Formosa under Chinese Nationalist Rule.

Octavo, gray cloth (hardcover), ix, 195 pp. Very Good, with darkened edges. From Preface: After forty years as a little known Japanese colony the island of Formosa has in recent years become a major focus of Far Eastern international diplomacy and strategy. It has also become a central issue in a long and bitter political wrangle over what should be American policy toward an aggressive Communist-controlled China. Ever since President Truman's dramatic decision in 1950 to "insulate" Formosa from the mainland, public attention has been directed to the island primarily as a stake and a symbol in international politics. Hence discussions about Formosa have often been conducted in symbolic terms. It has been variously described as a bastion against Chinese Communist imperialism, as a showcase for democracy, as the last citadel of Kuomintang reaction, as a vital point in America's Far Eastern defense line, and in similar picturesque but often exaggerated terms. Such phrases, however, tell us little of what the Chinese Nationalist Government is actually doing in Formosa to build up its strength, to correct its former shortcomings, and to improve the lot of the people of the island. The purpose of the present volume is to present a dispassionate account of Chinese Nationalist rule in Formosa since 1945, with emphasis on recent internal developments and current problems. It is based in large part upon Chinese Nationalist sources, together with such other sources as are available, including first-hand reports. It does not aim to be exhaustive, but to give, in as balanced a manner as is possible in an area charged with controversy, a reasonably concise description of the Nationalist Government's record inside Formosa, with an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of its present position. It is issued under the auspices of the American Institute of Pacific Relations in the belief that it fairly presents some of the factors that must be taken into account in understanding the evolution of American poicy toward Nationalist and Communist China. Asian History, China, Chinese History, Japan, Japanese History, Political Science, Communism, Communist bslic.…