The Nation the Left Neglected

Imagine a small, peaceful, progressive island in Asia about the size of Maryland. Ruled until the Cold War's very end by a military dictatorship, it is now a robust democracy, although it endures incessant hostility from its giant neighbor. Its people treasure their hard-fought equality, free press, and vibrant civil society. Of course, the country is real; it is Taiwan. There is every reason to expect that Taiwan's most faithful allies in the U.S. are on the left, but that is not the case at all. Jeffrey Ngo argues that if the American left is serious about opposing a reactionary foreign policy that preserves unequal power relations, it should speak up for Taiwan.