81. Letter From President Eisenhower to Chairman Khrushchev0
Dear Mr. Chairman: I have your letter of September seventh.1 I agree with you that a dangerous situation exists in the Taiwan area. I do not agree with you as to the source of danger in this situation.
The present state of tension in the Taiwan area was created directly by Chinese Communist action, not by that of the Republic of China or by the United States. The fact is that following a long period of relative calm in that area, the Chinese Communists, without provocation, suddenly [Page 167] initiated a heavy artillery bombardment of Quemoy and began harassing the regular supply of the civilian and military population of the Quemoys. This intense military activity was begun on August twenty-third—some three weeks after your visit to Peiping. The official Peiping radio had repeatedly been announcing that the purpose of these military operations is to take Taiwan (Formosa) as well as Quemoy and Matsu, by armed force. In virtually every Peiping broadcast, Taiwan (Formosa) and the offshore islands are linked as the objective of what is called the “Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.”
The issue, then, is whether the Chinese Communists will seek to achieve their ambitions through the application of force, as they did in Korea, or whether they will accept the vital requisite of world peace and order in a nuclear age and renounce the use of force as the means for satisfying their territorial claims. The territory concerned has never been under the control of Communist China. On the contrary, the Republic of China—despite the characterizations you apply to it for ideological reasons—is recognized by the majority of the sovereign nations of the world and its government has been and is exercising jurisdiction over the territory concerned. United States military forces operate in the Taiwan area in fulfillment of treaty commitments to the Republic of China to assist it in the defense of Taiwan (Formosa) and the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands. They are there to help resist aggression—not to commit aggression. No upside down presentation such as contained in your letter can change this fact.
The United States Government has welcomed the willingness of the Chinese Communists to resume the Ambassadorial talks, which were begun three years ago in Geneva, for the purpose of finding a means of easing tensions in the Taiwan area. In the past, the United States representative at these talks has tried by every reasonable means to persuade the Chinese Communist representative to reach agreement on mutual renunciation of force in the Taiwan area but the latter insistently refused to reach such agreement. The United States hopes that an understanding can be achieved through the renewed talks which will assure that there will be no resort to the use of force in the endeavor to bring about a solution of the issues there.
I regret to say I do not see in your letter any effort to find that common language which could indeed facilitate the removal of the danger existing in the current situation in the Taiwan area. On the contrary, the description of this situation contained in your letter seems designed to serve the ambitions of international Communism rather than to present the facts. I also note that you have addressed no letter to the Chinese Communist leaders urging moderation upon them. If your letter to me is not merely a vehicle for one-sided denunciation of United States actions but is indeed intended to reflect a desire to find a common language for [Page 168] peace, I suggest you urge these leaders to discontinue their military operations and to turn to a policy of peaceful settlement of the Taiwan dispute.
If indeed, for the sake of settling the issues that tend to disturb the peace in the Formosa area, the Chinese Communist leaders can be persuaded to place their trust in negotiation and a readiness to practice conciliation, then I assure you the United States will, on its part, strive in that spirit earnestly to the same end.
Sincerely,
- Source: Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204. No classification marking. Drafted in the Department of State except the last paragraph, which was added by Eisenhower; see paragraph 8, Document 79. The text was transmitted to Moscow in telegram 420, September 11, and telegram 423, September 12. (Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/9–1158 and 793.00/9–1258, respectively) Telegram 587 from Moscow, September 13, reported that Davis had delivered the letter to Kuznetsov. (Ibid., 611.00/9–1358) Text is also printed in Department of State Bulletin, September 29, 1958, pp. 498–499.↩
- President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles discussed the letter and how to respond to it in a telephone conversation on September 8. According to Phyllis Bernau’s notes of the conversation, Dulles said the letter was “a tough letter” calling for a comprehensive presentation by the President of the U.S. position, and the President said the reply “should be clear—a comprehensive reply but not of itself unnecessarily provocative—be the calm silent strong man with a gun on his hip.” (Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations; see Supplement)↩