs. In instances where the Chinese Communists attack American activities in China, if the basic stockpile could not provide the correct answers, the Department would be requested to supply special material.
[Here follow examples of Chinese press comment.]
Respectfully yours,
American Consul
- W. Bradley Connors, Consul at Shanghai.↩
- November 25–December 16, 1947; for documentation, see Foreign Relations, 1947, volume ii .↩
- Department of State periodical.↩