Taiwan: Nation-State or Province?

by John F. Copper

In the fourth edition of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? Professor Copper examines Taiwan’s geography and history, society and culture, economy, political system, and foreign and security policies in the context of Taiwan’s uncertain political status: whether a sovereign nation or a province of the People’s Republic of China. Copper argues that Taiwan’s very rapid and successful democratization suggests Taiwan should be independent and separate from China, while increasingly important economic links between Taiwan and China say the opposite. Copper argues that while Washington and Beijing exacerbate the problem by espousing opposing policies regarding resolution of the “Taiwan issue.” This book pursues the theme of Taiwan’s unique status and seeks to gauge its future as one of the world’s vortex political entities.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

John Franklin Copper

Reviews

[cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copper presents a solid overview of Taiwan, its history, culture, politics and trajectory. If you are looking for a substantial and factual look at the island, this is a good place to start. The writing has an unfortunate tendency to plod, as Copper seems to often be merely relating facts and not necessarily telling a story. That makes the sections on economics and geography particularly excrutiating. There is also the problem of bias, as Copper seems to nearly be a Kuomintang appologist. Democratization is attributed to Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's dastardliness is dramatically played down, and the "White Terror" is not mentioned in the book at all. Thus, in some ways, the historical account doesn't gel with what many in Taiwan would tell you actually happened over the last 20-30 years. Regardless, this is still one of the most complete pictures of the island that you will find.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative historical overview which poses possible scenarios for the future of the island. Ie; will they declare independence, or officially join with China? Copper makes the latter seem like a bad idea, as the territorial gain will not strengthen China's status internationally, and it will almost assuredly result in a drastic downturn economically and otherwise for Taiwan. The past few decades have seen Taiwan evolve into a cosmopolitan and "western influenced" globalized place, whereas China has not "kept up" in this regard.

[Rooop Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many interesting facts about Taiwan in it, The author is not purely neutral, but good enough to allow him to write a decent good book that are fact-based. If you are looking for facts about Taiwan, this is a good book to go to.