One Interpretation

Canada's Foreign Affairs Chief Lester ("Mike"") Pearson was one statesman who saw the week's developments in Washington (see U.S. AFFAIRS) as a quick way to 1) assure two Chinas, 2) hog-tie Chiang Kaishek, and 3) get the Chinese Reds into the U.N.

Said Pearson: "I think that a strong case can be made for the neutralization of Formosa both in order to prevent any assault upon it by Communist forces and also so that it will not be used as a base for invasion of the mainland."

"The President did not say that!" an M.P. shouted as Pearson gave Parliament this interpretation of the Eisenhower promise. But Pearson ignored him.

Being thus convinced that the U.S. meant to neutralize Formosa, Pearson proceeded to envision the next steps. President Eisenhower, he said, had promised to "remain faithful to our obligations as a member of the United Nations." Pearson took that to mean that the U.S. would ask the U.N. to arrange a cease-fire in the Formosa area, and that while the future of the disputed island was being decided. Formosa would come under some sort of U.N. surveillance, similar to that put into effect in Palestine and Indonesia while disputes were being settled there. This would, of course, bring Communist China into the U.N. deliberations, but Pearson saw no escape from that. Said he: "The Communist government of China would have to be invited if [the negotiations] were to have any chance of success."

Shortly after Pearson finished speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent announced a last-minute decision to take his external affairs chief with him to the Commonwealth conference in London (see FOREIGN NEWS). An aide said that at London St. Laurent intends to do "a selling job for Eisenhower."

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