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April 26, 1962

Reporting the Contents of Vice Minister Zhang Hanfu’s Discussion with the Soviet Ambassador on 24 April 1962

This document was made possible with support from MacArthur Foundation

To: Wulumuqi [Urumqi] […]

Level: Extremely Urgent […]

Contents: Reporting the Contents of Vice Minister Zhang’s Discussion with the Soviet Ambassador on 24 April

 

[To the] Xinjiang Foreign Affairs Department and the [Xinjiang Uyghur] Autonomous Region Party Committee:

 

[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs] is reporting an excerpt of the contents of Vice Minister Zhang [Hanfu’s] meeting with [Soviet] Ambassador [Stepan] Chervonenko on 24 April concerning the Xinjiang residents who have crossed the border to the Soviet Union:

 

Vice Minister Zhang handed our memorandum to Chervonenko and Chervonenko said [that his] request earlier this morning to meet was also to discuss the flight of Chinese border residents. Your side’s [China’s] document has an accusatory tone, as if the Soviet side encouraged Chinese residents to cross the border into the Soviet Union, [but] this is inconsistent with the facts and, on the contrary, the Soviet border defense organs and local authorities did not act in this way. The two sides [then] discussed the discrepancy over the number of border-crossers. These people crossed the border to the Soviet Union from the Chinese side and [while] the Chinese let them pass, the Soviet side also did not block them.  Because they were not bringing anything with them, it was only natural to help them settle [in the Soviet Union]. Your documents have the initial conclusion that we wanted these people to cross the border, which is somewhat rushed.

 

Comrade Hanfu pointed out [that] the situation our side put forth is based on our understanding of the materials. Things like this should not happen between our two nations; however, they have happened, and we cannot help but feel astonished. We have discouraged the border-crossers continuously. The situation on the Soviet border in recent days is causing the number of border crossers to increase. You’ve rushed by insisting that things never happened even without [conducting an] investigation.

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

26 April 1962

The Foreign Ministry alerts the Xinjiang Foreign Affairs Department and Party Committee of ongoing talks with the Soviet Union.

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Related Documents

April 24, 1962

Minutes of Vice Minister Zhang Hanfu’s Talk with the Soviet Ambassador to China Stepan Chervonenko

Zhang Hanfu and Stepan Chervonenko spar over the flight of Uyghurs and Kazakhs from Xinjiang to the Soviet Union.

April 25, 1962

Cable from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 'Representations between China and Soviet Union on the Flight of Ethnic Minority Residents from Xinjiang’s Border Areas to the Soviet Union'

The Foreign Ministry alerts Xu Huang and other officials in Xinjiang as to the status of the talks between Zhang Hanfu and Ambassador Chervonenko.

April 25, 1962

Cable from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 'Representations between China and Soviet Union on the Flight of Ethnic Minority Residents from Xinjiang’s Border Area to the Soviet Union'

The Chinese Foreign Ministry alerts Ambassador Liu Xiao to ongoing talks between China and the Soviet Union over the mass flight from Xinjiang.

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Source

PRC FMA 118-01154-07, 11-12. Translated by Charles Kraus.

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Original Uploaded Date

2013-10-10

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118188

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MacArthur Foundation and Henry Luce Foundation