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Committee for a Free Asia
by Central Intelligence Agency
December 13, 1951
Declassified and Released by Central Intelligence Agency Sources Methods Exemption ___ Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, Date 2007
NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT
13 December 1951
SUBJECT: Committee for a Free Asia
It is agreed by both the Department of State and CIA that there is a real job to be done in Asia by CFA [Committee for a Free Asia] – a job that State cannot do through USIS [United States Information Service] and ECA [Economic Cooperation Administration].
Until more experience is gained by CFA – particularly through its field organizations – it will not be possible to specifically define all type of activities which it should undertake. It is therefore considered important that CFA operations get underway promptly, providing, of course, that they do not compete with USIS activities nor conflict with national policies.
The revised operating program of CFA, dated December 4, 1951, (Attachment 1), is therefore approved providing that it is implemented in accordance with the policies and instructions set forth in memorandum, subject The Committee for a Free Asia, dated December 12, 1951, (Attachment 2); and provided that close coordination in the field and in Washington is maintained.
***
13 December 1951
DRAFT
The Committee for a Free Asia
General Policies
1. Although initially it will not be possible, CFA should work toward removing the U.S. label – private and public – from its operations and take on an Asian coloration.
2. CFA activities including RFA should be decentralized as far as possible and transferred from San Francisco to Asian countries.
3. CFA should operate as far as possible through local groups comprised of selected Asian leaders.
4. CFA should generally not undertake activities of the kind presently carried on or planned by USIS or other official overt U.S. agencies. The type of activities within the cognizance of USIS are set forth in Appendix A. However, there may be some occasions in which CFA can either take a more strident line or slant material of the type normally produced by USIS in a way which would not be appropriate to USIS. However, the USIS line has toughened and this area in which CFA can operate and in which USIS cannot has narrowed. There may also be certain activities of the type set forth in Appendix 1, which CFA may be able to undertake in certain areas more appropriately that USIS. Through close coordination in the field and in Washington, these may be spelled out and non-duplication insured.
Priorities
1. Priorities set forth in the Operating Program should be modified so that first priority is given to the Overseas Chinese with a view to:
a. Developing leaders who are friendly to the United States who will be able to communicate with and ultimately influence other Chinese overseas and on the China mainland.
b. Denying leaders, professional, and other key personnel to the Communists.
c. Assisting where possible in the rescue and relocation of key Chinese who are presently homeless and starving.
d. Developing personnel who might be trained for intelligence stay-behind or other missions.
2. Additional emphasis should also be placed on establishing a field organization.
Radio Free Asia
RFA should be guided by the general policies set forth above. More specifically:
1. RFA should phase out broadcasts which bear the U.S. label from San Francisco. RFA should be a voice of Asia.
2. RFA should generally avoid the kind of program which VOA [Voice of America] broadcasts and for which the U.S. Government can accept responsibility, (in this regard there are few restrictions to be placed on VOA as respects the toughness of its anti-Communist line).
3. Operations should be transferred to Asia and decentralized as far as possible so that broadcasts can be made under the sponsorship of local groups through local stations, as near as possible to the target audience. Broadcasts should be made via medium wave where possible.
4. Example of the kinds of activities which can be undertaken by RFA and which can not be appropriately handled by VOA are:
a. Broadcasts designed to influence political elections.
b. Broadcasts aimed at assisting specific local labor, youth, teachers, women or other groups, whose goals are consistent with long range U.S. interests.
c. Influencing the development of leadership by giving hearing to selected leaders and withholding it from others.
d. Openly encouraging the subversion of the Chinese Communist Government.
e. Take stands against specific persons and specific groups: the corruption of a Tony Quirino; the leaders of communist dominated unions.
f. Act as a transmitter of black “plants” and “twisted” stories, under specifically defined controls.
g. Encourage debates and discussions loaded as required.
5. It is recognized that news such as that provided by PANA and features such as those already broadcast directly by RFA remain important aspects of a gray psychological warfare program as well as audience-gaining assets. RFA will follow the general principle, however, of furnishing such news and features to local groups for their use rather than for direct production under the RFA label.
It is considered that the development of a strictly Asian commercial newsgathering organization, specializing in local news and not seemingly subsidized by a U.S. instrumentality, is advantageous to the U.S. Government as a whole as well as to the over-all objectives and activities of the Committee.
APPENDIX I
* Listed below are examples of activities undertaken by the Department of State and/or ECA. Normally the association of such activities with the U.S. government is either acknowledged or if not, the association if it became known would not embarrass the U.S. government or discredit the activity.
a. The Voice of America broadcasts.
b. Contracts for purchase of published materials for overt distribution abroad, including subscriptions to magazines, purchase of additional copies of books, pamphlets or other printed material prepared by foreign organizations, publishing houses, trade unions, et cetera.
c. Contracts for dissemination of information materials such as posters, pamphlets, or leaflets, motion picture films, still photos, exhibits, et cetera.
d. Contracts with publishers, motion picture producers, and other producers of information media for production of materials for foreign distribution.
e. Direct production and dissemination of material which may be attributed to the United States Government without serious embarrassment or produced and/or disseminated without attribution to any source.
