Scott interviews Gareth Porter about the tenuous and secretive relationship between the U.S., China and Taiwan. Since the Nixon administration, Porter explains, America has had an official, but mostly tacit, policy of supporting the “one China” principle—but U.S. officials rarely say so publicly. This has left an ambiguity surrounding Taiwan’s status, and during the Obama administration one top Taiwan official in particular suddenly broke with America’s longstanding policy of urging the Taiwanese not to push too hard against the mainland Chinese government. This encouragement has helped erode cross-Strait relations in recent years and has made Taiwan a potential hotspot for U.S. involvement in an open conflict with China. Such a conflict between nuclear superpowers, of course, would be utterly disastrous for all mankind.
Discussed on the show:
- “How Washington’s top Taiwan specialist embraced separatist party leader and opened new cross-Strait crisis” (The Grayzone)
- “How a key Pentagon official turned China policy over to arms industry and Taiwan supporters” (The Grayzone)
Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state. He is the author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare and, with John Kiriakou, The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.
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https://youtu.be/AjFBA3oBNUg
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