501.BB/8–2649
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Sprouse)
Mr. Tsui1 called by appointment this afternoon and, explaining that he was doing so on instructions from the Chinese Ambassador,2 asked if the Department had given any indication to the Embassy Office at Canton of its attitude toward the approach made by the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. George Yeh, regarding the Chinese plans for an appeal to the United Nations against Soviet violations of the Sino-Soviet Treaty.
I replied that the Foreign Office’s approach in this regard had been reported to us, as well as a similar approach by Dr. T. F. Tsiang in New York. I continued that a reply had been sent to the United States Delegation to the United Nations for transmission to Dr. Tsiang. This reply, I explained, indicated that the Department was sympathetic to the Chinese Government’s desire to place the matter before the General Assembly and assured its support in principle but stated that the degree of support on the details of the case would, of course, depend upon the extent to which the Chinese Government could develop an effective case. I added that until the Department had more complete knowledge of the nature and the evidence to support the Chinese Government’s case, it could not commit itself to unqualified support.
Mr. Tsui said that this was completely understandable and that he personally, though not officially, doubted that concrete evidence could be produced to prove that the Soviets had furnished arms and ammunition to the Chinese Communists. He further stated that he feared that, if the Chinese Communists formed a national government on October 10 as seemed to be planned, one of the Soviet satellites might immediately raise the question of Chinese representation in the United Nations.