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Article: Taiwan: Nuclear nightmare averted.
- Article from:
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A nuclear-armed Taiwan facing off against a nuclear-armed China? It could have happened.
From time to time, officials in Taiwan admit they once had a nuclear weapons program, but they have rarely discussed details. Instead, they enjoy the widespread perception that Taiwan is a "virtual proliferant"--a state that could make nuclear weapons quickly if the need should arise.
Taiwan's talk of nuclear weapons rises and falls with moments of heightened tension. In July 1995, right after China test-fired missiles into nearby waters, President Lee Teng-hui told the national assembly: "We should restudy the question [of nuclear weapons] from a long-term point of ...