Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Harry S. Truman

CONFIDENTIAL change DEPARTMENT OF STATE WASHINGTON "NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE' November 21, 1949 community MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Recent Developments in the Mukden Case I have sent a personal message to the Foreign Ministers of all countries (including the USSR and its satellites) which have diplomatic or consular represen- tation anywhere in Communist China, reviewing briefly the entire history of the Mukden case and laying particular stress on the circumstances of the arrest and imprisonment of Consul General Ward and the four members of his staff. My message ends with this appeal: The treatment accorded to Mr. Ward and to the American consular staff in Mukden is in direct violation of the basic concepts of international relations which have been developed throughout the centuries. As such, it is of direct and immediate concern to all countries interested in diplomatic intercourse, particularly to those with missions or consulates in China. I ask you, as a matter of urgeney, to express to the highest Chinese authori- ties in Peiping through such channels as may be available to you the concern which your Government undoubtedly feels over the treatment of the American consular staff in Mukden who have been arbitrarily deprived of their freedom for one year. In a telephone conversation on November 21 between Consul General Clubb in Peiping and Vice Consul Stokes, now in charge in Mukden, Stokes stated in a necessarily roundabout DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, 2/3/37 -15.75 By. NLT- HC NARS Date 7-20-76 CONFIDENTIAL