401. Editorial Note
A letter from Secretary of State Herter to the Dalai Lama, February 20, 1960, reads as follows:
“Thank you for your letter to me dated January 5, 1960.
“As you know, while it has been the historical position of the United States to consider Tibet as an autonomous country under the suzerainty of China, the American people have also traditionally stood for the principle of self-determination. It is the belief of the United States Government that this principle should apply to the people of Tibet and that they should have the determining voice in their own political destiny.” (Department of State, Central Files, 793B.00/2–2060; see Supplement)
The text of the letter was released to the press on February 29 and is printed in Department of State Bulletin, March 21, 1960, pages 443–444, along with the text of a January 5 letter from the Dalai Lama to Herter expressing thanks for U.S. support during the U.N. debate on Tibet. The letter summarized a letter of December 10 from the Dalai Lama to Herter, transmitted in Murto 18 from New Delhi, December 10; a slightly different version, dated January 5, was transmitted in telegram 2800 from New Delhi, February 23, 1960. (Department of State, Central Files, 711.11–EI/12–1059 and 793B.00/2–2360, respectively; see Supplement)
[Page 810]An aide-mémoire from the Republic of China Embassy, February 28, expressed disappointment that the Chinese Government had not been consulted in advance concerning the letter, of which it had been informed on February 26, and took exception to the use in the letter of the word “suzerainty” and the reference to Tibet as an autonomous “country.” (Department of State, Central Files, 793B.00/2–2860; see Supplement) An aide-mémoire from the Department of State to the Embassy, March 3, noted that the Chinese Government had been informed of the U.S. position with respect to self-determination of Tibet and the decision to make it public (see Document 399), and had not expressed dissatisfaction. (Department of State, Central Files, 793B.00/2–2860; see Supplement) It also pointed out that a Department of State spokesman had stated on September 11, 1959, that the historical position of the United States was that Tibet was “an autonomous country under Chinese suzerainty.” The text of that statement is in Department of State, FE/EA Files: Lot 66 D 225, Tibetan; see Supplement.