Strait Talk: US-Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China

University of Pennsylvania's Center for East Asian Studies presents a talk by Nancy Tucker on the nature of US commitments to Taiwan, the intentions of critical actors, the impact of democracy, the role of lobbying, and the accelerating difficulty of balancing Taiwan against China.

Nancy Tucker, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

At a time when Taiwan and China have been signing accords and Americans are distracted with economic crises, terrorism and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US government and the American public are paying little attention to Taiwan. This is dangerous. Only a Taiwan Strait clash could plunge Americans into a war with a nuclear-armed great power. This talk will explore the history of mistrust between Washington and Taipei as they try to cope with China, and show how the lack of trust makes peaceful resolution of cross-Strait disputes more difficult. Nancy Bernkopf Tucker will explore the nature of US commitments to Taiwan, the intentions of critical actors, the impact of democracy, the role of lobbying, and the accelerating difficulty of balancing Taiwan against China.