The Struggle for Taiwan: Sulmaan Wasif Khan of Tufts University on his new book

Sinica Podcast

Kaiser Kuo

Culture, China News, Hangzhou, Chinese, International Relations, Chongqing, Beijing, Sichuan, Currentaffairs, China, Politics, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, China Economy, News, China Politics, Business, Film, Shenzhen

4.8 • 676 Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2024

⏱️ 107 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on Sinica, I chat with Sulmaan Wasif Khan, professor of history and international relations at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, about his book The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between, which comes on May 14.

4:28 — The Cairo Agreement

6:59 — General George Marshall, George Kennan, and the change in the idea of American trusteeship of Taiwan?

17:08 — The debate over the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu

23:55 — Mao’s evolving interest in Taiwan

27:49 — The averted crisis of 1962

32:06 — Peng Ming-min and the Taiwan independence movement

37:14 — What changed in 1971?

42:51 — The legacy of Chiang Ching-kuo

45:14 — The story of Lee Teng-hui

52:37 — The change within the Kuomintang

1:00:11 — Why Taiwan has become “sacred” for China

1:10:26 — Sulmaan’s own narrative shift

1:13:26 — Chen Shui-bian and the threat of independence referendums

1:17:53 — The Sunflower Movement

1:25:21 — The causal direction of Taiwan’s importance in the U.S.-China relationship

1:28:32 — Why the status quo shifted

1:30:51 — Drawing parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine

1:33:26 — Sulmaan’s sources for his book

1:35:38 — Agency versus structure

1:39:29 — Feedback (so far) on the new book and what’s next for Sulmaan

Recommendations:

Sulmaan: Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad

Kaiser: The “My China Priors” series (and other essays), available on the Sinica Substack; Angus Stewart’s essay, “Alien Bless You: A Review of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Audible brings your wildest adventures to life, delivering heart-pounding thrills at the touch
0:05.8	of a button.
0:07.0	Take Richard Osmond's The Thursday Murder Club, where four retirees turned amateur sleuths
0:11.8	solve crimes in the most unexpected ways, brilliantly performed by Leslie Manville.
0:17.1	Ready to unleash your adventure aside, from pulse racing suspense to epic quests, from supernatural
0:22.6	chills to far-off romances, every story comes alive through world-class narration.
0:28.5	Explore exclusive audible originals, chart-topping new releases, and unforgettable bestsellers
0:34.4	that transport you from the very first word, because the next great
0:38.2	adventure is just a listener way.
0:40.8	Start your free 30-day trial at audible.com slash Wondery, UK.
0:45.6	That's audible.com slash Wondery, UK.
0:49.5	Hey, folks, I wanted to pass along a terrific job opportunity at the Carter Center for someone
0:56.4	with China experience and good writing, analytical, and communication skills.
1:01.4	The Carter Center is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization founded in 1982 in Atlanta
1:07.8	by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalind, in partnership with
1:12.9	Emory University. The Center has helped to improve millions of lives in more than 80 countries
1:17.9	by waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope. For decades, this has included
1:24.5	programming to wage peace between the United States and China.
1:28.3	The Office of the Vice President for Peace Programs at the Carter Center is hiring a senior
1:35.3	program associate to design, implement, and manage its portfolio of China-focused projects.
1:41.3	They will work with the Center's Senior Advisor on China, Dr. Yawei Liu,
1:46.4	by editing the U.S.-China Perception Monitor,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kaiser Kuo, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Kaiser Kuo and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.