1016 



has also been reported that some dozen other American researchers 

 were admitted to China for short visits designed by the Chinese to 

 pubhcize and famiharize foreigners with unique medical developments. 

 Further support of Byrne's predictions is illustrated in reports that 

 the Sino-American Exchange C'ommittee of the Federation of Ameri- 

 can Scientists, an informal group of scientists given to criticizing 

 some governmental policies especially in Indochina, "received a warm 

 response from the official Chinese Academy of Sciences to its request 

 to set up exchanges between the two nations." *^^ Significant also in 

 this respect is that the first multidisciplinary Chinese scientific dele- 

 gation received in the United States, after President Nixon's visit, 

 came upon invitation of both the Federation of American Scientists 

 and the National Academy of Sciencies. *^® 



Moves Toward the Establishment oj Regular Exchanges 



In 1966, a special "Committee on Scholarly Communication with 

 Mainland China" was established in the NAS, under advisory guid- 

 ance of the Academy, the Social Science Research Council, and the 

 American Council of Learned Societies. In an attempt to coordinate 

 and to lend prestige and give guidance to U.S. efforts to forge better 

 scientific communication with China, the Committee began "to 

 explore the possibilities of direct communications with the Chinese 

 scientific conmiunity and to encourage official attitudes and practices 

 conducive to interchange of scientific materials and persons in- 

 terested in scholarly communication."*^^ In support of providing 

 U.S. scientists with reliable information on Chinese scientific activi- 

 ties, the Committee prepared special bibliographies of translations of 

 scientific and technological materials published in China,*^^ and 

 initiated publication of a review periodical on scientific activities in 

 China, China Science Notes. The Committee notified American 

 scientists that it wished to encourage direct scientist-to-scientist ex- 

 change of scientific information and that it would assist American 

 researchers by funding, reprinting, and forwarding periodical reprints 

 to 20 Chinese scientific institutions which might be interested in 

 seeing the materials.*^^ In 1973 the Committee began publication of 

 China Exchange Newsletter, replacing China Science Notes. Its declared 

 objective was to "keep American scholars informed of the progress in 

 scholarly exchange with the People's Republic of China [and to] 

 serve as a channel for communication of ideas on that subject." 



The Committee took two additional steps to solidify relations. 

 Apropos of the growing rapprochement between the United States 

 and China, the Committee, in January 1970, changed its name to the 

 Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic 

 of China (C SCPRC)*^" and, reportedly, Dr. PhiUp Handler ^^^ sent a 



"» Stuart Auerbach, "Scientists Vie for Peking Trip," Washington Post (November 18, 1971), p. A-23; 

 "FAS Serving as Link to China," Science and Government Report (November 25, 1971), p. 3. 



<w "Scholarly Exchange with the People's Republic of China, 1971-1972." China Exchange NewsUtter 

 I, No.l (Spring 1973), p. 2. 



"' "Annual Report of the Foreign Secretary to the National Academy of Sciences," April 23, 1968, p. 10. 



<" "A Bibliography of Translations from Mainland Chinese Periodicals in Chemistry, General Science 

 and Technology". Described in "Annual Report of the Foreign Secretary to the National Academy of 

 Sciences," April 23, 1968. op. cit., p. 10. 



«» "Annual Report of the Foreign Secretary to the National Academy of Sciences", April 23, 1968, op. cit. 

 p. 10. 



"» "Annual Report of the Foreign Secretary to the National Academy of Sciences," April 1971, In Inter- 

 national Cooperation in Science and Space: Hearings, op. cit., p. 232. 



<" "Returning U.S. Biologists Say Peking Scientific Door Ajar, Christian Science Monitor (May 27, 1971), 

 p. 10. The report that Dr. Wald hand-carried this letter is provided by Cohn (February 28, 1972), op. cit., p. 

 A-6. 



