What did the declassified documents reveal?

The document we read today is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the United States military presence in Taiwan, recorded after the February twenty‑third, nineteen seventy‑nine meeting of the Special Coordination Committee Ad Hoc Working Group on China. It is notable because it captures the inter‑agency discussion of how the United States would adjust its commitments to Taiwan as the American Institute on Taiwan was being established and the Mutual Defense Treaty was being phased out. The memorandum was released to the public on July nineteenth, two thousand seven, through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the Central Intelligence Agency. The release appears on The Black Vault website, which provides a scanned copy of the original text. The declassification authority is listed as the CIA’s Records Disclosure Program. The memorandum for record reads as follows: “From: National Intelligence Officer for China Subject: SCC Ad Hoc Working Group on China Meeting, February twenty‑third, nineteen seventy‑nine at seventeen thirty hours The meeting convened in the White House Situation Room following the regular SCC meeting and was chaired by Michel Oksenberg of the National Security Council. Discussion was confined entirely to problems relating to the United States military presence on Taiwan following the establishment of the American Institute on Taiwan and as the Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan phases out. Main points arising were as follows: – Status of Department of Defense civilians after April thirtieth, when the Taiwan Defense Command closes down. It was agreed that all Department of Defense civilians regularly assigned to Taiwan would be within the American Institute on Taiwan and subject to its personnel ceiling of fifty people, except for personnel sent on temporary duty for less than one hundred eighty days and those handling the transition to contractual arrangements, and those handling the Pacific Depot Maintenance Center. These latter people would also be put under contract. – Training of Taiwan military personnel in the United States: Would this be permitted to continue, and would uniforms and insignia of rank be worn? It was decided that such training would be permissible when it could not be provided by a private contractor; could be performed in a United States service school; Office of the Secretary of Defense and Department of State reviews completed. Twenty‑five X one National Security Council reviews completed. Professional military training would be provided only if it could be proved that its absence would result in a serious degradation of Taiwan’s military capability to defend itself. The question of wearing uniform and insignia of rank was left open and would probably be sent to the President for decision, along with the problem of whether to permit training to begin in nineteen seventy‑nine while the Mutual Defense Treaty is in effect, which would continue into nineteen eighty. – Training of…

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 The Document We Read Today Is A Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum

◆ BLUF — The short version

The document we read today is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the United States military presence in Taiwan, recorded after the February twenty‑third, nineteen seventy‑nine meeting of the Special Coordination Committee Ad Hoc Working Group on China.

Date: AUG 4 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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Questions about this case

What was CIA The Document We Read Today Is A Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum about?: The document we read today is a Central Intelligence Agency memorandum concerning the United States military presence in Taiwan, recorded after the February twenty‑third, nineteen seventy‑nine meeting of the Special Coordination Committee Ad Hoc Working Group on China.
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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