Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-041

Kissinger phone call on James C.H. Shen and Republic of China

Friday, October 29, 1971 · 6:03 PM–6:35 PM ET · White House Telephone · 25 sec

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; White House operatorConversation013-041 on Tape 13 (tape position 01:28:49–01:29:15)StartFriday, October 29, 1971 at 6:03 PMEndFriday, October 29, 1971 at 6:35 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-041 ↗

AI Summary

Henry A. Kissinger directed the White House operator to place a call to James C.H. Shen, the Ambassador of the Republic of China in Washington, D.C. After clarifying the specific individual and embassy being referenced, Kissinger instructed the operator to contact the Nationalist Chinese Embassy directly to reach the ambassador. This brief interaction served as a logistical step to facilitate direct communication with the Taiwanese diplomatic mission.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

This is Mr. Kissinger.
Can you get me the ambassador of China?
The Republic of China?
The Republic of China.
Is that the one in Taiwan?
No, no, in Washington.
In Washington.
Oh.
I mean, Mr. Shen.
Mr. Shen.
Just call the Nationalist Chinese Embassy and ask for Mr. Shen.
All right.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On October 29, 1971, Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-041 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-041

Date: October 29, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:03 pm and 6:35 pm
Location: White House Telephone

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

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 608-2A]

     Request for a call to James C.H. Shen

Also recorded on October 29, 1971

  • 013-038 4:10 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 4:10 pm to 4:11 pm.
  • 013-039 4:11 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 4:55 pm.
  • 013-040 4:55 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John C. Whitaker talked on the telephone from 4:55 pm to 4:56 pm.
  • 608-001 5:20 PM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:20 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 013-042 6:03 PM · 12 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 608-002 6:19 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:19 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 608-003 6:35 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:35 pm to 6:42 pm.
  • 013-043 7:56 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:56 pm to 7:59 pm.

All 65 conversations from October 29, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-041, October 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-041 (accessed September 30, 2026).