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

273. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, July 18, 1957¹

Washington, July 18, 1957

SUBJECT

• Meeting with Press and Radio Representatives

PARTICIPANTS

• The Secretary of State
• The Under Secretary of State
• P—Andrew H. Berding
• FE—Walter S. Robertson
• L—Loftus Becker
• Mr. Robert Hurleigh, President, American Assoc. of Radio & Television Correspondents
• Mr. William Dwight, President, American Newspaper Publishers Assoc.
• Mr. Henry Luce, Editor, Time-Life-Fortune
• Mr. J. Russell Wiggins, Vice President and Executive Editor, The Washington Post²
• Mr. Theodore Koop, President, Radio-TV News Directors Assoc.

The Secretary opened the meeting by saying we were thinking of letting a limited number of American correspondents go to Communist China. But general travel was not in the interests of our foreign policy. Treatment of Americans in Communist China had been bad. This Government could not relinquish its responsibility for the protection of Americans.

Legally, we would be on much sounder grounds if we just said no to travel of American correspondents to Communist China. It would be hard to justify exceptions. Newsgathering was supposed to have an exception. But other professions did not recognize this. Representatives of the National Council of Churches have spoken of wanting to send members to Communist China. We were not sure the door could be opened without our being forced to let everybody go in.

We had come to the conclusion that we were willing to let a limited number of correspondents go in—10 to 15, if the press would be willing to share responsibility to decide who those will be. Juridically we were on more dangerous grounds if we tried to pick and choose.

Limitation had occurred in other cases, as in time of war. This situation was analogous, because we were in a state of semi-war with Communist China.

It had been suggested that the correspondents be limited to the agencies which demonstrated their interest and developed an experience in China prior to the take-over.

If that seemed a reasonable basis, and if the newsgathering community would share responsibility for the selection, we would be willing to do so on an experimental basis. If this would lead to the release of Americans now in China, this could lead to enlarging the experiment. If the only result was to induce others to go, and particularly if an adverse court decision was rendered, we would have to call the whole thing off. The experiment would be for six months, then we would review it.

There would be no reciprocity, with Chinese Communists sending news representatives here. We did not recognize the Chinese Communist passport.

The Secretary concluded that we were prepared to think along those lines if the gentlemen present thought it possible to do so.

Mr. Koop asked how many the Secretary thought might want to go, all told. The Secretary said perhaps many thousands.

Mr. Luce wondered whether this could be worked out on the basis of correspondents from organizations now maintaining correspondents abroad at several posts.

Mr. Wiggins thought the number would be limited automatically by various circumstances. An effort should be made to find out how many would like to go.

Mr. Dwight said some organizations not represented in China in 1949 would like to send correspondents.

Mr. Becker explained the legal problems involved in connection with permitting correspondents to go to Communist China.

The Secretary said he was thinking of the right of the American public to be informed. They would be informed of developments in Communist China through a limited group. Opening the door completely would open it also to other professions.

Mr. Hurleigh said there would be an avalanche of applicants from individual TV-radio stations because sponsors of programs would finance the sending of correspondents. There are 2,500 to 3,000 stations. The TV-radio networks would like to have 20 Americans go. These would include sound and film men.

Mr. Berding\ said there are now 12 American correspondents in Moscow, representing 8 organizations. The radio correspondents there do not have sound and film men with them, but use local facilities.

Mr. Dwight said his organization (ANPA) was opposed to any limitation, believing in the right of American newspapermen to go anywhere. He had confidence in Secretary Dulles, but any limitation could be used against the American people by a future administration. ANPA would be willing to appeal to newspapers for restraint in sending correspondents to China. The limitation had to be the responsibility of the Department.

Mr. Wiggins said the Government is taking the position that a free flow of news can be limited. He thought the Communist Chinese would not throw the doors open wide to an unlimited number of American newsmen. The Secretary agreed with this last statement. Mr. Dwight asked whether the Department had asked the Chinese Communist Government if they would agree to admit any newspaperman who applied. The Secretary replied, no.

Mr. Robertson said that the Chinese Communists severely restrict the movements of foreign correspondents. The Look magazine men who went in wrote only what the Commies wanted them to about a flourishing agriculture, whereas just a few days later Mao himself had to admit a crisis in agriculture.

The Secretary said we were trying to get the American people adequately informed by 10 to 15 correspondents. We had to stop at that. If the representatives present thought that was worse than nothing, then we would not do it. We were trying to find an opportunity to get the American people better informed. Americans in Communist China were being mistreated. It was not worthy of the dignity of a great nation to let Americans go indiscriminately into that death-trap. In the Secretary’s opinion the three news agencies and the three major networks would provide adequate coverage. But if it was necessary to open the gates wide in order to get adequate coverage, there was no use starting at all.

Mr. Wiggins said the news organizations could not let the Government decide how many newspapermen were adequate to cover the news.

The Secretary said if they wanted to stand on principle, then we would stand where we were today, without changing.³

Mr. Wiggins said the news organizations could not share in administering policy because that would make them supporters of the policy.

Messrs. Dwight, Wiggins and Koop then said their organizations were all on record as opposing any limitation, feeling that American correspondents had the right to go anywhere, and that they could not share in a Government policy of limitation. Mr. Hurleigh said his organization was likewise opposed in principle to limitation but it was different from the others in that he was willing to share responsibility in working out a limitation.

The discussion then turned on the need to get further information on the actual demand of American news organizations to send correspondents to China. Mr. Luce thought an allocation of 30 would fill all conceivable demands. It was agreed that Mr. Berding would make a survey of American news organizations which now have at least one full-time American correspondent stationed overseas, and ask each of them by letter whether it wished to send a full-time American correspondent to Communist China on a regular basis for six months or more.

The Secretary dictated the following statement, which Mr. Berding made to the press at the close of the meeting:

There was discussion designed to ascertain whether or not it might be practical to reconcile the views of the newsgathering community as to supplying news from Communist China with the policy views of the State Department with respect to closely restricting travel to Communist China under present circumstances It developed there was not clear agreement as to the scope of demand for news-gathering facilities within Communist China and it was therefore agreed that efforts would be made by the Department of State to ascertain the facts on this matter before policy decisions were arrived at.

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 911.6293/7–1857. Prepared by Berding\ on July 22.
2. Mr. Wiggins was representing the President of American Society Newspaper Editors. [Footnote in the source text.]

3. On July 22, Dulles discussed with the President the position taken by the representatives of the news media on July 18:

   “The President felt that it would be very difficult to find a stopping point once we started. He felt that perhaps the best thing to do was to stick to the line that until the Americans were released we would not permit any Americans to go in. This was clear and logical. The President said he realized it was pretty difficult to take on the opposition of all the news media. I said, however, that that did not worry me if I was doing the right thing. I explained that we were checking up to see how many actually wanted to go, but I feared that the result would indicate that we would not find it feasible to let any go.” (Memorandum of conversation, by the Secretary of State, July 22; Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President)