by Brian Hioe
語言:
English
Photo Credit: Book Cover
ON THE BRINK: A Military History of Taiwan by Eric Setzekorn is a well-researched history of the Taiwanese military. As Setzekorn notes, the work fills an existing gap in the literature. If there are any number of political histories of Taiwan, or of cross-strait conflict, there are few military histories of Taiwan.
Setzekorn’s view of history, then, proves insightful–as well as runs counter to some of the fantasies about Taiwanese military history that prevail today. Rather than seeing the KMT during the Cold War as some paragon of military preparedness, Setzekorn finds that the military became a corrupt and ineffective institution under KMT rule. He attributes this to Chiang Ching-kuo, as Chiang Kai-shek’s heir apparent, prioritizing political control over operational efficiency. In fact, those who were too effective as leaders, such as General Sun Li-jen, found themselves liable to be seen as political threats.
To this extent, the military came to be increasingly associated with KMT authoritarian rule, falling out of favor with the public as Taiwanese identity continued to be on the rise across past decades. In the meantime, the military clung to outmoded Chinese nationalism, rather than reorienting itself around defending contemporary Taiwan. Graft scandals such as the 1990s Lafayette frigate purchase, as well as the deaths of military cadets under unclear circumstances, or the killing of Vietnamese refugees on the Lieyu islands and the attempt to cover up the killings, served to highlight the military’s being out of step with the democratic public.
Setzekorn, then, largely has a positive evaluation of reforms conducted under the Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian periods to reshape the military and its role in a changing society. Setzhekorn also provides a useful gloss on more recent history, pertaining to defense reforms in the last decade.
But, in this sense, Setzekorn’s book is strong when it comes to evaluating the circulation of different operational concepts through Taiwanese history, as reflective of Taiwan’s changing political landscape. Setzekorn’s command of the material, as well as of Taiwan’s political history as it interrelates with specifically political history, is impressive.
On the Brink does accomplish its task of filling a much-needed gap, then. Though its final chapter does not venture into discussing blockade scenarios, but primarily invasion scenarios for Taiwan, when blockade scenarios are increasingly discussed for Taiwan. While he does note that China has had the capacity to blockade Taiwan for decades, this proves a minor flaw in a comprehensive and instructive overview that offers many lessons for the present.