TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE
We have substantially maintained these commitments.
We have reduced our forces on Taiwan from over 10,000 to about 3,200 today. We encouraged the Japanese movement towards the People's Republic. This is in fact why you can speak of a Japanese solution. We have given no encouragement to a two Chinas or one China-one Taiwan solution; quite the contrary.
Now the problem is how we can complete the process. I would like to divide it into a number of parts:
-- There is the problem of the diplomatic status of Taiwan, and of course of the diplomatic relations between us.
-- There is the problem of our military forces on Taiwan.
-- And there is the problem of our defense commitment to Taiwan.
Our problem is different from the situation of Japan, or for that matter from the situation of any other country with which you have normalized relations, in two respects:
First, there is a formal defense relationship. Secondly, there is a rather substantial group in the United States that historically has been pro-Taiwan.
Together with your cooperation we have been able to neutralize the pro-Taiwan element in the United States by moving step-by-step in a very careful manner. But what we have to keep in mind for our common interest is to prevent Sino-American relations from becoming an extremely contentious issue in the United States.
It is not in your interest, or in that of the United States, to have emerge a Senator or Senatorial group which does to Sino-American relations what Senator Jackson has attempted to do to United States-Soviet relations.
I am speaking very frankly to you so that we understand each other exactly. After I have put my considerations before you, you will of course give me yours. Then we will see if we can solve the problem. I am here to remove obstacles, not to hide behind them.
TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE
