The Taiwan Story

When the bloody Chinese Civil War concluded in 1949, two Chinas were born. Maos Communists won and took Chinas mainland; Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalists fled to Taiwan island. Since then, China and Taiwan have drifted into being separate political and cultural entities.Taiwan is now a flourishing democracy and an economic success story: just one of its companies produces over 90 per cent of the semiconductors that power the worlds economy. It is a free and vibrant society. For the United States and the West, the island is a bastion of freedom against Chinas assertive presence in the region. And yet China, increasingly bellicose under Xi Jinping, insists Taiwan is part of its territory and must be returned to it. Should China blockade the island and mount an invasion, it would set off a chain reaction that would pitch it against the US escalating a regional war into a global one. Taiwan is thus a geopolitical powder keg.The Taiwan Story helps us understand how and why weve arrived at this dangerous moment in history. With unparalleled access to Taiwans political leaders and a deep understanding of the islands history and culture, Professor Kerry Brown provides a new reading of Taiwan, its twenty-three million people, and how they navigate being caught in this frightening geopolitical standoff. This is the essential book delving into Taiwans unique story, buried beneath the headlines, told in an accessible, expert and urgent way.