A new book examines the role the US and UK played in China’s quest to dominate the Taiwan Strait

News Snapshot:

In February 1954, President Chiang Kai-shek’s government proposed a bilateral defence treaty with the Americans. At this point in time, the United States was preoccupied with the Korean crisis and the worsening situation in Indochina. Although the PRC had, from time to time, declared its intention to take Taiwan back, the Americans did not expect any imminent Chinese action. The primary US concern was, in fact, that Chiang should not be allowed to drag the Americans into a conflict with China since he still harboured dreams of regaining the mainland through military means. Within the State Department, the bureau in...