Abstract
Madame Chiang Kai-shek presented an Asia-first strategy to the US Congress on February 18, 1943. Although her speech was critical of US strategy in ending WWII, she received enormous praise. This article examines how the American media reported her speech and concludes that the emotion her speech aroused in American society could be explained by her feminine appearance, her Americanized perspectives and her self-perceived role as a rescuer in America. Madame Chiang portrayed China as an about-to-be-Westernized society experiencing the threat of annihilation under Japan’s invasion. To save China was to save the hope of American civilization in Asia and she herself was the testimony that there was no difficulty in mixing American and Chinese values.
Recommended Citation
Shih, Chi-Yu
(2002)
"The Eros of International Politics: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Question of the State in China,"
Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 46:
No.
46, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol46/iss46/7