Does the USA begrudge China a Pacific possession of its own? Taiwan lies just 155 miles off their coast. By contrast, Guam and Hawaii lie outside the US 200 mile nautical boundary by sundry thousand miles.
Taiwan is eight times closer to China than Puerto Rico is to the US continent, and half again as close as Alaska.
China does not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan. It was to the Island of Formosa that the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek retreated from the Communist advance. They took with them China’s royal treasures and China’s aristocrats, who with the protection of foreign diplomatic circles, could thumb their noses at Mao’s revolution. The People’s Republic of China has always vowed to recover the renegade region.
Is the US in any position to say that China should not have its Formosa? Imagine if China were to offer to arm Catalina Island.
But Catalina Island belongs to Mexico, I believe?
So does Pike’s Peak but who’s keeping score anymore?
According to the Reagan Doctrine anyplace in the world belongs to the U.S. and those nations weak enough to be persuaded to vote “our” way in the Security Council and General Assembly Like Spain and Britain.
And Taiwan.
you’re right, it would seem that US protectionism of Taiwan is hypocritical given its proximity to China. However, to say that Chang Kai Shek brought only the aristocrats is incorrect, there were many a ‘intelligensia’ who fled Communist China. An while Taiwan was once a part of China, its people do not wish to rejoin the continent, at least from what I understand. If Taiwan is to re-aquisitioned I hope it can be done peaceably.