What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the CIA covert action program against Communist China, dated September eighth, nineteen sixty‑nine. The document is notable because it details the range of covert activities the agency was pursuing and requests continued funding from the United States government. The memorandum was released to the public through The Black Vault, hosted on archive.org, as part of the agency’s Freedom of Information Act disclosures. The declassification authority is the CIA Historical Review Program, and the document is now available in the public domain. The memorandum reads as follows. “Foreign Relations, nineteen sixty‑nine to nineteen seventy‑six, Volume seventeen, number thirty. Memorandum prepared for the three‑zero‑three Committee, Washington, September eighth, nineteen sixty‑nine. Subject: CIA covert action program against Communist China. 1. Summary. This memorandum describes the covert action program of the Central Intelligence Agency which is directed against Communist China. The three‑zero‑three Committee seeks approval to continue this program. Communist China, because of current ferment, appears especially vulnerable to the program’s extensive, varied, but carefully targeted efforts: clandestine radio operations to Communist China [redacted]; political action groups, with related newspaper, journal and magazine publications [redacted]; use of worldwide covert press placements; balloon‑delivered leaflets [redacted]; black operations originating from Headquarters and field stations; assistance to the Government of the Republic of China overt radio broadcasts to the mainland; and the establishment of [redacted] political action agents [redacted]. The program fund levels for these activities are: [redacted] in Fiscal Year nineteen sixty‑nine, of which over half is for the purchase and installation of new radio transmitting equipment, and [redacted] in Fiscal Year nineteen seventy. In the field these activities are coordinated with the United States chief of mission, as appropriate. At Headquarters they are coordinated with the Department of State at the Assistant Secretary level. 2. Background. Communist China, weakened by the Cultural Revolution, is redefining its internal and external policies and there are indications it may re‑emerge into the world society. The recent Ninth Party Congress Source: National Security Council, Nixon Intelligence Files, three‑zero‑three slash forty Committee Files, China. Secret; Eyes Only. No drafting information appears on the memorandum. A handwritten notation on the first page indicates the three‑zero‑three Committee approved the memorandum at the October sixteenth meeting. According to the minutes of that meeting, attended by Henry Kissinger, William Mitchell, John Packard, Ulysses Alexis Johnson, and Thomas Helms: “The consensus was that this is a worthwhile program and its continuation was

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.

Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum Concerning The CIA Covert Action Program

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the CIA covert action program against Communist China, dated September eighth, nineteen sixty‑nine. The document is notable because it details the range of covert activities the agency was pursuing and requests continued funding from the United States government.

Date: AUG 7 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum Concerning The CIA Covert Action Program about?: This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the CIA covert action program against Communist China, dated September eighth, nineteen sixty‑nine. The document is notable because it details the range of covert activities the agency was pursuing and requests continued funding from the United States government.
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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Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum Concerning The CIA Covert Action Program

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