Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 608 › Conversation 608-002
Nixon & Kissinger on United Nations and Taiwan
Friday, October 29, 1971 · 6:19 PM–6:35 PM ET · Oval Office
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss the political fallout from the United Nations' recent vote to expel Taiwan and the potential impact of Nixon's upcoming initiative to visit the People's Republic of China. The two reviewed U.S. diplomatic efforts, assessed public and political reaction among domestic critics, and discussed strategies for managing international relations ahead of the 1972 election. They also addressed coordination with figures like Ronald Reagan regarding his recent Asia trip and finalized arrangements for upcoming scheduling and correspondence.
Audio
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:50:05 into the tape and ends around 01:04:10.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On October 29, 1971, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 608-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 608-2
Date: October 29, 1971
Time: 6:19 pm - 6:35 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.
[The recording begins while conversation is in progress]
United Nations [UN]
-Previous vote to expel Taiwan
-France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Canada
-Belgium
-Effect of the President's People's Republic of China [PRC] initiative
Daniel J. Boorstin
-Smithsonian Institution
-Previous conversation with Kissinger
-Boorstin's talk at University of Indiana
-PRC initiative
UN
-Previous vote to expel Taiwan
-Reaction of the President's critics
-Chiang Kai-Shek
-Academic community
Boorstin
The President's forthcoming trip to PRC
-Leonard Garment's note to Kissinger
-Boorstin
-Previous conversation with Kissinger
-US aerospace program
US intellectual community
The President's forthcoming trip to PRC
-Boorstin
-Kissinger's possible written account
-Possible article
-Timing
UN
-Previous vote to expel Taiwan
-Timing
-State Department's efforts
-Kissinger’s assessment
-Rogers
-Botswana
-Guyana
-Leader
-US aid
-Vote list
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Timing
-The President's forthcoming trip to PRC
-1972 election
-State Department's efforts
-Kissinger’s view
-Timing
-Public reaction
-View of UN
-Kissinger's previous conversation with Ronald W. Reagan
Reagan
-The President's schedule
-Report on Reagan’s Asia trip
-Kissinger's schedule
**************************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
[Privacy]
[Duration 6s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 5
**************************************************************************
-The President's schedule
Kissinger's forthcoming telephone call to Taiwanese ambassador
Kissinger talked with the White house operator at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35
pm.
[Conversation No. 608-2A]
[See Conversation No. 13-41]
[End of telephone conversation]
Kissinger's forthcoming telephone call to Taiwanese ambassador
-The President's schedule
-Taiwanese foreign minister
UN
-Previous vote to expel Taiwan
-Timing
-US policy
-PRC initiative
Taiwan
-The President’s view
-The President's efforts
-Quemoy and Matsu
-John Foster Dulles
Kissinger talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35
pm.
[Conversation No. 608-2B]
[See Conversation No. 13-42]
[End of telephone conversation]
The President's schedule
-Josep Broz Tito
-India-Pakistan
-Indira Gandhi
-Chinese
-Vietnam
-Negotiations
-Interpreters
-Location
Kissinger left at 6:35 pm.Also recorded on October 29, 1971
- 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.
- 013-041 6:03 PM · 25 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.
- 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.
- 608-003 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.
- 013-044 7:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:59 pm to 8:01 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 608-002, 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/608-002 (accessed September 30, 2026).