182. Memorandum From the Director of the Executive Secretariat (Scott) to the Secretary of State1
SUBJECT
- Summary of Taipei Telegram 6712
An informal survey of American military and civilian officials in Taiwan3 reveals that these officials do not think that morale in Taiwan has changed significantly over the past year. Native Taiwanese tend to feel that the Mutual Security Treaty has increased the security of their home island and are not overly concerned with developments tending to decrease the likelihood of a counter-attack on the mainland. Mainland emigres have been heartened by the Treaty and disturbed by developments which appear to defer even further their chances of returning home. Most of this group, however, has long realized that a return to the mainland will be long and hard so were not greatly shocked by recent developments tending to confirm that view. Subversion is well under control in Taiwan, according to the officials surveyed. The state of Chinese-American cooperation continues to be satisfactory despite some recriminations over our attempts to get a cease-fire in the Taiwan Strait and our failure to commit ourselves on the defense of Matsu and Quemoy. The Taiwan public has however, become increasingly confused about the direction of US policy toward China as the result of press reports from Washington in the past few days. What effect this confusion will have, our Embassy says, is not discernible at the moment.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, White House Central Files, Confidential File, Formosan Question. Secret. Also directed to the Under Secretary. The source text is a carbon copy.↩
- Dated March 30. (Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/3–3055) A copy is attached to the source text.↩
- Telegram 671 from Taipei stated that 30 key officials, drawn from all the U.S. agencies represented in Taipei and selected on the basis of experience and interest, had been consulted in the survey.↩