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Did you know that when the United Nations voted to admit “Red China” in 1971, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan called up President Richard Nixon and suggested that the United States quit the UN and become an “observer” in protest?
To some, Reagan was and is controversial, but when it comes to support for the Republic of China (Taiwan), there is no debate: Reagan thought Nixon and – especially Carter – were wrong to “throw a loyal friend overboard.”
Reagan came to Taiwan twice. The first time, in 1971, he was here as a reluctant envoy of Nixon on a mission to try and calm the fears of CKS over Nixon’s upcoming meeting with Mao in Beijing. During the second visit, as a private citizen in 1978, Reagan met with leader-in-waiting Chiang Ching-kuo and went back to the US full of praise for a modernizing Taiwan.
When President Carter switched diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing, Reagan stated that the US didn’t get enough out of it. He pointed out that China was the “supplicant,” and therefore in a position of weakness, and Reagan said that the precedent of betraying a friend would not be forgotten by other friends of the US.
--Maybe he had a point.
Check out our other podcast about books: Bookish Asia.
Cover photo: California Gov. Ronald Reagan meets ROC President Chiang Kai-shek at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 10, 1971. (The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute) Photo colorized by AI/Eryk Michael Smith.
Audio clips of former US President Reagan's radio addresses from when he served as the governor of California come from THIS LINK.
READ/LISTEN: Richard Nixon and Ronald W. Reagan on 26 October 1971. Eryk and John attempted to recreate some of the conversation between President Nixon and California Governor Reagan in this episode. You can hear and read the entire conversation by clicking on the link above. Via University of Virginia.
Editor’s note: In 2019, thanks to the efforts of Timothy J. Naftali, former chair of the Presidential Recordings Program and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, the National Archives and Records Administration restored previously excised portions of this tape, including a six-second segment formerly withheld as “private.” As Naftali wrote in The Atlantic, that segment included racist comments by then California governor Ronald Reagan.
Below: California Gov. Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan visiting the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, in October 1971. (The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.)
Below: Ron Reagan, 13, joins his father, California Gov. Ronald Reagan, in the time-honored political tradition of working the crowd as they arrive at the Taipei military airport. Gov. Reagan was in Taiwan as President Richard Nixon's representative to Nationalist China's National Day celebration.
Below: Ronald Reagan is no stranger to the Republic of China. One of his visits was in 1971 as an envoy of the U. S president. He met with Chiang Ching-kuo, then the Premier and now the Republic of China's President. (File photo) Via Taiwan Today, Publication Date: January 01, 1981.
"I’ve always believed that people only get into trouble when they are talking about each other, not talking to each other," quote from Reagan in interview with Chinese media below. More context: Reagan visited China in late April, 1984, the first president since Nixon in 1972. This interview took place before the trip.
WATCH: President Reagan's Interview with Chinese Media on April 16, 1984
2022: "The military structure in Japan is not categorized as an army, but as self-defense forces, but it ranks fifth in the global firepower standings between India and South Korea. Established in 1954, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) has a pacifist nature in line with Article 9 of the Constitution rejecting the use of war to settle disputes. It includes some 250,000 active personnel and 60,000 others in reserve." Via Anadolu News Agency
As mentioned in this episode, Japan has strengthened its Self-Defense Forces significantly since the 1980s. The graphic below roughly illustrates the firepower Japan controls, despite not technically having a "military." (Via FreePik/year unknown)
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The Power Index (PwrIndx) is a numerical score representing a country’s military prowess.
A lower PwrIndx score indicates a stronger military. Hence, a perfect PwrIndex value would be 0.000, which the GFP says is realistically unattainable.
This unique scoring system considers many factors, including the quantity and capability of military units, financial resources allocated to defense, logistical capabilities, geographical factors, and more.
Global Firepower, a website dedicated to monitoring defense-related information on a global scale, lists Japan in 7th place in its 2024 Military Strength list. The table below presents the top 10 most powerful countries globally. (Via PW.live)
| Rank | Nation | Power Index | Total Military Personnel (est) | Military Spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 0.0699 | 2,127,500 | $831 billion |
| 2 | Russia | 0.0702 | 3,570,000 | $109.0 billion |
| 3 | China | 0.0706 | 3,170,000 | $227 billion |
| 4 | India | 0.1023 | 5,137,550 | $74.0 billion |
| 5 | South Korea | 0.1416 | 3,820,000 | $44.7 billion |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 0.1443 | 1,108,860 | $62.8 billion |
| 7 | Japan | 0.1601 | 328,150 | $53 billion |
| 8 | Turkey | 0.1697 | 883,900 | $40.0 billion |
| 9 | Pakistan | 0.1711 | 1,704,000 | $6.3 billion |
| 10 | Italy | 0.1863 | 289,000 | $31.6 billion |
Info on: 2024 Japan Military Strength
Check out our other podcast about books: Bookish Asia.
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
