America and Island China: A Documentary History (review)

loo China Review International: Vol. ?, No. ?, Spring 1994 difference lies in the fact that, with the Nazi invasion, many countries in Europe experienced the trauma of occupation for the first time in recent memory; in China, by contrast, the Japanese Occupation represented but the latest chapter in a century of foreign encroachment and domination. Whether this fact helped to steel—or weaken—resolve to resist the occupiers deserves exploration. As Poshek Fu's study clearly demonstrates, the experience of Chinese intellectuals under the Japanese Occupation fits squarely in the broader context of human responses to foreign domination, or, indeed, to any kind of coercive power. While it is unlikely that the Occupation period will ever come to assume in China the central position it occupies in Europe as the ultimate test of personal integrity and moral courage—that dubious honor will probably be accorded to the Cultural Revolution or perhaps the entire Communist period—the experience raises issues of conscience and compromise that invite contemplation. Nancy E. Chapman University of Utah Stephen P. Gibert and William M. Carpenter, editors. America and Island China: A Documentary History Lanham, Maryland: University Press ofAmerica, 1989. 407 pp. $57.00. copyright\994 by University of Hawai'i Press Relations between the United States and the Republic of China on Taiwan have had a turbulent history since 1949, but despite conflicting objectives and derecognition, the two governments have maintained an "alliance" and devised a unique arrangement enabling normal exchanges to continue between them. This work documents major events in U.S.-China relations, emphasizing the emergence ofthe precedent-breaking Taiwan RelationsAct of1979 and the decade that followed. America and Island China serves as a very useful complement to the detailed study edited by Ramon H. Myers, A Unique Relationship: The United States and the Republic ofChina Under the Taiwan RelationsAct (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1989). While topically similar to Gibert and Carpenter's book, the Myers book provides an extensive narrative and analysis of the Taiwan Relations Act and its implementation. America and Island China includes four chapters that review the history of modern China from 1911 to 1989, written by three specialists long familiar with the recent history of Taiwan. Following these introductory accounts are three chapters ofdocuments for 1949-1978, distributed over 120 pages: "Political and Diplomatic" (31 documents), "Military" (17 documents), and "Economic and Technological" (12 documents). The final chapter, devoted to the years 1979-1988, "The Taiwan Relations Act and Its Future," contains 70 documents in 205 Reviews ??? pages—more than half the volume devoted to this crucial episode. The writers, reviewing events leading to and through the Taiwan Relations Act, are optimistic about the continued viability ofthis "unique" arrangement between the United States and Taiwan, and the future potential ofthe island's "unrecognized" government . While not deprecating the contributions ofthe Chinese, the writers credit the Republic ofChina's alliance with the United States and past American assistance for Taiwan's successes. Nevertheless, their enthusiasm for Taiwan's current viability does not ignore the problems confronting the complex society of "Island China." After a briefintroductory chapter surveying China's republican revolution, during the period 1911-1949, Harold C. Hinton, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, presents a balanced second chapter on "The Republic ofChina on Taiwan Since 1949."While favorably reviewing Taiwan's success story, Hinton also recognizes the island's recent endemic and potential problems. He refers candidly to the murder ofthe opposition writer, Henry Liu, in California, financial scandals involving conglomerates, dissatisfaction with the limited flow of U.S. arms to Taiwan, and the uncertainty caused by proposals for unification from the People's Republic of China. Broader problems, Hinton suggests, may also lurk on the horizon, such as economic recession , political polarization between mainlanders and Taiwanese, serious pressures from Beijing, succession crises, or major wars in the region. Nevertheless, Hinton remains optimistic, believing "Taiwan's progress toward a more democratic polity, its social stability, and economic growth" are sufficient cause "to be optimistic about its future despite its anomalous status in the international community " (p. 20). Hinton's primary thesis is clear. He envisions three significant areas in which Taiwan has succeeded and...