The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught in Between

As tensions over Taiwan escalate, the United States and China are on the brink of a catastrophic war. To break the impasse, we must understand how it began. In 1943, the Allies declared that Taiwan, occupied by Japan, would return to China at the end of World War II. The Chinese Civil War led to a change of plans. The Communist Party came to power in China, and the defeated Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan, where he enjoyed American protection. The specter of conflict has loomed ever since.

In The fight for TaiwanSulmaan Wasif Khan offers the first comprehensive history of the triangular relationship between the United States, China, and Taiwan, exploring the United States’ ambivalent commitment to Taiwan’s defense, China’s bitterness over separation, and Taiwan’s impressive transformation into a thriving democracy. War is not inevitable, Khan shows, but to avoid it, policymakers must heed the lessons of the past.