* Extracted from USIS publication dated November 1, 1951, Subject: USIS and Indigenous Operations.
by Central Intelligence Agency
December 13, 1951
Declassified and Released by Central Intelligence Agency Sources Methods Exemption ___ Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, Date 2007
NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
13 December 1951
SUBJECT: Committee for a Free Asia
It is agreed by both the Department of State and CIA that there is a real job to be done in Asia by CFA [Committee for a Free Asia] – a job that State cannot do through USIS [United States Information Service] and ECA [Economic Cooperation Administration].
Until more experience is gained by CFA – particularly through its field organizations – it will not be possible to specifically define all type of activities which it should undertake. It is therefore considered important that CFA operations get underway promptly, providing, of course, that they do not compete with USIS activities nor conflict with national policies.
The revised operating program of CFA, dated December 4, 1951, (Attachment 1), is therefore approved providing that it is implemented in accordance with the policies and instructions set forth in memorandum, subject The Committee for a Free Asia, dated December 12, 1951, (Attachment 2); and provided that close coordination in the field and in Washington is maintained.
***
13 December 1951
DRAFT
The Committee for a Free Asia
General Policies
1. Although initially it will not be possible, CFA should work toward removing the U.S. label – private and public – from its operations and take on an Asian coloration.
2. CFA activities including RFA should be decentralized as far as possible and transferred from San Francisco to Asian countries.
3. CFA should operate as far as possible through local groups comprised of selected Asian leaders.
4. CFA should generally not undertake activities of the kind presently carried on or planned by USIS or other official overt U.S. agencies. The type of activities within the cognizance of USIS are set forth in Appendix A. However, there may be some occasions in which CFA can either take a more strident line or slant material of the type normally produced by USIS in a way which would not be appropriate to USIS. However, the USIS line has toughened and this area in which CFA can operate and in which USIS cannot has narrowed. There may also be certain activities of the type set forth in Appendix 1, which CFA may be able to undertake in certain areas more appropriately that USIS. Through close coordination in the field and in Washington, these may be spelled out and non-duplication insured.
Priorities
1. Priorities set forth in the Operating Program should be modified so that first priority is given to the Overseas Chinese with a view to:
a. Developing leaders who are friendly to the United States who will be able to communicate with and ultimately influence other Chinese overseas and on the China mainland.
b. Denying leaders, professional, and other key personnel to the Communists.
c. Assisting where possible in the rescue and relocation of key Chinese who are presently homeless and starving.
d. Developing personnel who might be trained for intelligence stay-behind or other missions.
2. Additional emphasis should also be placed on establishing a field organization.
Radio Free Asia
RFA should be guided by the general policies set forth above. More specifically:
1. RFA should phase out broadcasts which bear the U.S. label from San Francisco. RFA should be a voice of Asia.
2. RFA should generally avoid the kind of program which VOA [Voice of America] broadcasts and for which the U.S. Government can accept responsibility, (in this regard there are few restrictions to be placed on VOA as respects the toughness of its anti-Communist line).
3. Operations should be transferred to Asia and decentralized as far as possible so that broadcasts can be made under the sponsorship of local groups through local stations, as near as possible to the target audience. Broadcasts should be made via medium wave where possible.
4. Example of the kinds of activities which can be undertaken by RFA and which can not be appropriately handled by VOA are:
a. Broadcasts designed to influence political elections.
b. Broadcasts aimed at assisting specific local labor, youth, teachers, women or other groups, whose goals are consistent with long range U.S. interests.
c. Influencing the development of leadership by giving hearing to selected leaders and withholding it from others.
d. Openly encouraging the subversion of the Chinese Communist Government.
e. Take stands against specific persons and specific groups: the corruption of a Tony Quirino; the leaders of communist dominated unions.
f. Act as a transmitter of black “plants” and “twisted” stories, under specifically defined controls.
g. Encourage debates and discussions loaded as required.
5. It is recognized that news such as that provided by PANA and features such as those already broadcast directly by RFA remain important aspects of a gray psychological warfare program as well as audience-gaining assets. RFA will follow the general principle, however, of furnishing such news and features to local groups for their use rather than for direct production under the RFA label.
It is considered that the development of a strictly Asian commercial newsgathering organization, specializing in local news and not seemingly subsidized by a U.S. instrumentality, is advantageous to the U.S. Government as a whole as well as to the over-all objectives and activities of the Committee.
APPENDIX I
* Listed below are examples of activities undertaken by the Department of State and/or ECA. Normally the association of such activities with the U.S. government is either acknowledged or if not, the association if it became known would not embarrass the U.S. government or discredit the activity.
a. The Voice of America broadcasts.
b. Contracts for purchase of published materials for overt distribution abroad, including subscriptions to magazines, purchase of additional copies of books, pamphlets or other printed material prepared by foreign organizations, publishing houses, trade unions, et cetera.
c. Contracts for dissemination of information materials such as posters, pamphlets, or leaflets, motion picture films, still photos, exhibits, et cetera.
d. Contracts with publishers, motion picture producers, and other producers of information media for production of materials for foreign distribution.
e. Direct production and dissemination of material which may be attributed to the United States Government without serious embarrassment or produced and/or disseminated without attribution to any source.
* Extracted from USIS publication dated November 1, 1951, Subject: USIS and Indigenous Operations.