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The United States Congress And The Sino-us Relations (1949-1979) - A Case Study

Posted on:2004-12-15Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:H Y XuFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360095462692Subject:International relations
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
This paper attempts to redress the role of U.S. Congress in contemporary China policy. It offers case studies on five central issues of U.S. China policy (1949-1979) which Congress directly intervened: 1. The Congress' stance on China in the period during the founding of the People's Republic of China. The first part examines its stance and statements on China: advocacy of continued assistance for Chiang Kaishek, demands of military protection of Taiwan, and opposition to recognizing the new China. The second part analyzes U.S. Congress members' motives of supporting Chiang and opposing the CCP. The third part evaluates the role of U.S.Congress in China policy at that time----an extraordinarily important role, but not an entirely dominant one. 2. The reasons why U.S. Congress approved the Formosa Resolution during the Taiwan Strait confrontation of 1954-55 are: the anti-Communist atmosphere caused by the Cold War, McCarthyism and the Korea War. Both Eisenhower and Dulles made efforts to maintain strong bipartisan support in Congress, some Congressmen felt that supporting the president was their best choice, etc. The passage of the Resolution resulted in further loss of power balance in President-Congress relations.3. The background of the Fulbright hearings. The social background is: during the first half of 1960s, both U.S. public opinion and government policy towards China tended to be thawing and more flexible. The intentions of Fulbright to organize the hearings were to avoid war between U.S. and China, to have the Congress and the public to get to know China better, and to extend the power of Congress in foreign policy making, etc.4. The Congress' knowledge of China during the mid-period of 1970s, and its opinion of the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China. During this period, like "an invisible hand", U.S.Congress affected the government's policy-making towards China. The passage of Taiwan Relations Act. The paper reminds us that although the executive branch of the US government has primary responsibility for the conduct of foreign affairs, the American system of checks-and-balances makes it very difficult5. indeed for any administration to sustain an unpopular foreign policy. This is particularly true in cases such as Taiwan. By doing so, the author will be able to put forward some notions about U.S.Congress' role in policy towards China. The author believes that while it is important to assess the role of U.S.Congress in China policy, it is even more important to understand why Congress is playing that role. Such studies will lead to a better understanding of not only the role Congress has played but also to a better capacity to anticipate its role in future U.S.policy towards China.
Keywords/Search Tags:The US Congress, The US Government's China Policy, Case Study, Role, Reasons
PDF Full Text Request
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