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Lu Hsiu-lien s journey is the story of Taiwan. Through her successive drives for gender equality, human rights, political reform, Taiwan independence, and, currently, environmental protection, Lu has played a key role in Taiwan s evolution from dictatorship to democracy. The election in 2000 of Democratic Progressive Party leader Chen Shui-bian to the presidency, with Lu as his vice president, ended more than fifty years of rule by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party). Taiwan s painful struggle for democratization is dramatized here in the life of Lu, a feminist leader and pro-democracy advocate who was imprisoned for more than five years in the 1980s. Unlike such famous Asian women politicians as Burma s Aung San Suu Kyi, India s Indira Gandhi, and Pakistan s Benazir Bhutto, Lu Hsiu-lien grew up in a family without political connections. Her impoverished parents twice attempted to give her away for adoption, and as an adult she survived cancer and imprisonment, later achieving success as an elected politician the first self-made woman to serve with such prominence in Asia. My Fight for a New Taiwan s rich narrative gives readers an insider's perspective on Taiwan s unique blend of Chinese and indigenous culture and recent social transformation.

A well-known observer of Taiwan and Asian history and culture provides an insightful biography of Lee Teng Hui, the pro-democracy statesman and former president of the Republic of China. As head of the Taiwanese government from 1988 to 2000, Lee managed, without violence or major civil unrest, to reform the authoritarian state into a constitutional democracy with a multi-party political system. This examination of Lee's success puts to rest the idea that Asian values support only authoritarian regimes and reject human rights and political democracy in favor of economic success and military power. Richard C. Kagan describes in rich detail Lee's struggle to reinvent Taiwan's culture and political system by advocating an independent sovereign nation with universal values of human rights, democracy, freedom, and economic justice. His book offers new insights into the role Lee played in the still volatile Taiwan Strait crisis and how Lee's diplomatic skills used the crisis to break free of the \"One China\" straitjacket of the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972 while avoiding open warfare with the People's Republic of China. The author argues that Taiwan is a vital part of America's national security interests in Asia and that the loss of Taiwan to Mainland China would seriously damage American economic and military power in Asia. He calls Lee's life a beacon for people looking for new ways to promote democracy and sovereignty and intends this biography of Lee's life to highlight the statesman's significant contributions, until now little known or misunderstood in the United States and Europe.

The book is an account of Taiwan's evolving national consciousness told through the biography of its former President Lee Teng-hui - the central figure in the island's political transformation over the past two decades. In describing the broader historical and social context of the various stages of Lee's life, the book also analyzes Taiwan's own evolution during the past century as a Japanese colony, a Leninist party-state dictatorship, and then an American-inspired fledgling democracy. The book explores such questions as: Is Lee Teng-hui an opportunistic recidivist who is interested only in his own self-preservation, or is he a hero who not only propelled Taiwan into a new era, but also constructed a new national identity for the islanders? Are the multi-ethnic islanders culturally 'Chinese' or are they 'Taiwanese'? Is Taiwan historically and politically part of 'China' or does it have its own history and identity, and deserves international recognition as an independent sovereign country?

No one in the twentieth century had a greater impact on world history than Deng Xiaoping. And no scholar is better qualified than Ezra Vogel to disentangle the contradictions embodied in the life and legacy of China’s boldest strategist—the pragmatic, disciplined force behind China’s radical economic, technological, and social transformation.

Lee Teng-hui, president of Taiwan from 1988 to 2000, played an important role in launching the widespread nationalism in Taiwan today. Since the end of his presidency, Lee has pushed very hard for a separate Taiwan nation, but during his terms of office he moved very cautiously and only announced his “special state-to-state” relationship to describe Taiwan's relations with China after China repeatedly refused to negotiate. Although Lee's efforts at democratization have received widespread affirmation in Taiwan, his efforts in creating Taiwan nationalism have proven more controversial.

After more than half a century's authoritative leadership of the Kuomintang government, the Democratic Progressive Party took control of the leadership of Taiwan for nearly 8 years. The profound influence of Chiang's family on Taiwan's people cannot be reduced, even though the Pan-green Coalition resorts to coercive measures. Chiang Ching Kuo succeeded his father, the most influential personage of the Kuomintang government (Chiang Kai Shek's power) serving as political leader of the Republic of China for 10 years. Under his tenure, which left him a reverend leader in the Taiwanese people's minds, the government became much more open and tolerant of political dissent. The Life Journey of Chiang Ching Kuo traces back the whole life of this esteemed leader, starting from the beginning of his political life to his leadership over Taiwan. The life journey of Chiang Ching Kuo is presented to the audience through precious photos and interviews with historical evidence in the programme -- Chi Kao Ru, Personal Secretary of Chiang Ching Kuo; Wang Tzo Yung, the Chief of the Control Yuan; Ma Yin Jeo, the former Mayor of Taipei, etc.

Lee Teng-hui and Taiwan's Quest for Identity by Shih-Shan Henry Tsai is reviewed.