Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 664 › Conversation 664-003

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Taiwan

Wednesday, February 2, 1972 · 9:13 AM–9:14 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation664-003 on Tape 664 (tape position 00:18:04–00:18:38)StartWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 9:13 AMEndWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 9:14 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 664-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and the White House operator discuss the sensitive diplomatic nuances surrounding U.S. policy toward Taiwan ahead of future negotiations. Nixon expresses firm resistance to abrogating existing treaty commitments while weighing the challenges of securing mutual pledges for a peaceful resolution. The exchange highlights the strategic difficulty of managing conflicting positions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China regarding the status of the island.

Audio

part A, 18:04

Download MP3 (part 1) · 169.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 41.4 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the players above hold the full tape, shared with neighbouring conversations. By the archivists' log it runs from 00:18:04 to 00:18:38 into the tape; their log often drifts a minute or two from the audio, so listen for the subjects in the finding aid.

NARA Description

On February 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 664-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 664-3

Date: February 2, 1972
Time: Unknown between 9:13 am and 9:14 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 20-18]

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Timestamps are positions within the full tape; click one to play the tape from there.

But on Taiwan, we... On Taiwan, you know, I did say we will keep our treaty commitments.
Can we say that?
We can't abrogate a treaty with Taiwan.
No, no, we can say it in general.
We can say that we are committed to a peaceful solution.
But we can't... Are they?
Will they say they're committed to a peaceful solution?
No.
But then I think the opposite either.
They're just saying that position is their country.
They won't make a deal with us.

Also recorded on February 2, 1972

  • 020-016 8:51 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 9:10 am.
  • 020-017 9:10 AM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser talked on the telephone from 9:10 am to 9:13 am.
  • 664-002 9:10 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles S. Gubser met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 9:13 am.
  • 020-018 9:13 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am.
  • 664-004 9:13 AM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:13 am and 9:14 am.
  • 020-019 9:14 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas N. Downing talked on the telephone from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.
  • 664-005 9:14 AM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas N. Downing met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.
  • 664-006 9:15 AM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:15 am to 10:05 am.

All 75 conversations from February 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 664-003, February 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/664-003 (accessed November 4, 2026).