ABSTRACT
This chapter revisits an old subject from a fresh perspective. It would be difficult to argue that the Nationalist leaders exiled to Taiwan were unenthusiastic about securing their position in the United Nations. Membership in the UN would strengthen the legality and legitimacy of KMT rule in the diminishing territorial domains, boost morale, galvanize worldwide support for its anticommunist cause, and help the Nationalists to achieve their ultimate goal of recovering the lost mainland. A re-examination of this issue leads to interesting observations. It demonstrates how Chiang Kai-shek was perennially caught between nationalism, dogmatism, and idealism on the one hand, and pragmatism and his realistic pursuit of Cold War strategic interests on the other hand. A careful investigation into the issue further suggests that, in the eyes of top Nationalist leaders on Taiwan, UN membership and related controversies were seen not so much as a matter of national survival and dignity, as numerous Cold War scholars have claimed, but rather as a useful tool with which Taipei could manipulate and attain self-interested goals from its American ally.
