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

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 player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:18:04 into the tape and ends around 00:18:38.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

18:04But on Taiwan, we... On Taiwan, you know, I did say we will keep our treaty commitments.
18:13Can we say that?
18:16We can't abrogate a treaty with Taiwan.
18:19No, no, we can say it in general.
18:21We can say that we are committed to a peaceful solution.
18:25But we can't... Are they?
18:27Will they say they're committed to a peaceful solution?
18:30No.
18:31But then I think the opposite either.
18:33They're just saying that position is their country.
18:37They won't make a deal with us.

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]

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 71 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 October 23, 2026).