Official U.S. policy towards Taiwan focuses on developing robust non-state relations with the island while advocating for a peaceful resolution to the cross-strait conflict. When considering American policy towards Taiwan, is more U.S. support good for Taiwan and regional peace? 

Sara Newland, Assistant Professor of Government at Smith College, discusses the need to pay attention to Taiwan’s own desires and needs in the context of the China-U.S.-Taiwan relationship in this latest installment of U.S.-China Counterpoints in an interview conducted on November 3, 2023.

U.S.-China Counterpoints explores common perspectives on the U.S.-China relationship held by those in both countries. Guided by leading experts, this series examines the facts behind common viewpoints, and the details that shape U.S.-China relations behind the headlines. 

Sara Newland

Sara Newland is an assistant professor of government at Smith College where she researches and writes about public goods and services in rural China, collaboration between civil society organizations and the local state, local government responsiveness in Taiwan, ethnic politics in China and Taiwan, and political science pedagogy. Her new research focuses on para-diplomacy between cities and states in the United States, Taiwan, and mainland China, and on e-governance and local government responsiveness in Taiwan. 

Dr. Newland is a member of the U.S.-Taiwan Next Generation Working Group and a fellow of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Public Intellectuals Program. Previously, she was an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University and a China public policy postdoctoral fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Newland holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.