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The Trouble with Taiwan: History, the United States and a Rising China
Taiwan is one of the great paradoxes of the international order. A place with its own flag, currency, government and military, but which most of the world does not recognize as a sovereign country. An island that China regards as a “rebellious province,” but which has managed to survive defiantly for decades as an independent nation. However, with China now a major power on the world stage and with its ally United States looking increasingly inward, Taiwan’s position has never been more precarious.
Kerry Brown and Kalley Wu Tzu Hu reveal how the island’s shifting fortunes have been shaped by centuries of conquest and by a cast of dynamic characters, by Cold War intrigue and the rise of its neighbor as a global power, explaining how this tiny island, caught between the agendas of two superpowers, is attempting to find its place in a rapidly changing world order. The Trouble with Taiwan relates the story of a fascinating nation and culture, and how its disputed status speaks to a wider, global story about Chinese control and waning US influence.
Kerry Brown and Kalley Wu Tzu Hu reveal how the island’s shifting fortunes have been shaped by centuries of conquest and by a cast of dynamic characters, by Cold War intrigue and the rise of its neighbor as a global power, explaining how this tiny island, caught between the agendas of two superpowers, is attempting to find its place in a rapidly changing world order. The Trouble with Taiwan relates the story of a fascinating nation and culture, and how its disputed status speaks to a wider, global story about Chinese control and waning US influence.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2019
49 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Kerry Brown
85 books76 followersKerry Brown is an author, columnist, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London.
*From Kerry's Website.*: Prior to this he was the Professor of Chinese Politcs and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He led the Europe China Research and Advice Network(ECRAN) funded by the European Union from 2011 to 2014. He is an Associate Fellow on the Asia Programme at Chatham House, London. His main interests are in the politics and society of modern China, in its international relations and its political economy.
Educated at Cambridge (MA), London (Post Graduate Diploma in Chinese with Distinction) and Leeds Universities (Ph D), he worked in Japan and the Inner Mongolian region of China,before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London in 1998. He worked in the China Section and then served as First Secretary, Beijing, from 2000 to 2003, and Head of the Indonesia East Timor Section at the FCO from 2003 to 2005.
Kerry Brown has been published in most major newspapers, commenting on China and Asia, including the New York Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Australian Financial Review, the Australian, the South China Morning Post, and the Financial Times. He has also been interviewed since 2006 by the BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, Bloomberg, ABC and other outlets. He had undertaken consultancy for Mizuho Bank, BP, Oxford Analytica, Hakluyt, Tesco and other corporates.
*From Kerry's Website.*: Prior to this he was the Professor of Chinese Politcs and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He led the Europe China Research and Advice Network(ECRAN) funded by the European Union from 2011 to 2014. He is an Associate Fellow on the Asia Programme at Chatham House, London. His main interests are in the politics and society of modern China, in its international relations and its political economy.
Educated at Cambridge (MA), London (Post Graduate Diploma in Chinese with Distinction) and Leeds Universities (Ph D), he worked in Japan and the Inner Mongolian region of China,before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London in 1998. He worked in the China Section and then served as First Secretary, Beijing, from 2000 to 2003, and Head of the Indonesia East Timor Section at the FCO from 2003 to 2005.
Kerry Brown has been published in most major newspapers, commenting on China and Asia, including the New York Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Australian Financial Review, the Australian, the South China Morning Post, and the Financial Times. He has also been interviewed since 2006 by the BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, Bloomberg, ABC and other outlets. He had undertaken consultancy for Mizuho Bank, BP, Oxford Analytica, Hakluyt, Tesco and other corporates.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 28, 2020
This book was never meant for an academic read, which is fair enough, but editorial mishaps and contradictions are easy to spot. It paints a fairly extensive picture of the self-positioning of Taiwan in face of China's sharp power and the ever-changing political landscape since Trump came to power in 2016. A good contemporary piece on Taiwan's international relations. I would really appreciate a little more elaboration on Taiwan's influence from the Dutch which the authors deemed quite important to their national identity (but never explained), and even the relationship between the Occupy Central movements 2014 in Hong Kong and the local political unrest on the island. But on the whole an easy read.
