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From Declassified, this is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum appraising Chinese Nationalist political capabilities on the mainland. Dated January twenty-second, nineteen-fifty-one, this record is notable for its frank assessment of internal Chinese resistance and popular sentiment following the Chinese Civil War. This document is available at The Black Vault archives, documents two dot the black vault dot com. This document was declassified and released by the Central Intelligence Agency. The memorandum was reviewed by the A-A-R-O, the Assassination Records Review Board, under Section eight of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of nineteen-ninety-two. It was released on October thirty-first, two-thousand-seventeen, with the declassification authority of the C-I-A Historical Review Panel. The document reads: Subject: [two lines redacted] the identification of internal Chinese resistance with the discredited Kuomintang and with U-S "imperialistic aggression" would probably reduce popular sympathy with the resistance forces and handicap their operations. The same view is in fact to some degree reflected in the section of National [one line redacted] Estimate Number ten on Communist China, which states: (Paragraph five B two) "there is considerable question as to whether the Nationalists could mobilize popular support on the mainland or command the effective cooperation of present guerrilla forces." The following sentence of the same N-I-E, to the effect that the Nationalists "might, however, be able to capitalize on existing discontent with the Communist regime" is obviously correct so far as it goes. We would prefer to have had the statement qualified by adding that Nationalist ability to exploit the measure of discontent with the Communist which undoubtedly exists would be to some degree reduced by the continuing unpopularity of the Nationalists with some segments of the Chinese population and by the identification with "U-S Imperialism" which they would automatically view from the U-S assistance they would require to reach the mainland. Because the K-T-S [one line redacted] Service military intelligence organizations have a somewhat different view from O-T-A and ourselves of the popular reception which the Nationalists would receive on the mainland, and because the evidence to support either position is so slim, we were not able to secure an agreed estimate which went further than stating that there was considerable question as to whether the Nationalists could mobilize popular [one line redacted]. It was fortunate that an estimate which made this point was [two lines redacted] as an agreed estimate, rather than [two lines redacted] the Service intelligence organizations having to [one line redacted] other papers. We do not believe that an agreed estimate [three lines redacted] very much [one line redacted] the political [two lines redacted] would meet. The Black Vault notes that this Central Intelligence…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Case File · ARCHIVE-009Declassified

Filed OCT 25 · 2026Runtime 1 min

From Declassified, This Is A Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum Appraising

U.S. public record · FOIAUpdated October 25, 2026

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From Declassified, this is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum appraising Chinese Nationalist political capabilities on the mainland. Dated January twenty-second, nineteen-fifty-one, this record is notable for its frank assessment of internal Chinese resistance and popular sentiment following the Chinese Civil War.

Date: OCT 25 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was From Declassified, This Is A Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum Appraising about?: From Declassified, this is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum appraising Chinese Nationalist political capabilities on the mainland. Dated January twenty-second, nineteen-fifty-one, this record is notable for its frank assessment of internal Chinese resistance and popular sentiment following the Chinese Civil War.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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