3 Review(s)

The China-Taiwan conflict has its roots in the Chinese Civil War, which took place from 1927 to 1950 between the Nationalist Party of China (Kuomintang) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, were initially successful in defeating the Communists and establishing a government in China, but they eventually lost the war and fled to the island of Taiwan. The CPC, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland in 1949. The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) assertive military exercises in response to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Aug. 2-3, 2022 — and the PRC’s continued military actions in the air and maritime space around Taiwan since then — have brought heightened attention to the risk of military conflict between mainland China on the one side and Taiwan and the United States on the other. This policy brief argues that despite rising tensions, it is both essential and possible to avoid war in the Taiwan Strait. None of the three governments wants war. But to avoid war, all three governments must avoid steps that force the other side to launch a military conflict. China’s invasion of Taiwan might also fail because of the Americans. Will China then quietly accept defeat? Or will it use its nuclear weapons to punish the US for intervening? As the book addresses this crucial issue quite deftly, it is hoped that it would prove to be a source of great information for the reader.