December 20, 2019
The Republic of China (ROC or also known as Taiwan) and People´s Republic of China (PRC or also known as Mainland China). Sometimes it can be confusing. Common history, destinies, desires and goals. This book, at the end of the year 2019, is the most updated about the conflict between both nations.
In the words of the authors:
"Colonized, occupied, conquered, the final issue for modern Taiwanese is how they understand their identity whne they hear the story of the Nationalist Party defeat on the Mainland and the fleeing to the island of so many of Chiang Kai-shek´s troops and their families. This is within living memory. The divisions it created in society, and the way in which the recognition of this was surpressed till the 1980s, has a deep psychological impact to this day. The gap between the "new" and the "longer established" people risked creating a society run on parallel lines and memory narratives. And while the era of democratization has meant some of the quality of "whispered" history from this era has beein erased, and some of the ghosts faced, the issue of who is "real Taiwanese", and wether there is such a thing, is not a light one."
In the words of the authors:
"Colonized, occupied, conquered, the final issue for modern Taiwanese is how they understand their identity whne they hear the story of the Nationalist Party defeat on the Mainland and the fleeing to the island of so many of Chiang Kai-shek´s troops and their families. This is within living memory. The divisions it created in society, and the way in which the recognition of this was surpressed till the 1980s, has a deep psychological impact to this day. The gap between the "new" and the "longer established" people risked creating a society run on parallel lines and memory narratives. And while the era of democratization has meant some of the quality of "whispered" history from this era has beein erased, and some of the ghosts faced, the issue of who is "real Taiwanese", and wether there is such a thing, is not a light one."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2022
This book could have been written by a PR team. It pulls at all the right heartstrings to manipulate an American reader - democracy, identity, self-expression - while completely glossing over or downright ignoring anything and everything about Taiwan and its history the knowledge of which might cause an American to rethink their commitment to this island.
Taiwan, in the authors' imagination, is a perpetual victim, never an aggressor. Taiwan's version of Chinese irredentism, so much stronger than the PRC's, is erased. Taiwan's history of plotting to take over China, often by manufacturing an inducement for American support, is erased. Taiwan's brutal crackdowns on speech and dissent is glossed over in a couple lines, just like how they deal with the 28 February Incident, which had some two orders of magnitude more deaths than Tiananmen Square!
I would have been less critical of this book if not for one of the earliest claims it makes: "The authors have striven to write a book that is impartial". To claim to be impartial at the start of 250 pages of polemical hagiography of Taiwan and demonography of China reveals either a malicious disregard for the truth or a more benign but perhaps even more concerning level of self-deception. Neither can I countenance.
Here's a flavor of what passes as impartial in this book. "Taiwan was passive rather than an active participant," (206) which requires some pretty willful ignorance to buy; "Colonized, occupied, conquered, the final issue for modern Taiwanese is how they understand their identity..." (206) nevermind that the people who see themselves as Taiwanese today were the colonizers, occupiers, and conquerors, better to make them a victim with careful wording to elide that fact. "The ROC claimed all of the Mainland as its legitimate territory, and the PRC claimed Taiwan. It was as simple as that." (209) Well, no, it's not that simple. Taiwan also claimed Mongolia and some other areas around the border that the Communist Party has accepted don't belong to them.
