375. Editorial Note
At the 404th meeting of the National Security Council on April 30, 1959, Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles discussed developments in Tibet during his briefing on significant world developments, and a brief discussion ensued. The relevant portion of the memorandum of discussion of that date by Marion W. Boggs reads as follows:
“Turning to Tibet, Mr. Dulles said that the Chinese Communists had been making an all-out effort to mop up the rebels and seal off the southern border. As a result, organized Tibetan resistance had disintegrated. The rebels had initially made the mistake of fighting in large groups; from now on they would probably discover that the essence of guerrilla warfare consists of fighting in small bands. In Lhasa many Tibetans had been killed and the young men had been rounded up and apparently headed for concentration camps. According to Nehru, some thousands of Tibetan refugees had crossed over into India. The President said that General Gruenther was hoping that the Indian Red Cross, with some help from the American Red Cross, would be able to care for these refugees. Mr. Dulles said that the Chinese Communists were trying to get the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. [2-1/2 lines of source text not declassified] Eventually the question would arise whether the Dalai Lama should stay in India or should go to some other Buddhist country. The President said that the present situation should promote a better understanding between Pakistan and India. Pakistan had always maintained that it was arming because of the danger from Communist China, but Nehru had pooh-poohed this contention. Now, however, Nehru must recognize that Communist China is getting tough and might start trouble in Nepal next. The President thought that in this situation the U.S. should work quite actively toward promoting a better understanding between India and Pakistan.”
When Dulles resumed his briefing, he made further comments relating to China:
“Mr. Dulles said that the appointment of Liu Shao-chi as President of Communist China points to his probable succession to Mao. Liu is the No. 2 man in the Communist Chinese hierarchy and has been Mao’s first lieutenant for many years. The appointment of Liu means that Communist China will continue to follow a “hard line.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)
Liu had been elected on April 27 by the National People’s Congress to replace Mao as Chairman of the People’s Republic of China.