The Struggle for Taiwan

A History

De: Sulmaan Wasif Khan

Narrado por: Austin Yang

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the overwhelming chaos across Asia at the end of the Second World War, one relatively minor issue was the future of the Japanese colony of Taiwan, a large island some one hundred miles off the coast of Fujian. Handed to the Kuomintang-ruled Republic of China, in 1949 it suddenly became the focus of global attention as a random cross-section of defeated nationalists, including President Chiang Kai-shek, fled there from Mao's triumphant Communist forces.

The Struggle for Taiwan is a balanced and convincing account of the sequence of events that has left Taiwan for generations as a political anomaly, with issues around its status and future continuing to threaten war. With deepening democratization, Taiwan further goads Beijing, remaining functionally independent from China even as Xi Jinping clamours for unification.

This invaluable book allows listeners to understand the complex story of this unique place and its role in international relations. With its striking economic dynamism and commitment to democracy, can Taiwan continue - as Hong Kong once did - to thrive, or will China conquer it? And will the world be able to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait or will it stumble into war?

©2024 Sulmaan Wasif Khan (P)2024 Penguin Audio

A master class in viewing history through the prism of the present

I’m really disappointed in this book. The author lacks the courage (or, perhaps, an adequate understanding) to elaborate on how the quest for independence has developed from a cause championed by a small minority to a position favored by the majority—at least, in theory. Listening to this book, one is left with the wrong and historically inaccurate impression that the people on Taiwan had always viewed themselves as a separate nation. I would have been more interested in a narrative that explored the complexities and the inherent contradictions of the Taiwan story, rather than a regurgitation of—from a Western perspective— politically correct views. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this book in good faith.