Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-106

Nixon, Hassan & Haig on United Nations and Chinese representation

Saturday, October 23, 1971 · 11:59 AM–12:08 PM ET · White House Telephone · 14 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Hassan, King; Bull, Stephen B.; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation012-106 on Tape 12 (tape position 04:11:00–04:25:13)StartSaturday, October 23, 1971 at 11:59 AMEndSaturday, October 23, 1971 at 12:08 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-106 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted King Hassan II of Morocco to personally lobby for Moroccan support regarding the upcoming United Nations vote on the representation of China and Taiwan. Nixon argued that the expulsion of Taiwan by a simple majority would set a dangerous precedent for the UN, and he requested that Morocco vote with the United States on the 'important question' procedure. King Hassan expressed appreciation for the direct communication and promised to review the matter with his government and provide a formal response.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 16% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
King Hassan, Mr. President.
Yes.
Go ahead.
Good afternoon, Your Majesty.
I have disturbed you this afternoon to present to you my views on a subject that I consider to be of the greatest importance, the vote in the United Nations on Chinese representation, which will occur on Tuesday.
Hello, Majesty.
I disturbed you this afternoon to present my views on a subject to which I attach the greatest importance.
It is the vote on the United Nations on the Chinese representation, which will probably take place on Tuesday.
As you know, since we had the opportunity to meet in 1957, I've always had the very greatest respect for you and also for the independence and integrity of your country.
And because I cherish our personal relationship,
I want to speak to you in the frankest terms about this important issue.
It is my conviction that
The removal of an honorable member of the United Nations by a simple majority vote would be a precedent of the most disastrous consequences which could have the most serious implications for the future survival of this organization.
Je suis convaincu
And for this reason, I
I would ask you to consider voting with the United States in favor of making the issue of expelling the government of Taiwan an important question.
and at the same time to support the position in establishing this matter as one of priority during Tuesday's deliberation.
And for this reason, I would like to ask you to consider voting with the United States on the issue that considers expulsion as an important question,
I believe this is in the interest of the United Nations in the future, because if any member can be expelled at any time by a simple majority vote, this could unravel the organization in years to come.
Je pense que ceci est dans l'intérêt des Nations Unies et de leur avenir car si n'importe quel membre peut être expulsé à une majorité simple, cela peut avoir des conséquences très sérieuses et désagréger l'organisation.
And if you could find it possible to vote with the United States on this issue alone, that is the important question, I would consider it a very great personal favor.
Et s'il vous était possible de voter avec les États-Unis sur cette seule question, de la question importante, je vous en serais personnellement très, très reconnaissant.
And I look forward, Your Majesty, to our meeting again at some time.
I know we have planned it, but events have intervened, and Mrs. Nixon and I look forward to welcoming Your Majesty at a time convenient to you in our country.
Your Majesty, I am delighted to see you again.
I know we had planned a new meeting,
Les événements ne l'ont pas permise.
Je sais qu'elle va être prévue à une autre date.
Et Madame Nixon et moi-même, nous réjouissons à l'idée de vous souhaiter la bienvenue ici.
Allô?
Thank you.
Allô?
Allô, oui?
His Majesty would like to thank you, Mr. President, for your kind expressions.
Thank you.
Please convey my best personal greetings to Mrs. Nixon.
Hello.
Hello, hello, we can't hear you well.
I have personally looked into this matter of China.
I know that it is a highly delicate issue.
I have explained this to Mr. Rockwell.
And it was my intention to look into this matter again this afternoon with my government.
I want you to tell the President that I fully understand the concern of the United States.
Hello?
Hello?
We can't hear you.
Hello?
Hello?
Hello?
Tell Mr. President that... Hello?
Hello?
Yes, yes.
Tell Mr. President that his call is telephonic.
I want you to tell the president that I'm deeply touched by the fact that he has called me personally.
And I want you to convey to the President my wishes for his personal happiness and prosperity.
And I will not fail to send you a message regarding our position.
That is all.
Thank you very much, Your Majesty.
Hello Drew?
Hello?
you

NARA Description

On October 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, King Hassan, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:59 am to 12:08 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-106 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 012-106

Date: October 23, 1971
Time: 11:59 am- 12:08 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     King Hassan II

The President talked with King Hassan II.

[See Conversation No. 601-17A]

     United Nations [UN] vote on Chinese representation and Taiwan
          -The President's 1957 meeting with Hassan
          -The President’s view
               -Future of the UN
          -US position
               -Possible support from Morocco
          -The President’s view
               -Voting procedures
               -Possible support from Morocco
          -Possible future meeting of Hassan and Nixon
               -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
          -King Hassan's actions
               -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
               -People's Republic of China [PRC]
                     -Stuart W. Rockwell
               -US

The President conferred with Stephen B. Bull and Alexander A. Haig, Jr. at an unknown time
after 12:08 pm.

[See Conversation No. 601-17]

******************************************************************************

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 12/19/2017.]
[Personal Returnable]
[012-106-w001]
[Duration: 6m 24s]

     US foreign relations
          -US Department of State
               -Ambassadors

     Operators speaking/telephone noise

     William P. Rogers

     Operators speaking/telephone noise

     US foreign relations
          -William P. Rogers
                -Mexico

     Henry A. Kissinger
          -Schedule

     Operators speaking/telephone noise

******************************************************************************

Also recorded on October 23, 1971

  • 012-104 11:43 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:43 am and 11:53 am.
  • 601-013 11:51 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:51 am.
  • 012-105 11:53 AM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:53 am to 11:54 am.
  • 601-014 11:53 AM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:53 am to 11:54 am.
  • 601-015 11:54 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:54 am and 11:59 am.
  • 601-016 11:54 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:54 am and 11:59 am.
  • 601-017 11:59 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Alex G. Toumayan, and King Hassan met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:59 am and 12:17 pm.
  • 012-107 12:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:17 pm.

All 42 conversations from October 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-106, October 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-106 (accessed October 12, 2026).