Taiwan has become a democracy despite the inability of its political elite to agree on the national identity of the state. This is a study of the history of democratisation in the light of the national identity problem, based on interviews with leading figures in the KMT and opposition parties.
Why has the PRC been so determined that Taiwan be part of China? Why, since the 1990s, has Beijing been feverishly developing means to prevail in combat with the U.S. over Taiwan's status? Why is Taiwan worth fighting for? To answer, this book focuses on the territorial dimension of the Taiwan issue and highlights arguments made by PRC analysts about the geostrategic significance of Taiwan, rather than emphasizing the political dispute between Beijing and Taipei. It considers Beijing's quest for Taiwan since 1949 against the backdrop of recurring Chinese anxieties about the island's status since the seventeenth century.
Wachman, an English teacher in Taipei from 1980 until about 1990, draws on his own perceptions and on interviews with government and business leaders conducted in the early 1990s to explore the "national identity" of a country that was created out of a refugee camp. He also discusses changes in society and government, prospects for democracy, and the impending reintegration with China. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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