Browse by Program & Issue

The Dragon and the Raptor
The Washington Times
by Richard Fisher, Jr.

Published on September 12th, 1999
A serious aerial confrontation between China and Taiwan that has been under way since mid-July serves to underscore America's need for the Lockheed/Martin F-22 Raptor next-generation air superiority fighter.

A Fighter Essential to Air Superiority
Washington Post, Letter to the Editor
by Richard Fisher, Jr.

Published on April 12th, 2004

Multipolarity: Be Careful What You Wish For
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on October 5th, 2004
The report of the Japan Council on Security and Defense has hit the media today. According to the Financial Times the official panel of “wise men” recommended that “Japan should respond to the changing threats to its security by reshaping its defence capabilities and possibly acquiring the technology for pre-emptive strikes against foreign missile bases.” It also called for redefining “its security alliance with the US.”

What really lies ahead for Europe?
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on September 30th, 2004
The “Europe” that periodically surfaces in the presidential campaign is really a foil, a creation of the American imagination—whether its governments are seen as ingrates, as in much of the Bush camp, or sophisticates, as with Kerry.

“Overheated” China? Keep the Champagne in the Fridge
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on October 6th, 2004
Two of the most astute students of the contemporary Chinese economy are Morris Goldstein and Nicholas Lardy of the Institute for International Economics. Amidst optimistic assessments that China’s economy will gradually settle into a pattern of sustainable growth—or make a “soft landing” as it is usually put—their advice in the Financial Times is to hold the Champagne. What follows is stimulated by their excellent article, though I must make clear that most of the analysis is mine, not theirs, and they may well disagree with some or even all of it. In any case . . .

Plotting China's Democractic Path
The Asian Age
by Madhuri S. Sondhi

Published on September 1st, 2004
Is China headed towards a democratic future? Is perestroika without glasnost the best method for unravelling totalitarianism? Can China whitewash her past, and is her present what engagement advocates wistfully imagine it to be? These are some of the questions raised by Bruce Gilley, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, now researcher at Princeton (China’s Democratic Future: How It Will Happen and Where It Will Lead by Bruce Gilley, Columbia University Press, NY 2004). His answers aim to be both realistic and optimistic, that yes, China can make it to democracy: indeed, he fervently desires and believes so on the basis of a persistent democratic undercurrent running through modern Chinese history. Finally, he outlines a possible scenario for its future attainment.

China's Power Struggle
Wall Street Journal
by John Tkacik, Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on August 13th, 2004
At a meeting of the Chinese Politburo late last month, President Hu Jintao informed the comrades around the table that, "if national defense construction is not done well, a secure environment for economic construction can hardly be assured." Economic reform, it seems, is no longer the "central task" of the party.

Taiwan's Sovereignty Dilemma
Straits Times
by Chao Chien-min

Published on October 6th, 2004
To allay China's fury over his private trip to Taiwan this summer before becoming Singapore's Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong said his country will not support Taiwan should it declare formal independence from mainland China. Indeed, no country, declared Mr Lee, will take a different line.

Pondering Jiang's career
The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

Published on September 26th, 2004
Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, whom I, among other students of China, had predicted would fight to retain his political role, has now, evidently, gone quietly, by resigning his powerful position as chairman of the party military commission.

Back to Basics: The US Perspective on Taiwan-PRC Relations
in Crisis in the Taiwan Strait, (NDU Press)
by Arthur Waldron, Ph.D

edited by James Lilley and Chuck Downs

Published on September 1st, 1997
It is now 25 years since Richard Nixon’s announcement that he would visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In that time everything, and nothing, has changed. With respect to American relations with the PRC, change has been near total in most dimensions. But, despite some alterations in protocol, things have changed relatively little with respect to Taiwan -- certainly less than was expected in the 1970s. Taiwan and mainland China are still two distinct political regimes (and they are gowing more distinct) and neither shows any sign of packing up. Most importantly, as the March 1996 Strails crisis -- with its echoes of 1958 -- reminded all, the United States still has a strong security relationship with Taiwan.