399.10 UPU/1–1851
Memorandum by the Special Assistant in the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs (Bacon) to the Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (Clubb)
Subject: Chinese Communist Representation at UPU Meeting in Cairo.
The Mixed Commission for Study of Air Mail Postal Questions, meeting in Cairo on January 22, will include representatives of the US, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, UK, India, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and perhaps Yugoslavia and the USSR, of whom the last eight countries named recognize the Chinese Communists.
We have circularized (Department’s Circular telegram 384, January 15) the above-mentioned countries, with the exception of India, Czechoslovakia, USSR and Yugoslavia, informing them that our Delegate has been instructed to move to postpone consideration of the question of Chinese Communist representation pending UN General Assembly action on the matter, and to seat, in the meantime, representatives of the Chinese National Government with the same rights [Page 212] as other members. We indicated our hope that the Delegates of these countries would be instructed to support our position.
Embassy London (in telegram 3940, January 16, 1951) reports that Parrott of the UK Foreign Office “could not see the UK reversing its position on that question at this time”, and on first thought felt the General Assembly resolutions were not sufficiently weighty to change his Government’s point of view. It is possible that this position represents Mr. Parrott’s personal opinion and may be reversed after Foreign Office consideration. However, if a more satisfactory response is not forthcoming, UNP plans to send another telegram to London more strongly stating our position. There would seem to be no reasonable basis for the UK to insist upon voting for the seating of the Chinese Communists at this time, in view of the GA action.1
- Marginal notation by Clubb, beside the last two sentences: “Agree EC”.↩