ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 examines US states and municipalities’ relations with Taiwan Province and Taiwanese cities from 1949 to 1978. It argues that economic interests alone did not drive their engagement with Taiwan. Instead, their relations also encompassed ideational aspects, such as anti-communist convictions and support for Taiwan as Free China. This support became particularly crucial in the 1970s, when the Nixon administration initiated a rapprochement with China and the Carter administration decided to recognize the PRC. In order to frustrate Washington’s China strategy, the ROC regime actively cultivated subnational exchanges with the US, particularly with President Carter’s home-state Georgia and hometown, Plains. While such efforts failed to prevent the establishment of US diplomatic relations with the PRC, they did set the stage for an intense China-Taiwan competition for the hearts and minds of local communities across the United States after 1978.
