ABSTRACT
The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was a response to a shift in United States (US) China policy that went too far and hurt Taiwan. Jimmy Carter changed US China policy drastically from the way it had evolved under previous administrations in several ways. Granting formal recognition—a "breakthrough," it was called—was thought to be desirable by the Carter Administration. It was, but it should have been done carefully and at the right time, taking a number of factors into consideration. Carter also changed US policy: from a two-China to a one-China policy. Carter's domestic advisors clamored for a foreign policy victory; it was badly needed, they perceived, in view of Carter's flagging image and popularity. Congress wrote the TRA in many respects to reestablish America's pre-normalization policy and correct what it considered were President Carter's mistakes. The Carter Administration's China policy overrated strategic problems, the China card, and American weaknesses.
