Vandenbosch, Amry

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University of Kentucky

Kentucky Law JournalVolume 50 | Issue 2 Article 91961Recognition of Communist China? A Study inArgument by Robert P. NewmanAmry VandenboschUniversity of KentuckyFollow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kljRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefitsyou.This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky LawJournal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Recommended CitationVandenbosch, Amry (1961) "Recognition of Communist China? A Study in Argument by Robert P. Newman," Kentucky Law Journal:Vol. 50 : Iss. 2 , Article 9.Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol50/iss2/9Book ReviewsRiECOGNION OF COMmUNIsT CHINA? A STUDY IN ARGumENT. RobertP. Newman. Macmillan, 1961. 318 pp.This book deals with policy; hence there is little in it of specificinterest for the lawyer. Only two chapters deal with legal problems:Chapter 17-International Law and United States Precedent andChapter 18-The Status of Taiwan (Formosa). The author is neithera lawyer nor a political scientist and his discussion lacks precision froma legal point of view.After examining the literature on the subject, Newman concludesthat while there is no obligation to recognize a new government whichis in effective control of a state, it is incompatible with internationallaw to grant, or withhold recognition primarily on political grounds.Like so many other rules of international law this is good so far as itgoes, but it does not go very far. International law leaves recognitionto the governments of sovereign states; recognition is not an automatic,administrative function. It is a function of the political branch of thegovernment, with freedom of discretion.The author succinctly summarizes the problem of the legal statusof Taiwan:The United States, at the present time, holds that the legalstatus of the island is unsettled. This produces an embarrassing posi-tion. We maintain that Chiang Kai-shek is sovereign on the mainland,where he has no power, but we deny his sovereignty on Taiwan,where he has power. If we were to admit that his government issovereign on Taiwan, as the Republic of China, we would be admit-ing our interference in the Chinese Civil War. If we were to denyhis claim to sovereignty on the mainland, his government would losethe sole reason for its existence. It is difficult to imagine a lesssatisfactory stance. (page 262)Newman examines and sums up the major issues with respect tothe recognition of Communist China. He has no love for the Com-munist regime, but he concludes that "the United States should extenddiplomatic recognition to the Communist government of China, withor without a guarantee of reciprocity, with or without agreement onPeking's part to renounce all claim to sovereignty over Taiwan." Hesees no other solution.Though this book has the qualities of a debater's handbook it givesa good survey and analysis of the problem.Amry Vandenbosch**Professor of Political Science, University of Kentucky.

Recognition of Communist China? A Study in Argument by Robert P. Newman

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Recognition of Communist China? A Study in Argument by Robert P. Newman

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