593. Letter 31 from Johnson to McConaughy1
A few hours after my return from Prague last night, Ekvall received a call from Wang’s interpreter asking to postpone the next meeting. I have sent you a telegram on what I think it means if anything and I am making a check with Warsaw which I am repeating to you. Ekvall received the impression from Wang’s interpreter that Wang was in town, but I am having inquiries made to find out for sure whether this is the case. He was not on the plane yesterday from Prague and, therefore, if he has returned from Warsaw he must have done so on Wednesday. He went up on the same plane as I last Friday. We met in the airport in Zurich, he having come up the evening before by train while I had come up on the morning plane from Geneva. He had a very attractive lady with him whom he introduced as his wife. As always he was very affable but a lack of a common language inhibits very much any conversation.
[text not declassified]
[Typeset Page 950]I have received your letter No. 40 and greatly appreciate the information it contained.
I do not want to continue to labor the point, but I cannot help noting that in the enclosed sheets giving the INS reports on the names given me by Wang there is frequent reference to “requesting permission to return”. Most of [Facsimile Page 2] these references appear to be referring to the period prior to August 1 last year, but in some cases this is not entirely clear. In one case (No. 19 Liao, S.D.), it states that on January 12, 1956 he “requested permission to return to his home in Hunan (mainland) China,” and that on March 9, 1956, “Philadelphia advise Service has no objection to his return”. I have difficulty in reconciling this with the “Agreed Announcement” and the categorical statements I have been making here based on the INS assertions to the Department. There is undoubtedly a reasonable explanation but it would relieve my mind if I knew what it was. As other somewhat less clear examples see No. 1 (Shen), No. 4. (Kao), No. 15 (Chang), No. 16 (Tao), and No. 26 (Tseng).
[text not declassified]
Regards to all.
Sincerely yours,
American Ambassador
- Source: Department of State, Geneva Talks Files, Lot 72D415. Secret; Official–Informal. Johnson signed the original “Alex.”↩