Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, China, Volume XIX

31. Memorandum of Conference With President Eisenhower⁰

Washington, August 12, 1958, 10:11–10:43 a.m.

OTHERS PRESENT

• Secretary Dulles
• Mr. C.D. Jackson¹
• General Goodpaster

[Here follows discussion concerning plans for the President’s address before the U.N. General Assembly the following day.]

The President and the Secretary next discussed the situation around Taiwan. The Secretary reported that things are “heating up” in the area. While he was not asking for a decision, he pointed out that during the last five years the offshore islands have been closely integrated by the Chinese Nationalists into the defense of Formosa. He suggested that perhaps we should consider that an attack on them constitutes an attack on Formosa. The President felt that Quemoy and Matsu of themselves mean little to a further Chinese Communist attack on Formosa. Such an attack requires shipping above all. Mr. Dulles pointed out that if Quemoy and Matsu were lost, the Chinese Nationalists do not consider that they could hold Formosa. Morale would crumble and Chiang’s control would be lost. The President agreed that the key point is an evaluation of morale, since physically the islands would not help the Chinese Communists against Formosa. He added that he had been thinking very hard about the problem.

Secretary Dulles said he thought maybe the Chinese Communists and the Soviets are together probing us, to see whether Soviet possession of ballistic missiles is softening our resolve anywhere. The loss of Formosa would in his opinion be a mortal blow to our position in the Far East. The President commented that if we were to get into a fight on any scale at all he would have to call the Congress back at once. He suggested that Mr. Dulles consider stating in a press conference that the islands have now been so tightly integrated with Formosa that there is no possibility that an all-out attack could be conducted against them without bringing in the United States.

[Here follows discussion relating to arms control.]

G.
Brigadier General, USA

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries. Top Secret. Prepared by Goodpaster on August 14. The time of the conference is taken from the President’s appointment diary. (Ibid.) A memorandum of the conversation by Dulles is ibid., Dulles Papers, Meetings with the President.
1. A Vice President of Time, Inc., Jackson was serving temporarily as a speechwriter and consultant to the President.