Cold War island

About this book

"During the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, the small island of Quemoy or Jinmen in the Taiwan Strait was the front line in the military standoff between Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China and Mao Zedong's People's Republic. Local society and culture were dramatically transformed. Michael Szonyi uses oral history, official documents, and dissident writings to convey the history of the island during this period. In so doing, he sheds light on the social and cultural impact of the Cold War on those who lived through it, as well as on the relationship between China, Taiwan, and the United States at this critical moment. By analyzing the effects of Quemony's distinctive geopolitical situation on the economy, gender and the family, and citizenship and religion, the book provides a new perspective on the social history of the Cold War, showing how geopolitics can affect individual lives and communities"--P. [i].