Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese studies and Director of the Lau China Institute,at King's College, London. Prior to this he spent seven years working for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing. His previous books include CEO China: The Rise of Xi Jinping (2016) and China and the New Maoists (with Simone van Nieuwenhuizen, Zed 2016). Kalley Wu Tzu Hui is a researcher and international financial consultant specializing in China. She has worked for over a decade in finance and international trade in Taiwan, the UK and Australia. She is a native of Taiwan.
'Fresh and authoritative, written with brio and precision.' Thomas Plate, author of Yo-Yo Diplomacy 'Taiwan is one of the most important but least understood places in Asia today. This book provides an invaluable introduction to this potential flashpoint for future conflict between the US and China, while centring Taiwanese people in their own story as they attempt to take control of their own futures in the face of ever greater pressure from Beijing. As China's military and diplomatic power grows, Taiwan is on the frontline in standing up to Beijing and asserting its rights for autonomy and democracy.' James Griffiths, author of The Great Firewall of China: How To Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet 'By marshalling history, biography, internal politics, and international affairs, Brown and Wu Tzu-hui address the very 'trouble' they describe: they help situate a Taiwan whose place in the world is otherwise plagued by uncertainty.' Benjamin Zawacki, author of Thailand: Shifting Ground Between the US and a Rising China