新书：《海峽儀式：中國、台灣、美國和台海危機，1954-1958》

书名：Strait Rituals

China, Taiwan, and the United States in the Taiwan Strait Crises, 1954–1958

作者：Pang Yang Huei

出版社：香港大学出版社

出版社时间：March 2019
页数：336 pages

本书简介：

The two Taiwan Strait crises took place during a particularly tense period of the Cold War. Although each incident was relatively brief, their consequences loom large. Based on analyses of newly available documents from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington, Pang Yang Huei challenges conventional wisdom that claims Sino-US misperceptions of each other’s strategic concerns were critical in the 1950s. He underscores the fact that Washington, Taipei, and Beijing were actually aware of one another’s strategic intentions during the crises. He also demonstrates conclusively that both “crises” can be understood as a transformation from tacit communication to tacit accommodation.

An important contribution of this study is a better understanding of the role of ritual, symbols, and gestures in international relations. While it is true that these two crises resulted in a stalemate, the fact that all parties were able to cultivate talks and negotiations brought relations, especially between the US and China, to a new and more stable level. Simply averting the threat of war was a major achievement.

Strait Rituals is an important micro-history of a significant moment during the Cold War and a rich interpretation of the theoretical use of multiple points of view in writing history. It sets a new standard for understanding China’s place in the world.

作者简介：

Dr Pang Yang Huei joined SUTD in 2012. Previously, he has taught at various local schools. In addition, he had a stint at the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College. His PhD is from NUS, while his MA and BA (Hons) are from NTU (NIE). His education is sponsored by a couple of scholarships and various kinds of bursaries. Having finished one, at the moment, he is working on his second and third book. One examines the role of the PRC at the denouement of the Vietnam War. The other covers East Asia nuclear weapons and energy development