Filmmaker Will Tiao addresses one of the thorniest balancing acts in global politics: the role of Taiwan in U.S. relations with China. The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation, and maintains a “One-China” policy. But the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, passed after the U.S. established diplomatic relations with Beijing, pledges to help defend the island if it is attacked by China. Tiao discusses the history behind these relations, and Taiwan’s importance to global politics. How do the people of Taiwan negotiate this complex web of history, language, and politics on a daily basis?
Co-sponsored by the Transformation Team of First Parish in Cambridge and the Taiwanese Association of America/Boston
Recorded 10/9/2013