William Kirby Quotes & Sayings

“So, anything that avoids a conflict that could draw in, unhappily again, outside powers such as the United States or revisit, for example, Japan's interests in the Taiwan area would be the last thing that anyone would want.”

“The Chinese government since 1979 has been very successful in economic development, and successful enough, simply by surviving, in the realm of political development.”

“You could argue that war is always an irrational act, and yet many states enter into military conflict out of rational calculation or national interest or the stability or longevity of their regime.”

“The greater concerns in China and Taiwan are on the political side, not on the economic side.”

“East Asia has prospered since the end of the Vietnam War, and Northeast Asia has prospered since the end of the Korean War in a way that seems unimaginable when you think of the history of the first half of the century.”

“Taiwan is a major economy.”

“A war in the Taiwan Strait would destroy China's international relations overnight. It would destroy Chinese - Japanese relations, not to mention Chinese - American relations.”

“Harvard is first and foremost a university and not a consulting operation, and our job here is to teach and to research and to create knowledge on Asia in conjunction and in cooperation with scholars as well as with political, intellectual, and cultural leaders in Asia.”

“Now, I believe that war is never inevitable until it starts, but there has been a great proclivity in human history, and including in recent history, for war.”

“And look at the mess that Russia is; most Chinese don't want to follow that.”