What did the declassified documents reveal?

Declassified. This episode features a declassified government record from February second, nineteen-fifty-four, concerning the assignment of U.S. intelligence personnel to Taiwan. This document highlights early U.S. intelligence efforts in the region and is available through documents2.theblackvault.com. This document was released under the Freedom of Information Act, with the specific case number and declassification authority not detailed in the public record. Its release date is not publicly specified beyond its inclusion in the Black Vault's archived materials. The document, a letter from the American Embassy in Taipei, Formosa, dated February second, nineteen-fifty-four, states: During the January twenty-sixth to twenty-eighth visit of Assistant Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens, the questions of intelligence gathering and of the Political Department came up. I took the occasion to describe what seems to me one of the most serious gaps in our effort on Formosa: failure to take advantage of the opportunity offered to place a few carefully selected American officers in the China Kuomintang Political Department and the Peace Preservation Corps as advisors. I explained to the Secretary that this need would have to be justified on military grounds for M-A-A-G, based on the fact that the P-P-C is part of the Infantry of National Defense, while the P-P-C is a pure military organization which would have most important responsibilities in wartime. In actual fact, however, the significance of the work to be done by the proposed advisors would be as great from the political and intelligence angles as from the military. The time has come, it seems to me, when either we take advantage of this opportunity, which has been pending for nearly a year, or we stop our urging of "political combat sense" and "police state methods." The fact that we have so far done almost nothing constructive in these fields has already had an observable reaction on the Chinese, in that they tend to tell us less and pay less attention to our criticisms in these respects than was formerly the case. We need at least half a dozen mature, highly selected, Chinese-speaking officers in each of these two organizations. The Army is spending much time, effort and money in training officers for China duty. I can think of no place where they could accomplish more and learn more than in these positions. But they must be selected and sent out specifically for this work. It is no good telling General Chase to take a couple of officers out of the P-X or the Quartermaster set-up for such activities. Secretary Stevens asked that he be given further information on this subject, and I suggest that you send him a copy of the present letter, together with one of our despatch No. two hundred six of November seventeenth, nineteen-fifty-three, entitled "M-A-A-G Request for Additional American Officers to be Assigned to the General Political Department of the Ministry of National Defense and the…

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.

Army: Government Record From February Second, Nineteen Fifty Four

◆ BLUF — The short version

Declassified. S. intelligence personnel to Taiwan. S. com. This document was released under the Freedom of Information Act, with the specific case number and declassification authority not detailed in the public record. Its release date is not publicly specified beyond its inclusion in the Black Vault's archived materials.

Date: OCT 2 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Episode notes

Declassified. This episode features a declassified government record from February second, nineteen-fifty-four, concerning the assignment of U.S. intelligence personnel to Taiwan. This document highlights early U.S. intelligence efforts in the region and is available through…

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was Army: Government Record From February Second, Nineteen Fifty Four about?: Declassified. S. intelligence personnel to Taiwan. S. com. This document was released under the Freedom of Information Act, with the specific case number and declassification authority not detailed in the public record. Its release date is not publicly specified beyond its inclusion in the Black Vault's archived materials.
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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Army: Government Record From February Second, Nineteen Fifty Four

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