Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, China and Japan, Volume XIV, Part 1

396.1 GE/5–1854: Telegram

No. 195
The Secretary of State to the United States Delegation at the Geneva Conference¹

confidential
priority

Washington, May 21, 1954—1:31 p.m.

Tosec 227. Re Secto 249.² You may inform Trevelyan that any Chinese Nationals whose departure from US now prevented by administrative order and who wish to return to Mainland China will be allowed to do so, subject to US laws and regulations governing departure of aliens.

For your information, following active consultations between Department, Justice, Defense, and Interdepartmental Committee on Internal Security, it has been ascertained that very few if any of the small number of Chinese who still wish to return to Mainland would have to be held on grounds that their departure would be detrimental to the security interests of the United States. It is desired that Trevelyan make as much of a bargaining point as possible out of the prospective release of the Chinese who wish to depart. The standards applied by Justice in judging individual cases may be influenced by prospects for release of Americans held by Chinese Communists.

Dulles

1. Approved by Murphy. Repeated to Hong Kong and Taipei.
2. Document 192.