What did the declassified documents reveal?

General Sun Li‑jen’s request for U.S. protection and assistance – Joint Staff memorandum, June twenty‑first, nineteen fifty‑five. This is a declassified record from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now available through the Black Vault archive. The memorandum was released to the public via the Black Vault website. The digital file was posted as part of the Black Vault’s collection of declassified U.S. intelligence documents, with the declassification authority listed as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The record was made accessible on the archive page at archive dot org, under the identifier CI01226. Memorandum for: Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Room two‑eight‑eight‑seven‑two, the Pentagon, Washington. Subject: General Sun Li‑jen’s request for U.S. protection and assistance. This is to keep you informed of the current state of our knowledge on the subject, which was last discussed with you when, at fifteen fifty, on June ninth, nineteen fifty‑five, Mr. William V. Broe of our organization delivered to you and discussed with you the text of Ambassador Rankin’s statement. On June twentieth the following information was received by cable from our Taiwan station: a. Lieutenant Colonel Jack Young, Military Assistance Advisory Group, reported that Chiang Ching‑kuo invited him to accompany and assist Chiang Ching‑kuo on a classified mission to the southern part of Taiwan to investigate a report that a small group of Chinese Nationalist officers and non‑commissioned officers planned to embarrass and detain Chiang Kai‑shek during the field exercise on Review Day, June sixth, nineteen fifty‑five. Lieutenant Colonel Young was unable to accompany Chiang Ching‑kuo, but on June sixteenth Chiang Ching‑kuo sent for Lieutenant Colonel Young and stated that as a result of this investigation the authorities had arrested several officers and non‑commissioned officers of the ninth Division and a few instructors of the infantry school. These military men had planned an incident during the presidential review, at which time they intended to present a number of demands to the president. Included among these demands were: (1) that Chinese Nationalist soldiers receive one U.S. dollar per month and (2) that the present acting chief of the General Staff, General P’eng Ming‑chi, be replaced by General Sun Li‑jen. Source believes that General Sun is under close surveillance and that it is reasonable to assume that he might be detained at any time. b. On June eighteenth General Chase advised our senior representative on Taiwan that he had just left Chiang Kai‑shek,

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.

General Sun Li‑jen’s Request For U.s.

◆ BLUF — The short version

S. protection and assistance – Joint Staff memorandum, June twenty‑first, nineteen fifty‑five. This is a declassified record from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now available through the Black Vault archive. The memorandum was released to the public via the Black Vault website.

Date: SEP 24 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Episode notes

General Sun Li‑jen’s request for U.S. protection and assistance – Joint Staff memorandum, June twenty‑first, nineteen fifty‑five. This is a declassified record from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now available through the Black Vault archive. The memorandum was released to the public via…

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was General Sun Li‑jen’s Request For U.s. about?: S. protection and assistance – Joint Staff memorandum, June twenty‑first, nineteen fifty‑five. This is a declassified record from the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now available through the Black Vault archive. The memorandum was released to the public via the Black Vault website.
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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General Sun Li‑jen’s Request For U.s.

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