154. Editorial Note
On May 24, 1966, the President met with Acting Secretary Ball, Ambassador Goldberg, Assistant Secretary Bundy, and Walt Rostow for a discussion of China policy from 12:25 to 1:20 p.m. Prior to the meeting, he met with Goldberg from 11:37 a.m. until 12:25 p.m. The subject of that discussion is not indicated. (Johnson Library, President’s Appointment Diary) No record of the meeting has been found.
According to a memorandum of a May 24 telephone conversation between Ball and U. Alexis Johnson, Ball stated that at the meeting they had “only gone over the ChiRep business” and that no decision had been made. Johnson asked “if we were going ahead with Taipei,” and Ball [Page 314] replied that “there was no final decision even on that; the thought was that Walt would do some softening up and we would then leave it until the Secretary goes out.” (Ibid., Papers of George Ball, China (Peking))
A June 14 briefing memorandum from Sisco to Rusk states that as a result of the meeting with the President, they were asked to prepare for Presidential approval an instruction for Ambassador Walter P. McConaughy, whose appointment as Ambassador to the Republic of China had been announced early in May but had not been confirmed by the Senate, on the assumption that he would raise the question when he arrived in Taipei. The memorandum states that McConaughy’s approach “was essentially conceived as softening up exercise” to be followed by Rusk’s conversations in Taipei in July. (Department of State, Central Files, UN 6 CHICOM)