Dilemmas of American Policy towards Formosa

Extract

America's policy towards Formosa has come under fire in recent months from all three groups of Chinese. The Nationalists and the Communists alike share the heritage that China is one state; some of the facts of international life, however, have given American policy a preference for accepting two Chinas in the world. The apparent American support for the Formosan independence movement is favoured neither by Peking nor Taipei. On the other hand the native Formosans criticise the contradictions and indecisions of American policy which, they say, encourages their democratic liberal movements, but at the same time helps Chiang Kai-shek to stay in office.