US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stirred unexpected debate in Taiwan after invoking the phrase “unleash Chiang” while warning that Washington would intensify its strikes against Iran.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday about the escalating Middle East conflict, Rubio said the world would soon see a change in the scope and intensity of the attacks.
“We’re going to unleash Chiang on these people in the next few hours and days,” he said.
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The remark, made in the context of US efforts to dismantle Iran’s missile systems and military capabilities, quickly drew attention in Taiwan because the phrase refers to the late Republic of China leader Chiang Kai-shek.
The expression dates back to the early Cold War. After the Korean war broke out on June 25, 1950, then US president Harry Truman ordered the Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan and prevent an attack by Chinese Communist forces.
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At the same time, Truman barred Chiang – who had retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war in 1949 – from launching a counteroffensive to retake mainland China.
