Taiwans Statesman

A well-known observer of Taiwan and Asian history and culture provides an insightful biography of Lee Teng Hui, the pro-democracy statesman and former president of the Republic of China. As head of the Taiwanese government from 1988 to 2000, Lee managed, without violence or major civil unrest, to reform the authoritarian state into a constitutional democracy with a multi-party political system. This examination of Lee's success puts to rest the idea that Asian values support only authoritarian regimes and reject human rights and political democracy in favor of economic success and military power. Richard C. Kagan describes in rich detail Lee's struggle to reinvent Taiwan's culture and political system by advocating an independent sovereign nation with universal values of human rights, democracy, freedom, and economic justice. His book offers new insights into the role Lee played in the still volatile Taiwan Strait crisis and how Lee's diplomatic skills used the crisis to break free of the "One China" straitjacket of the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972 while avoiding open warfare with the People's Republic of China. The author argues that Taiwan is a vital part of America's national security interests in Asia and that the loss of Taiwan to Mainland China would seriously damage American economic and military power in Asia. He calls Lee's life a beacon for people looking for new ways to promote democracy and sovereignty and intends this biography of Lee's life to highlight the statesman's significant contributions, until now little known or misunderstood in the United States and Europe.

This book profiles Taiwan’s six key presidents—Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo, Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, and Tsai Ing-wen—focusing on politics, economics, elections, successes and failures in office, popularity, and democratization. By analyzing criteria of the six presidents’ leadership, such as management of crises, advancing democracy, stewardship of the economy, charisma, corruption, and handling of foreign relations, especially with China and the U.S., John F. Copper goes on to rank the presidents and predicts trends and difficulties that future presidents will face. Special attention is paid to relations with the U.S., acknowledging the U.S. as Taiwan’s political and economic model as well as its being Taiwan’s protector in the context of China’s claim to Taiwan. As an assessment of these six political leaders as well as a study of Taiwan’s political system, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Taiwan, political science, and international relations.

The existence of two Chinese states—one controlling mainland China, the other controlling the island of Taiwan—is often understood as a seemingly inevitable outcome of the Chinese civil war. Defeated by Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to Taiwan to establish a rival state, thereby creating the “Two Chinas” dilemma that vexes international diplomacy to this day. Accidental State challenges this conventional narrative to offer a new perspective on the founding of modern Taiwan. Hsiao-ting Lin marshals extensive research in recently declassified archives to show that the creation of a Taiwanese state in the early 1950s owed more to serendipity than careful geostrategic planning. It was the cumulative outcome of ad hoc half-measures and imperfect compromises, particularly when it came to the Nationalists’ often contentious relationship with the United States. Taiwan’s political status was fraught from the start. The island had been formally ceded to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II the Allies promised Chiang that Taiwan would revert to Chinese rule after Japan’s defeat. But as the Chinese civil war turned against the Nationalists, U.S. policymakers reassessed the wisdom of backing Chiang. The idea of placing Taiwan under United Nations trusteeship gained traction. Cold War realities, and the fear of Taiwan falling into Communist hands, led Washington to recalibrate U.S. policy. Yet American support of a Taiwan-based Republic of China remained ambivalent, and Taiwan had to eke out a place for itself in international affairs as a de facto, if not fully sovereign, state.

This book tells a story of Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian regime to a democratic system where human rights are protected as required by international human rights treaties. There were difficult times for human rights protection during the martial law era; however, there has also been remarkable transformation progress in human rights protection thereafter. The book reflects the transformation in Taiwan and elaborates whether or not it is facilitated or hampered by its Confucian tradition. There are a number of institutional arrangements, including the Constitutional Court, the Control Yuan, and the yet-to-be-created National Human Rights Commission, which could play or have already played certain key roles in human rights protections. Taiwan’s voluntarily acceptance of human rights treaties through its implementation legislation and through the Constitutional Court’s introduction of such treaties into its constitutional interpretation are also fully expounded in the book. Taiwan’s NGOs are very active and have played critical roles in enhancing human rights practices. In the areas of civil and political rights, difficult human rights issues concerning the death penalty remain unresolved. But regarding the rights and freedoms in the spheres of personal liberty, expression, privacy, and fair trial (including lay participation in criminal trials), there are in-depth discussions on the respective developments in Taiwan that readers will find interesting. In the areas of economic, social, and cultural rights, the focuses of the book are on the achievements as well as the problems in the realization of the rights to health, a clean environment, adequate housing, and food. The protections of vulnerable groups, including indigenous people, women, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals, the disabled, and foreigners in Taiwan, are also the areas where Taiwan has made recognizable achievements, but still encounters problems. The comprehensive coverage of this book should be able to give readers a well-rounded picture of Taiwan’s human rights performance. Readers will find appealing the story of the effort to achieve high standards of human rights protection in a jurisdiction barred from joining international human rights conventions. This book won the American Society of International Law 2021 Certificate of Merit in a Specialized Area of International Law.

