China though that ¿Chinä is subjected to either side's different interpretations. The author of this volume analyzes why Taipei underreacted towards the security challenges posed by the PRC and chartered policies that sometimes went against the interests of Washington and its allies in the Asia- Pacific. The KMT was pushing for nation-building initiatives to rejuvenate the ROC¿s ¿one Chinä ruling legitimacy and to supplant pro-independence forces within Taiwan. The island¿s deeply fragmented domestic politics and partisanship have led policy elites to choose suboptimal strategy and, thereby, weakening its security position. The implications from this study are equally applicable to Taiwan¿s newly elected Democratic Progressive Party government that has taken off ice in 2016.