Indeed, following on that last quote, this book itself offers a slightly more benign view of the Communist Party when it acknowledges that, "In 1949, the new state existed as a blur. It had over 26 land border disputes with its neighbours. Over the following decades, all but those with India and Bhutan were resolved, often territorially to the favour of others, but at least giving the PRC a sense of stability and security." (54)
The claim to impartiality was what got me through the first hundred pages. When I realized that there would be no balancing act, no offering the PRC's perspective, no attempt whatsoever to temper the polemics, I decided to finish this book so I could write an excoriating review, and so I have. It's still a waste of time having read this book, but there are so few books about Taiwan that actually take a neutral view or that explore the darker days of martial law, that I was willing to sit through this to try to extract a little bit more information about these issues, and indeed I have come away with a broader perspective, so I'm content.
Taiwan, in the authors' imagination, is a perpetual victim, never an aggressor. Taiwan's version of Chinese irredentism, so much stronger than the PRC's, is erased. Taiwan's history of plotting to take over China, often by manufacturing an inducement for American support, is erased. Taiwan's brutal crackdowns on speech and dissent is glossed over in a couple lines, just like how they deal with the 28 February Incident, which had some two orders of magnitude more deaths than Tiananmen Square!
I would have been less critical of this book if not for one of the earliest claims it makes: "The authors have striven to write a book that is impartial". To claim to be impartial at the start of 250 pages of polemical hagiography of Taiwan and demonography of China reveals either a malicious disregard for the truth or a more benign but perhaps even more concerning level of self-deception. Neither can I countenance.
Here's a flavor of what passes as impartial in this book. "Taiwan was passive rather than an active participant," (206) which requires some pretty willful ignorance to buy; "Colonized, occupied, conquered, the final issue for modern Taiwanese is how they understand their identity..." (206) nevermind that the people who see themselves as Taiwanese today were the colonizers, occupiers, and conquerors, better to make them a victim with careful wording to elide that fact. "The ROC claimed all of the Mainland as its legitimate territory, and the PRC claimed Taiwan. It was as simple as that." (209) Well, no, it's not that simple. Taiwan also claimed Mongolia and some other areas around the border that the Communist Party has accepted don't belong to them.
Indeed, following on that last quote, this book itself offers a slightly more benign view of the Communist Party when it acknowledges that, "In 1949, the new state existed as a blur. It had over 26 land border disputes with its neighbours. Over the following decades, all but those with India and Bhutan were resolved, often territorially to the favour of others, but at least giving the PRC a sense of stability and security." (54)
The claim to impartiality was what got me through the first hundred pages. When I realized that there would be no balancing act, no offering the PRC's perspective, no attempt whatsoever to temper the polemics, I decided to finish this book so I could write an excoriating review, and so I have. It's still a waste of time having read this book, but there are so few books about Taiwan that actually take a neutral view or that explore the darker days of martial law, that I was willing to sit through this to try to extract a little bit more information about these issues, and indeed I have come away with a broader perspective, so I'm content.
July 19, 2021
A lucid, highly readable and nuanced account of a very complicated subject, a conflict in slow motion that could well break out into open warfare with a disastrous global impact. Even the language, the terminology, is highly combustible.
There was a time, from 1949 until 1996, when two authoritarian governments and two authoritarian political parties, both sides being deeply nationalistic, faced one another across the Strait. The one laid claim to representing and owning the other.
That's all changed. Taiwan is not only a fully developed economy, but a thriving democracy. The latter has radically altered the issue. And the 23 million Taiwanese themselves seem increasingly satisfied with being Taiwanese. They don't need the PRC to be complete as people or nation; unfortunately, their giant, superpower neighbour - for all sorts of reasons explained in this book - cannot be complete in its own sense of its identity without Taiwan. It's a deeply emotional issue, and very dangerous.
While the PRC undoubtedly bullies Taiwan in every conceivable way and limits Taiwan's room for manoeuvre on the global stage and even seeks to dominate and restrict the language Taiwan uses, it's not a simple David and Goliath rivalry.
The authors say Taiwan 'offers an alternative model of Chinese modernity, and one that carries deep challenges, and often real threats to Beijing. That is the trouble with Taiwan.'
It's not something any of us should ignore. This excellent book is a very good place to start.
