What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency record, an intelligence memorandum from November seventh, nineteen-fifty-eight, outlining intelligence requirements for Chinese Communist military activity. This document is available at documents2.theblackvault.com. This document was declassified and released by the Central Intelligence Agency on May thirty-first, two-thousand-and-two, under the authority of the Automatic Declassification Program, as part of a larger collection of United States intelligence records on China. The document, titled "CHICOM Requirements for TALENT Coverage," reads as follows: One. TALENT coverage of the CHICOM coastal areas opposite Taiwan and as far north as Shanghai has occurred on four occasions in the summer and early fall of nineteen-fifty-eight for the purposes of discerning if possible the posture of the CHICOM ground, air, and naval forces and the possibility or probability of attempts to invade either the Offshore Islands or Taiwan itself. The most comprehensive assessment in terms of the foregoing is now dated [redacted] which marks the most recent extensive coverage and, when linked with that of [redacted] showed extensive ground build-up, confirmed air buildup, [redacted] not reveal any concentration of amphibious forces in the area. All areas critical to the amphibious force were not covered. Two. The intelligence estimate on the situation vis-a-vis Taiwan and the Offshore Islands at the moment is that the military forces on the CHICOM coast are more likely to be used in connection with political maneuvering than in connection with an all out assault either on the Offshore Islands or Taiwan itself in the near future. Three. [Redacted under exemption B1, four lines]. Four. It is in the face of the foregoing possible circumstance that we believe the most critical requirement is to obtain comprehensive TALENT coverage of the area from Canton to the Shantung Peninsula on the coast and airfields and ground forces as far as three hundred miles inland to be accomplished at the same time within the next month, thereby providing an adequate intelligence base for the analysis of CHICOM capabilities both in terms of assault or movement of forces for political reasons. Five. The Ad Hoc Requirements Committee, or A-R-C, reiterates its view that the highest priority requirements for TALENT coverage lie in U-S-S-R itself. Signed: Chairman, A-R-C Requirements Committee. The document’s cover sheet includes the statement: "This document contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title eighteen, U-S-C-A, Sections seven ninety-three and seven ninety-four. The transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law." An attached transmittal slip to the intelligence memorandum confirms that this document was distributed to the Director of Central Intelligence and other senior 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.

CIA Chicom Requirements For Talent Coverage

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency record, an intelligence memorandum from November seventh, nineteen-fifty-eight, outlining intelligence requirements for Chinese Communist military activity. com.

Date: SEP 20 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

↯ Dispatch — press play1:00

0:001:00

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was CIA Chicom Requirements For Talent Coverage about?: This is Declassified. Today, a declassified Central Intelligence Agency record, an intelligence memorandum from November seventh, nineteen-fifty-eight, outlining intelligence requirements for Chinese Communist military activity. com.
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.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

CIA Chicom Requirements For Talent Coverage

Questions about this case

Related cases

This Declassified Briefing Covers A February Tenth, Nineteen Fifty Three

Today, We're Examining A Declassified United States Air Force Record

CIA Current Intelligence Bulletin, Chinese Nationalist Forces In Burma, March

Genesis And Development Of The Chinese Nationalist Government

NSA Today, We Examine A Top Secret Cable From The Joint Chiefs Of Staff

Questions about this case

Related cases

This Declassified Briefing Covers A February Tenth, Nineteen Fifty Three

Today, We're Examining A Declassified United States Air Force Record

CIA Current Intelligence Bulletin, Chinese Nationalist Forces In Burma, March

Genesis And Development Of The Chinese Nationalist Government

NSA Today, We Examine A Top Secret Cable From The Joint Chiefs Of Staff

Get the next declassified case in your inbox