Abstract

The island of Taiwan has remained—with the exception of the brief French campaign of 1884-85—relatively untouched by European exploits in East Asia. A Japanese colony between 1895 and 1945, it then became the refuge of the nationalist government in 1949. It owes its westernization to the Americans who supported its political status and economic development during the 1960s and 1970s. Europe's present interest in Taiwan is influenced by two factors, namely the European allegiance to Beijing (only the Vatican accords diplomatic recognition to the Republic of China in Taiwan today) and the Taiwanese economic miracle which has made possible the island's integration into the international economic system. The links between Europe and Taiwan are therefore newly-developed and essentially commercial and non-official in nature. To rethink the Europe-Taiwan relationship, it is necessary to highlight these somewhat tenuous links and, at the same time, assess the extent of their success and failure and investigate their durability and significance.

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