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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.
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
2024 Japan Military Strength
https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.php?country_id=japan#:~:text=The%20GFP%20index%20denotes%20Japan,0.0000%20is%20considered%20'perfect').
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.
