Chinese attitudes toward nuclear weapons: China and the United States during the Korean War

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5247114

Ryan, M A

Fundamental Chinese attitudes related to nuclear disarmament and proliferation, civil defense against nuclear attack, and the likely repercussions of nuclear war were set during the Korean War. Chinese viewpoints were heavily influenced by Western writings on nuclear matters from 1945-1950 and were characterized by an integrated military, political, and psychological realism. Previous studies, failing to make use of relevant Chinese-language materials, have neglected this crucial formative period. Both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations considered using nuclear weapons in Korea and China and attempted to shape the political settlement of the war through nuclear threats. The Chinese reaction was notable for its efforts to counteract the effects of fear among its population. They acknowledged the unprecedented destructiveness, not the military decisiveness, of the weapons, but they adamantly denied that nuclear threats would cow them. Chinese propaganda stressed the Soviet deterrent and skillfully appealed to worldwide opposition to nuclear weapons, often utilizing Western spokesmen and playing upon the theme of US misuse of science. The Chinese considered a nuclear attack relatively unlikely but were prepared to absorb an attack and fight a war of long duration. In Korea both the terrain and the extensive tunneling by Chinese troops afforded significant protection from nuclear weapons.

• Research Organization: Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5247114
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
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350200 -- Arms Control-- Proliferation-- (1987-)
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450202* -- Explosions & Explosives-- Nuclear-- Weaponry-- (-1989)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
ATTITUDES
CHINA
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
WARFARE
WEAPONS