Thirty Years Ago: A Speech That Triggered a Cross-Strait Crisis

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By Scott Huang/Cadence Quaranta

In 1995, then-Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui made a speech at his alma mater Cornell University during a visit to the U.S. With no high-ranking Taiwan officials allowed into the U.S. for many years following the breaking of diplomatic ties in 1979, the trip broke longstanding precedent, sparking tensions between the U.S. and China and a crisis in cross-strait relations.