American Justice In Taiwan: The 1957 Riots And Cold War Foreign Policy (studies In Conflict Diplomacy Peace)
by Stephen G. Craft /
2015 / English / PDF
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On May 23, 1957, US Army Sergeant Robert Reynolds was acquitted of
murdering Chinese officer Liu Ziran in Taiwan. Reynolds did not
deny shooting Liu but claimed self-defense and, like all members of
US military assistance and advisory groups, was protected under
diplomatic immunity. Reynolds's acquittal sparked a series of riots
across Taiwan that became an international crisis for the
Eisenhower administration and raised serious questions about the
legal status of US military forces positioned around the
world.
On May 23, 1957, US Army Sergeant Robert Reynolds was acquitted of
murdering Chinese officer Liu Ziran in Taiwan. Reynolds did not
deny shooting Liu but claimed self-defense and, like all members of
US military assistance and advisory groups, was protected under
diplomatic immunity. Reynolds's acquittal sparked a series of riots
across Taiwan that became an international crisis for the
Eisenhower administration and raised serious questions about the
legal status of US military forces positioned around the
world.
In
InAmerican Justice in Taiwan
American Justice in Taiwan, author Stephen G. Craft
provides the first comprehensive study of the causes and
consequences of the Reynolds trial and the ensuing protests. After
more than a century of what they perceived as unfair treaties
imposed by Western nations, the Taiwanese regarded the special
legal status of resident American personnel with extreme distrust.
While Eisenhower and his advisers considered Taiwan to be a vital
ally against Chinese communism, the US believed that the Taiwanese
government had instigated the unrest in order to protest the
verdict and demand legal jurisdiction over GIs. Regardless, the
events that transpired in 1957 exposed the enormous difficulty of
applying the US's Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) across
cultures.
, author Stephen G. Craft
provides the first comprehensive study of the causes and
consequences of the Reynolds trial and the ensuing protests. After
more than a century of what they perceived as unfair treaties
imposed by Western nations, the Taiwanese regarded the special
legal status of resident American personnel with extreme distrust.
While Eisenhower and his advisers considered Taiwan to be a vital
ally against Chinese communism, the US believed that the Taiwanese
government had instigated the unrest in order to protest the
verdict and demand legal jurisdiction over GIs. Regardless, the
events that transpired in 1957 exposed the enormous difficulty of
applying the US's Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) across
cultures.
Employing meticulous research from both Western and Chinese
archives, Craft demonstrates that the riots were only anti-American
in that the Taiwanese rejected the UCMJ, the affording of
diplomatic immunity to occupying US forces, and the military
courts' interpretation of self-defense. His compelling study
provides a new lens through which to examine US–Taiwan relations in
the 1950s, US policy in Asia, and the incredibly charged and
complex question of the legal status of US troops on foreign soil.
Employing meticulous research from both Western and Chinese
archives, Craft demonstrates that the riots were only anti-American
in that the Taiwanese rejected the UCMJ, the affording of
diplomatic immunity to occupying US forces, and the military
courts' interpretation of self-defense. His compelling study
provides a new lens through which to examine US–Taiwan relations in
the 1950s, US policy in Asia, and the incredibly charged and
complex question of the legal status of US troops on foreign soil.