The Johnson Administration's Policy Toward Taiwan

During the Lyndon B. Johnson period, it appeared that America's policy toward China did not experience any dramatic change, with its basic tone remaining what the US government had been doing since the founding of the People's Republic China—a policy characterized by containment and overall blockade. However, as far as the motivations underlying the policy are concerned, the Johnson Administration's attitudes toward China, serving as a transitional stage between Kennedy's "opening the door slightly" policy and Nixon's strategic decision to pursue rapprochement with China, experienced a series of subtle yet significant changes. In the mid and late 1960s, under the impact of the domestic and international situations facing US policymakers, America's traditional policy of containing China increasingly caused suspicion and criticism. In the meantime, the arguments for improving relations with China gradually emerged as the mainstream in American public opinion. As a result, the need to reexamine US policy toward China received more and more attention of policymakers in Washington, occupying a new position in the Johnson Administration's agenda. In 1966, the policy of "containment without isolation" was introduced, which clearly indicated American policymakers' efforts to reevaluate their policy toward China.All of this was inevitably revealed in the discussion and debate in Washington concerning America's China policy. In making and implementing policy toward China, US policymakers and those who tried to influence the decisionmaking process would have to answer a crucial question, that is, how to deal with America's relations with Taiwan or the "Republic of China"? At that time, Taiwan served as an important base of logistical support for America's military operations in Indochina; Washington and Taiwan also shared the same ideology. Many Americans believed that US security commitments to Taiwan formed an important part of America's global strategic network. However, the Johnson Administration also had many differences and even contradictions with Jiang Jieshi's regime. In particular, Washington was eager to deter a variety of "risky" actions by Taiwan as a "troublemaker," so that the US would not involve in a direct military confrontation with China. US-Taiwan relations during the Johnson period, therefore, were subtle and complex.