For one hundred and forty-one years The Statesman's Yearbook has been relied upon to provide accurate and comprehensive information on the current, political, economic and social status of every country in the world. The 2005 edition is fully updated and contains more information than ever before. A foldout colour section provides a political world map and flags for the one hundred and ninety-two countries of the world. In an endlessly changing world the annual publication of The Statesman's Yearbook gives you all of the information you need in one easily digestible single volume. It will save hours of research and cross-referencing between different sources, and is an essential annual purchase.

For the last 136 years, The Statesman's Yearbook has been relied upon to provide accurate and comprehensive information on the current political, economic and social status of every country in the world. The appointment of the new editor - only the seventh in 136 years - brought enhancements to the 1998-99 edition and these are continued in the 2000 edition. Internet usage figures are included. Specially commissioned essays from major political and academic figures supplement country entries in areas of major upheaval and change. A fold out colour section provides a political world map and flags for the 191 countries of the world. The task of monitoring the pattern or flow of world change is never-ending. However, the annual publication of The Statesman's Yearbook gives all the information needed in one easily digestible single volume. It will save hours of research and cross-referencing between different sources. A prestigious and popular book, The Statesman's Yearbook is updated every 12 months. In a world of continual change The Statesman's Yearbook is a necessary annual purchase.

This book examines US subnational engagement in foreign relations, or paradiplomacy, with China and Taiwan from 1949 to 2020. As an alternative diplomatic history of the United States’ relations with divided China, it offers an in-depth chronological and thematic discussion of state and local communities’ responses to the China-Taiwan sovereignty conflict and their impact on US diplomacy. The book explains why paradiplomacy matters not only in the ‘low politics’ of economic and cultural cooperation, but also in the ‘high politics’ of diplomatic recognition. Presenting case studies of US states and cities developing policies towards divided China that paralleled, clashed or aligned with those pursued by federal agencies, it also identifies Chinese and Taiwanese objectives and strategies deployed when competing for US subnational ties. Conceptually, the book builds upon Constructivism, redefining paradiplomacy as an institutional fact, reflective of subnational identities and interests, rather than as a subnational pursuit of foreign markets, driven by objective economic forces. Featuring new empirical evidence and a novel conceptual framework for paradiplomacy, The United States’ Subnational Relations with Divided China will be a useful resource for students and scholars of US foreign policy, the politics of China and Taiwan, paradiplomacy and international relations.

Now in its 149th edition, The Statesman's Yearbook continues to be the reference work of choice for accurate and reliable information on every country in the world. Covering political, economic, social and cultural aspects, the Yearbook is also available online for subscribing institutions: www.statesmansyearbook.com .

In this newly revised and updated edition of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province?, John F. Copper examines Taiwan's geography and history, society and culture, economy, political system, and foreign and security policies in the context of Taiwan's uncertain political status as either a sovereign nation or a province of the People's Republic of China. Copper argues that Taiwan's very rapid and successful democratization suggests Taiwan should be independent and separate from China, while economic links between Taiwan and China indicate the opposite. New to the sixth edition is enhanced coverage of the issues of immigration; the impact of having the world's lowest birthrate; China's economic and military rise and America's decline; Taiwan's relations with China, the United States, and Japan; and the KMT's (Nationalist Party) return to power. The new edition will also examine the implications of the 2012 presidential election. A selected bibliography guides students in further research.

In this newly revised and updated seventh edition of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? Copper examines Taiwan's geography and history, society and culture, economy, political system and foreign and security politics in the context of Taiwan's uncertain status, as either a sovereign nation or a province of the People's Republic of China. Analyzing possible future scenarios and trends that could affect Taiwan’s status, the author argues that Taiwan's very rapid and successful democratization suggests Taiwan should be independent and separate from China, while economic links between Taiwan and China indicate the opposite. New features to this brand-new edition include: The triumph of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the 2016 elections. The impact of the Trump administration on US–Taiwan relations. The rise of popularism. The shift in cross-Strait relations with China given their increased power on the world stage. This revised and fully up-to-date textbook will be essential reading for students of Taiwan, China, US–China relations and democracy.