Island Nation: Then and Now

Reflections on the Story of Taiwan’s Success

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/31
By: William A. Stanton, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer\

When I first arrived in Taiwan in September 1986, I knew of course that the world is always changing, but I never realized how much it would change, and certainly not Taiwan itself. I had already served for two years as a consular officer and then a political officer in the U.S Embassy in war-ravaged Beirut where sporadic fighting continued. My time there bracketed Iran’s taking 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. Thereafter, I spent three years in the State Department largely working on Middle East crises, many involving terrorist attacks including the bombing of our Embassy in Beirut and the kidnappings of Americans, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The U.S. preoccupation with terrorism and the Middle East began in those years.

Except for the widening spread of terrorism, however, in many ways the Middle East has not changed at all. It is still fraught with the same religious and ethnic strife, oppressive governments, and most often even the same rulers or their sons. When I realized this, I did whatever I could to get assigned to another part of the world, and I focused on East Asia where I believed the possibilities for positive development were greatest. Before long, I would in fact see huge changes, both in Taiwan and in the PRC. Both would prosper economically, but only Taiwan would evolve politically into a fully free democracy. It was not an easy process, and there were many threats and missteps along the way. Island Nation (國際橋牌社) tells this unique story in a dramatic series.
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