Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, China, Volume II

251. Letter From the Secretary of State to the President¹

Washington, May 18, 1955.

Dear Mr. President: On May 13, Chou En-lai made a long report on the Bandung Conference, in the course of which he talked about Taiwan and said, among other things, “The Chinese people have two possible means of liberating Taiwan—namely, by war, or by peaceful means. The Chinese people are willing to strive for the liberation of Taiwan by peaceful means as far as this is possible.”²

This is, I think, significant. It may be a response to the statements we have often made that just as in the case of divided Germany, Korea and Vietnam, unification must be sought only by peaceful means and not by force. It might mean an attempt to differentiate Taiwan from Quemoy and Matsu so that they could attack the latter without the attack being considered directed against Formosa so as to justify you in invoking the Treaty and P.L.4. However, the speech did not itself mention Quemoy and the Matsus or suggest a differentiation.

Faithfully yours,

JFD

1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series. Official Use Only. A copy is also in Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/5–1855. Drafted by Dulles. The source text was initialed by the President, indicating he had seen it.

2. Premier Chou’s report on the Bandung Conference was made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on May 13; the text, as printed in a supplement to People’s China, June 16, 1955, reads in part as follows:

   “Taiwan is China’s territory, the people living in Taiwan are Chinese people, and the liberation of Taiwan by the Chinese people is a question of China’s domestic affair. The United States occupation of Taiwan has created tension in the Taiwan area and this constitutes an international issue between China and the United States. The two questions cannot be mixed up. There is no war between China and the U.S., so the question of a so-called cease-fire does not arise. The Chinese people are friendly with the American people. The Chinese people do not want to have a war with the United States. To ease tension in the Taiwan area, the Chinese Government is willing to sit down and enter into negotiations with the United States Government. As to the form of negotiations, the Chinese Government supports the Soviet proposal for a ten-power conference and is also willing to consider other forms. However, no negotiations should in the slightest degree affect the Chinese people’s exercise of their own sovereign rights—their just demand and action to liberate Taiwan. At the same time, the Chinese Government can at no time agree to participation by the Chiang Kai-shek clique in any international conference. The Chinese people have two possible means to liberate Taiwan, namely by war or by peaceful means. The Chinese people are willing to strive for the liberation of Taiwan by peaceful means so far as it is possible.”