Rubio’s Promise to “Unleash Chiang” Won’t Land Well in China

In public remarks about the United States’ strategy in Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was going to “unleash Chiang.” I’d bet my house there’s a memo about it on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s desk. That same language was used back in the 1950s by US ultra-conservatives who pressured President Eisenhower to support Chiang Kai-shek’s efforts to overthrow China’s communist government. 

The history is complicated, but Eisenhower’s capitulation to these elements in the Republican Party created misunderstandings that almost started a nuclear war. Rubio may be unaware of the origins of the phrase. To him, it seems to be a euphemism for getting tough. That’s not how it is going to be interpreted by the senior leadership in China.

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Back in the 1950s, Eisenhower “unleashed” Chiang to harass shipping along China’s southern coast, believing it would pressure the Chinese leadership into negotiating an end to the fighting in Korea. Rubio’s callous reminder of that experience is as likely now as it was then to stiffen the resolve of a Chinese leadership that does not respond well to what it may perceive as another US attempt at intimidation.

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Tiananmen Square