THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 2 APRIL 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007713
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 2, 1974

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The President's Daily Brief
April 2, 1974
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Exempt from general
declassification sshedule of E.O. I 1652
exemption category 511(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
April 2, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Tensions remain high along the Golan Heights
China is sending to the special session of the UN
General Assembly next week the highest ranking offi-
cial ever to head its delegation. He may be highly
critical of US business practices in underdeveloped
areas. (Page 2)
Arrangements appear to have been completed for the
formation this week of a new coalition government in
Laos. (Page 3)
The Soviets have made some concessions at the Confer-
ence on Security and Cooperation in Europe. (Page 4)
At Annex, we explore in detail China's foreign policy
in light of domestic political pressure on Premier
Chou En-lai.
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Mediterranean
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ISRAEL-SYRIA
Tensions remain high along the Golan front.
Israeli and Syrian troops exchanged fire yesterday
for the 21st consecutive ?day. Israeli aircraft flew
patrols yesterday over the Golan Heights, and re-
connaissance missions over southwestern Syria and
Lebanon. In addition, at least seven reconnaissance
aircraft briefly penetrated Syrian airspace near
Tartus.
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CHINA-UN
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LAOS
Lao Communist leader Prince Souphanouvong is on
his way to Vientiane to conclude negotiations on a
new coalition government.
A delegation of senior Lao Communist officials
headed by Souphanouvong should be in Hanoi today,
and is to be joined there by Pathet Lao members of
the new coalition cabinet and its advisory political
council. The entire contingent reportedly will de-
part for Vientiane tomorrow.
The permanent Pathet Lao representative in Vien-
tiane expects Souphanouvong and Prime Minister Sou-
vanna Phouma, accompanied by all of the coalition
government nominees, to proceed to the royal capital
of Luang Prabang on Thursday. Ambassador Whitehouse
has been informed that Souvanna plans formally to
present the new coalition to the King for investiture
on Friday.
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NOTE
CSCE: The Soviets have made concessions at
the Geneva Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe. They still insist on adoption of a
statement that would give priority to "inviolabil-
ity of frontiers," thus legitimizing present bound-
aries in Eastern Europe, but they have informally
agreed to recognize in a separate text the possibil-
ity of peaceful changes in borders. This will par-
ticularly please the West Germans, who do not wish
to foreclose the possibility of German reunifica-
tion. The Soviets have also agreed to a statement
concerning dissemination of printed materials, part
of the controversial area of "human contacts."
Many other disputed subjects remain on the table;
so far there has been no sign of Soviet give in
order to conclude the present stage of the negoti-
ations before Moscow's self-imposed goal of June.
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CHOU EN-LAI UNDER POLITICAL PRESSURE
Premier Chou En-lai is under pressure from opponents
within the Chinese leadership to show progress on
the Taiwan isste, fail-
ure to act quickly on the issue might leave Chou
vulnerable to his opponents--he specifically men-
tioned Chiang Ching, Mao's wife and leader of the
so-called radical camp in the Chinese leadership.
These opponents have been seeking ways to introduce
criticism of Chou into the anti-Confucius campaign.
Tough Speaking
With this in mind, Chou
directed Liao Cheng-chih, a close associate, to give
a tough keynote speech at the annual meeting on Feb-
ruary 28 commemorating the native Taiwanese uprising
in 1947 against the Nationalist government. This
speech was meant to signal a
new Chinese interest in the Taiwan issue.
Speeches at the meeting, including Liao's, were
in fact more strongly worded than those delivered at
the meeting last year, which took place in the wake
of the announcement that Liaison Offices were being
established in Peking and Washington. The speeches
this year were not menacing, however, nor did they
display a keen sense of urgency.
Despite this, the speeches have been handled by
Chinese propaganda outlets in a way that indicates
treatment of the Taiwan issue is a subject of high-
level wrangling in China. Outlets in Hong Kong did
not release the text of a speech by Fu Tso-i, an-
other important speaker at the meeting, for 24 hours;
when they did, Fu was quoted as calling for the "lib-
eration" of Taiwan.
(continued)
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Against Confucius
Foreign policy issues have been an important
component of the anti-Confucian campaign since its
inception. Thus far Chou--and Mao himself--has
seemed determined to preserve the foreign policy
followed by Peking during the past several years.
Aspects of that policy undoubtedly have been under
fire, perhaps from several quarters, for much of
the past year. The criticism may have grown more
intense since late last month, when Chiang Ching
became more active politically after a period of
relative eclipse.
Her renewed political vigor may be related to
what appears to be an attempt to identify with re-
gional military leaders, who themselves may have
come under criticism in the course of the anti-Con-
fucius campaign. One can reasonably speculate that
this marriage of convenience may have brought Chou,
and perhaps Mao as,well, under some pressure, as
did a similar joining of hands between the "left"
and the provincial military in the period immedi-
ately preceding the Tenth Party Congress last summer.
Early last week, for example, Chou rather plain-
tively remarked in a banquet speech that China, as
a socialist country, would of course continue to sup-
port revolutionary causes. The Premier has made such
public remarks before, but in this instance he did
seem to be replying to unnamed critics.
(continued)
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Political Pressures
On another issue bearing on China's relations
with the West,. Chou seems to be holding the line.
A recent article in People's Daily reiterated the
importance China attaches to continued imports of
advanced technology from the West, noting the neces-
sity of such imports to China's plans for more rapid
development.
The tone of the People's Daily article was dis-
tinctly defensive and was apparently occasioned by
earlier material appearing in the Chinese media that
criticized a tendency toward "over-reliance" on such
imports. The basic disagreement in this area seems
to be over the proper level of such imports, and not
whether China should continue to purchase machinery
and technology from the West.
Basically Intact
On the basic tenets of Chinese foreign policy,
however, the media have continued to carry themes
that have been dominant for the past. several years.
In particular, the press has continued .to emphasize
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the idea of an international. balance of power, which
Peking has considered essential for the protection
of Chinese national- interests Peking,: for example,
has recently found comfort in a spate of items un-
derlining continuing."contention"_between the US and
the Soviet Union in all parts Of the world., and Chou
himself pointedly hammered on this theme on the eve
of Secretary-Kissingeris visit-to Moscow.
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tainy right in claiming that Chou is now under pres-
sure--on Taiwan as well as other issues. The rhet-
oric in which that policy is expressed undoubtedly
has undergone a change in recent weeks, but the sub-
stance of Chinese foreign policy still appears to
be intact.
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Top Secret
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