There was a time, from 1949 until 1996, when two authoritarian governments and two authoritarian political parties, both sides being deeply nationalistic, faced one another across the Strait. The one laid claim to representing and owning the other.
That's all changed. Taiwan is not only a fully developed economy, but a thriving democracy. The latter has radically altered the issue. And the 23 million Taiwanese themselves seem increasingly satisfied with being Taiwanese. They don't need the PRC to be complete as people or nation; unfortunately, their giant, superpower neighbour - for all sorts of reasons explained in this book - cannot be complete in its own sense of its identity without Taiwan. It's a deeply emotional issue, and very dangerous.
While the PRC undoubtedly bullies Taiwan in every conceivable way and limits Taiwan's room for manoeuvre on the global stage and even seeks to dominate and restrict the language Taiwan uses, it's not a simple David and Goliath rivalry.
The authors say Taiwan 'offers an alternative model of Chinese modernity, and one that carries deep challenges, and often real threats to Beijing. That is the trouble with Taiwan.'
It's not something any of us should ignore. This excellent book is a very good place to start.
July 26, 2021
I thought this book was brilliant.
This is very different from Kerry Brown's other works, in that there is clearly more emotion here. It is also evidently not an academic piece yet is by no means polemic in its style.
The point of this book, I think, is to introduce the emotive foundations of Taiwan's existence to readers who perhaps only ever view the country in geopolitical or geostrategic terms. It helps that this book is co-authored by a Taiwanese national too.
I learnt a lot about Taiwan reading this and thoroughly intend to do more research on the subject.
This is very different from Kerry Brown's other works, in that there is clearly more emotion here. It is also evidently not an academic piece yet is by no means polemic in its style.
The point of this book, I think, is to introduce the emotive foundations of Taiwan's existence to readers who perhaps only ever view the country in geopolitical or geostrategic terms. It helps that this book is co-authored by a Taiwanese national too.
I learnt a lot about Taiwan reading this and thoroughly intend to do more research on the subject.
May 7, 2020
There are some good ideas in the book but it is poorly edited and repetitive.
May 10, 2020
This book attempts to serve as a primer on Taiwan's awkward space in international political and economic relations, with a special focus on its ties with China. The content of this short volume provides a great foundation for anyone interested in the complexities of Taiwan's situation as of late 2019, but the book, in my opinion, suffers from poor editing. Numerous typographical errors and frustrating sentence construction will distract the reader from the overall narrative, and in my opinion took the book down from four stars to three. If you can overlook those elements, I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the delicate balance of Taiwan's geopolitical situation, or who cares to figure out some of the nuance of Taiwan's contested identities.
August 9, 2022
Timely & Important
This was an important and timely read.
I learned a lot about China's relationship with Taiwan.
Would recommend reading this book to learn more about why there is an impending war there right now.
4.4/5
This was an important and timely read.
I learned a lot about China's relationship with Taiwan.
Would recommend reading this book to learn more about why there is an impending war there right now.
4.4/5
December 29, 2019
Short, very contemporary (published 2019) summary of the issues surrounding Taiwan and mostly its relationship with the PRC.
April 15, 2023
Perchè consiglio ai lettori di dedicare un po del loro tempo alla lettura di questo libro?
Mi pare che il titolo di copertina dica a sufficienza per capirlo.
Avevamo parlato di recente di Ucraina, per ovvie ragioni.
Avevamo parlato anche di Cina, perché è noto che per gli analisti di geopolitica la “proxy war”, la guerra per procura, in Ucraina fra Russia e Stati Uniti, non è che un collegamento accidentale, provocato maldestramente da un Putin che si sta suicidando politicamente, con lo scenario ben più importante del vero scontro fra i due colossi ,che si contendono la leadership mondiale : Stati Uniti e Cina.
In questa prospettiva la pietra d’inciampo vera, piena di incognite e di rischi non è l’Ucraina, ma Taiwan.
