Memorandum to President Harry S. Truman, World Reaction to the Wake Island Meeting

October 17, 1950, 9 a.m. MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT World Reaction to the Wake Island Meeting The Wake Island meeting received prominent and mostly favorable COV- erage in the British, Western European, Indian, Nationalist Chinese, and Japanese press, according to limited preliminary reports. No reports as yet have been received from Southeast Asia, the Near East, or Latin America. In the non-Communist world the general reaction is one of hopeful expectation that as a result of the meeting solutions to major Far Eastern problems, in addition to Korea, will be forthcoming. Characteristically each country with interests in the Far East sees in the meeting the possibility of US action favorable to its own objectives in the area. Japanese press comments concentrated on the significance of the meeting in terms of an early peace treaty. One conservative French newspaper, with Indo-China in mind, stressed the need for the immediate harmonizing of the objectives of the Western powers in the Far East. Chinese Nationalist Army sources privately interpret the meeting to mean that the US will be less adamant in restraining Nationalist action against the mainland. Although the press in general appears to be awaiting the President's speech tonight to clarify the meeting's accomplishments, speculation seems to center on these major points: (1) Most newspapers, except for the Chinese Nationalist press, speculate that the Administration' foreign policy views, particularly on Formosa, have been accepted by General MacArthur and accordingly US policy in the Far East will now be better coordinated. Chinese Nationalist papers studiously avoided speculation on any decisions that might adversely affect DECLASSIFIED TROMAN E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 3(D) or 09 D.p. of State letter, Aug. D. 1973 They : PROTECI NUT 77-47 By NLT. NC MARS Date