Chinese Domestic Power Struggles, January 1976–January 1977
139. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Department of State, Papers of William H. Gleysteen: Lot 89 D 436, Box 8132, PRC Related Papers 1976. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by Unger on January 16 and designated as a “rough draft.” A copy was sent to Habib and notations indicate he and Gleysteen saw it. Unidentified handwritten notations read: “Gleysteen only” and “Lord should be aware of this & if your [illegible] Solomon.” On January 12, Unger met with Scowcroft and informed him that the decision against rapid normalization of relations with the PRC had “defused consternation on Taiwan,” and that Jiang Jingguo was a leader with whom the United States could successfully work. Unger also advised that the United States continue to withdraw troops from Taiwan in a measured manner. (Memorandum of conversation, January 12; Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Box 5, People’s Republic of China)
140. Briefing Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Habib) to Secretary of State Kissinger
Source: Department of State, American Embassy (Beijing) Files: Lot 80 F 64, POL 2, General Reports and Statistics, Internal, Jan–Feb 1976. Confidential. Drafted by J. Stapleton Roy and Oscar V. Armstrong (EA/PRCM).
141. Letter From President Ford to Republic of China Premier Jiang Jingguo
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, 1974–77, Box 1, China, Republic of. No classification marking. The Department of State prepared and submitted to the NSC a draft of this letter. (Memorandum from Jay Taylor to Paul Theis, December 30, 1975; ibid.) The Department sent this letter by telegram to the Embassy in Taipei for delivery to the ROC Government, and pouched the signed copy. (Telegram 19617 to Taipei, January 27; ibid.)
142. Minutes of a Senior Review Group Meeting
Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–67, NSDM 339. Top Secret. The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room. The minutes are labeled “Part I of II,” and do not include the second part of the meeting, which began at 3:40 and addressed the topic of the U.S. equipment captured in Indochina. On February 4, Scowcroft approved a memorandum from several NSC staff members that recommended the convening of an SRG meeting to discuss U.S. troop reductions on Taiwan. (Memorandum from Barnes, Solomon, and Granger to Scowcroft, February 4; National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–245, NSDM 248)
143. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Box 13, People’s Republic of China. Secret. Sent for information. The correspondence profile indicates that Ford noted this memorandum on March 16. (Ibid.)
144. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (28), 3/9/76–4/27/76. Secret; Nodis. Ford’s talking points for this meeting are ibid. All brackets are in the original.
145. Letter From President Ford to Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, 1974–77, Box 4, People’s Republic of China, Premier Hua Kuofeng. No classification marking. Solomon drafted this letter and sent it on April 20 to Scowcroft. Scowcroft forwarded it to the President on April 26. (Ibid.) Hua received the letter on June 10, during his first meeting with Ambassador Gates. (Telegram 1054 from Beijing, June 11; ibid., Presidential Country Files for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Box 15, People’s Republic of China, State Department Telegrams)
146. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (30), 5/24/76–6/25/76. Secret. Drafted by Armstrong on June 1 and approved in S on June 8. The meeting was held in Secretary Kissinger’s office.
148. Paper Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Central Intelligence Agency, OPI 10, Job 79–M00467A, Box 9, Communist China, 010176–311276. Secret; Noforn. [name not declassified] of the Office of Political Research in the Directorate of Intelligence prepared this executive summary and the larger paper. On June 29, Lewis J. Lapham, Director of Political Research, sent the executive summary to Bush under a covering memorandum. (Ibid.) On July 6, Bush wrote on the covering memorandum, “Dave—read with interest! GB”
149. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1974–1977, Box 6, China Exchanges, unnumbered items (31), 7/12/76– 7/14/76. Top Secret. Drafted by Brown and approved in S on August 24. The meeting was held in Secretary Kissinger’s office.
150. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (31), 7/12/76–7/14/76. Secret; Nodis. The meeting was held in Secretary Kissinger’s office. All brackets are in the original.
151. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Box 14, People’s Republic of China. Secret. Sent for information. Ford initialed the memorandum and there is a notation on the first page that reads: “The President has seen.” Sent to Scowcroft under cover of a July 13 memorandum from Barnes that recommended that Scowcroft send it to the President. (Ibid.)
152. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (33), 8/1/76–8/28/76. Secret; Nodis. The meeting was held in Secretary Kissinger’s office. The attached correspondence profile indicates that on August 30 Scowcroft discussed the memorandum with President Ford.
153. Memorandum for the Record
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (34), 9/1/76–9/29/76. Secret; Nodis. Drafted by Harry E.T. Thayer (EA/PRCM) on September 1 and approved in S on September 23.
154. Letter From President Ford to Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (34), 9/1/76–9/29/76. No classification marking. Ford received this letter for his signature under a September 9 covering memorandum from Scowcroft. (Ibid., Presidential Country Files for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Box 14, People’s Republic of China)
155. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford
Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Boxes H–67, NSDM 339, U.S. Force Reductions on Taiwan. Top Secret; Umbra; Sensitive. Sent for action. The attached NSC correspondence profile indicates that Ford approved the recommendations in this memorandum on September 20. Scowcroft received this memorandum under a September 15 covering memorandum from Gleysteen. (Ibid.)
156. National Security Decision Memorandum 339
Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–67 and Box–68, NSDM 339. Top Secret; Umbra; Sensitive. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
157. Memorandum of Conversation
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1969–1977, Box 6, China, unnumbered items (35), 10/2/76–10/8/76. Secret; Nodis. The meeting was held at the PRC Mission to the United Nations.
158. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to Secretary of State Kissinger, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and Director of Central Intelligence Bush
Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Boxes H–67 and H–68, NSDM 339. Top Secret; Umbra; Sensitive. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a November 5 memorandum to the same recipients, Jeanne Davis removed the codeword classification. (Ibid.) William Gleysteen, in an October 21 memorandum to Scowcroft, recommended the course of action set forth in this memorandum. (Ibid.)