Chi ha letto i libri di Giada Messetti sulla Cina che trovate già recensiti (http://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com/...
e
https://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com...)
avrà notato che la medesima autrice cita come sinologo accademico di riferimento proprio quel Kerry Brown del King’s College di Londra che ha scritto questo libro.
Leggi di più :
http://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com/...
Mi pare che il titolo di copertina dica a sufficienza per capirlo.
Avevamo parlato di recente di Ucraina, per ovvie ragioni.
Avevamo parlato anche di Cina, perché è noto che per gli analisti di geopolitica la “proxy war”, la guerra per procura, in Ucraina fra Russia e Stati Uniti, non è che un collegamento accidentale, provocato maldestramente da un Putin che si sta suicidando politicamente, con lo scenario ben più importante del vero scontro fra i due colossi ,che si contendono la leadership mondiale : Stati Uniti e Cina.
In questa prospettiva la pietra d’inciampo vera, piena di incognite e di rischi non è l’Ucraina, ma Taiwan.
Chi ha letto i libri di Giada Messetti sulla Cina che trovate già recensiti (http://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com/...
e
https://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com...)
avrà notato che la medesima autrice cita come sinologo accademico di riferimento proprio quel Kerry Brown del King’s College di Londra che ha scritto questo libro.
Leggi di più :
http://gmaldif-pantarei.blogspot.com/...
December 24, 2023
A good dive into the history of how Taiwan came to be. It was written in 2019 so there’s some developments not included obvi but still, it helps me understand how Taiwan is the way it is to day and where major players stand.
Would also recommend knowing a bit more about China’s Mao era before reading this book as it sets a good context of why things are the way they are.
But the book does sound a little too altruistic at times, advocating for Taiwan’s identity.
Would also recommend knowing a bit more about China’s Mao era before reading this book as it sets a good context of why things are the way they are.
But the book does sound a little too altruistic at times, advocating for Taiwan’s identity.
March 7, 2024
Yes, it was dry and academic at times, but this was a comprehensive book on many facets of Taiwan I never considered. Beyond the shared history of the ROC and the PRC, Brown explains the economics and geopolitics. I would have liked a better understanding of why the U.N. and later the Carter Administration switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC, but I suspect the answer was ultimately because it was bigger and had more ways to make money.
Still an enjoyable, educational read.
Still an enjoyable, educational read.
January 3, 2026
For someone looking to get a quick primer into the Taiwan question, this seems like a brilliant starting point. It clearly establishes that the “question” or rather “trouble” as the author puts it, with Taiwan is not of territorial control alone, but that of identity and its perceptions both within the Asian region and on the global front, by nation states and organisations.
February 14, 2023
Plenty of good material in here, but I was hoping for a history of the relationship between the U.S., Taiwan, and China, and, while there is some of that in here, its more of a survey of where Taiwan stands circa 2o19. A bit out of date at this point.
April 18, 2023
Really enjoyed this one, and have read a lot about Taiwan. Touches on defense tangentially, which is refreshing. It instead focuses on more abstract issues (agency, democratization, identity, sovereignty) that make the Taiwan issue so problematic.
February 17, 2024
Thorough analysis marred by clunky writing.
October 7, 2024
A brief, somewhat wonkish, history of Taiwan and it's enduring conflict with "mother" China. Better on history and identity than economics.
December 31, 2021
This obviously is not written with the perspective of pro-independent Taiwanese readers such as myself in mind, but rather for the lay reader who seeks to understand the quandary that Taiwan finds itself in: a nation with its own economy and government yet at the same time not officially recognised as such.
Despite this, it offers an interesting if for me simplistic analysis of the quandary and how this may come to a head should the mainland decide to exert what they perceive to be their right and take Taiwan.
Despite this, it offers an interesting if for me simplistic analysis of the quandary and how this may come to a head should the mainland decide to exert what they perceive to be their right and take Taiwan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews