Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy (Hardcover)

by Bruce Herschensohn (Author)
Key Phrases: threatened democracy, three communiqués, renegade province, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
China has nuclear weapons capable of reaching America, prompting a Chinese general to ask, "Would the U.S. sacrifice Los Angeles to protect Taipei?"

Following 1949's communist victory in China, Chiang Kai-shek and his defeated government fled to Taiwan. In contrast to the ongoing oppressive rule of the Chinese government, Taiwan went on to become a vibrant democracy.

Three decades later, Jimmy Carter betrayed Taiwan by breaking diplomatic relations, instead establishing them with China. Though relations between the U.S. and Taiwan remained cordial, a belligerent Beijing continues to see Taiwan as a renegade province.

In the past five years, a nuclear-armed China has run eleven military exercises simulating the invasion of Taiwan. At the same time, the Taiwan Relations Act affirms the U.S. defense of Taiwan, making the question of sacrificing Los Angeles for Taiwan not just one of political posturing.

Utilizing his long-held access to top officials in the U.S. and Taiwan, Bruce Herschensohn shows why Taiwan will remain a critical theater for American policy in the 21st century.

"Bruce Herschensohn is an astute observer of the current world scene. In Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy, he sheds new light on one of the Cold War's most intractable - and dangerous - legacies."
-- Rush Limbaugh, The Most Listened-to Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host

"Bruce Herschensohn has long watched China - as did his friend Richard Nixon - and has always had the freedom of the Chinese near the top of his concerns. He was one of the few who saw the PRC's plans for Hong Kong clearly, and his observations on the future of Taiwan will be sober and accurate, as well as highly readable."
-- Hugh Hewitt, Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host

From the Publisher
If Taiwan was attacked, what would the U.S. do? It's that provocative question that Bruce Herschensohn seeks to answer in the compelling, timely and disturbing book Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy. Herschensohn focuses on U.S. relations with Taiwan and China from the Maoist era through the Cold War to the current day, and projects what the future might hold. Taiwan has long been a flashpoint in the struggle between the communist and free worlds. As a possible armed conflict looms, a "domestic war" also exists between the White House, actively supporting Taiwan, and the State Department, leaning heavily to the Chinese point of view.

A highly-placed official in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations, Bruce Herschensohn is uniquely qualified to analyze this thorny aspect of U.S. foreign policy. He has traveled to Taiwan and China regularly since 1964 and has interviewed many of the top military and civilian officials in both countries. Among the new facts revealed in Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy is the existence of a personal letter written by former President Nixon to Jimmy Carter after Carter gave diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of China.

While Nixon's letter explicitly warned Carter of the pressures his decision would place on Taiwan (and the U.S.), the former president refused to publicly censure Carter's decision. Though still in disgrace, Nixon observed a tradition that Carter has disdained -- that of refraining from publicly criticizing a sitting president.

Full of such never-before-revealed facts, Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy will provide welcome insight into the future of the turbulent - and increasingly acrimonious - relationship between the United States and China.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: World Ahead Publishing (January 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977898423
• ISBN-13: 978-0977898428
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #836,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good thorough recap of the history of Taiwan, June 7, 2007

By	Jeremy Lee (San Francisco/New YOrk) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For anyone who is even mildly interested in politics and government, Herschensohn's book is an enlightening read into the sordid affairs of the soon to be dominant communist China. Herschensohn speaks for the people of Taiwan by proving that unless people around the world who embrace democracy share an outpouring of support for misunderstood and underrepresented Taiwan, China will and can unstabilize the world in much the same way the middle east currently does. A must read for any Taiwanese American.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a scary but vital book. , January 19, 2007

By	Flo (California) - See all my reviews

Bruce Herschensohn teaches at Pepperdine University among other things, and is someone who was high up in the Nixon and Reagan administrations. He clearly knows of what he speaks. China isn't just an emerging threat to the West, it's a threat, period, as the recent satellite-killing missile test shows. Herschensohn makes clear that China's desire to either possess or destroy Taiwan has huge implications for the United States. This is an "echo of the Cold War" that could come back to haunt us in a big way.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taiwan: The Threatened Democracy, February 8, 2007

By	Duncan Murray (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Any book recommended by Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager and Rush Limbaugh is a "Must-read." When that book is written by Bruce Herschensohn, it's a "Must-read NOW!"

Did you know that the PRC has NEVER governed Taiwan? That Presidents from Ford on have consistently mis-represented the Shanghai Communique?

All this - and much, much more - is revealed in this clear, concise, enjoyable book. Buy it and read it now - while Taiwan is still free. Later may be too late.