Need to back Chiang Kai-shek dictated US policy

For most of the cold war, US policy on China was dictated by the need to support Chiang Kai-shek and his Republic of China government in Taiwan.

From his retreat to Taiwan in 1949 until his death in April 1975, his principal policy was the reconquest of the mainland, which he could only achieve with US military support. But he was adamantly opposed to the use of nuclear weapons to achieve this.

On June 26, 1950, one day after the outbreak of the Korean war, he expressed strong support for South Korea and sent three divisions to fight on its side. But, as soon as he heard that president Harry Truman was considering a nuclear attack, he was strongly opposed. 'It will not be effective and bring catastrophe to the nation,' he noted in his diary.

He made a similar diary entry on October 20, 1954; commenting on discussions by the US Air Force of a nuclear attack on China. He said that it would have 'an unfavourable influence on the hearts of the people' and for this reason opposed it.

During the next 20 years, he made several attempts to conduct military operations on the mainland. Such missions were only possible with substantial support from the US military, especially the navy and air force. His air force did high-altitude reconnaissance over China, covering nuclear installations, which brought invaluable intelligence to the US.

But he discovered to his dismay that Washington had no interest in his invasion plans. Whenever he proposed them, the Americans put overwhelming pressure on him so he abandoned his plans. The US did not want to become involved in another civil war between Chiang and the Communist government. It wanted the status quo, in which the People's Liberation Army was forced to tie down a portion of its forces against the Taiwan military, rendering it less active in other theatres, especially Southeast Asia, where Washington feared a 'domino effect' of Communism.