"Brown, Dale - Fatal Terrain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brown Dale)

land from the dark clutches of communism, now the govern-
ment and the people were saying that hope was moot.
Mainland China could someday join in the prosperity and
power of the Republic of China-but until then, Taiwan was
in control of its own destiny.
The cheering in the Assembly hall was deafening; the ap-
plause and demonstrations in the aisles lasted for nearly ten
FATAL TERRA I N 5
minutes. There was still a small group of KMT members op-
posed to the amendment, and they tried to start another fight
on the Assembly floor, but their anger and outrage could not
undo years of Lee's gentle persuasiveness and coalition-
building efforts.
But it was more than releasing an improbable dream. It was
an assertion, a declaration to the world, and especially to the
gargantuan presence known as the People's Republic of China,
that the Republic of China on Taiwan was taking its rightful
place on the world stage. Taiwan was no longer a breakaway
republic of China; the ROC was no longer a rebel government.
It had the strongest economy in Asia, the ninth-largest econ-
omy on the planet, and the largest deposits of foreign curren-
cies in the world. Now it was a sovereign nation. No one was
going to take any of that away from them.
It took an entire hour for the votes to be cast, but the results
were finally tallied and the announcement was made, soon for
all the world to hear: independence.
SOUTHBEACH, OREGON
SATURDAY, 17 MAY 1997, 0415 HOURS PT
(0715 HOURS ET)
As he had done - for the past thirty-two years of his life, the
retired U. Air Force general was up at four A., Without the
assistance of an aide, an operator, or even an alarm clock. He
was a man who had always set the agenda, not followed those
of others. He was accustomed to having everyone else get

moving on his timetable.
But now no one in a base command center was waiting for
him, there were no@ "dawn patrol" missions to fly, no world
crisis that had to be analyzed so a response could be planned.
His uniform now was not a green Nomex flight suit or freshly
pressed blue wool class A's, but a flannel shirt, thermal un-
derwear-one of innumerable pairs he had used in his flying
days, in aircraft where keeping the electronics warm was more
important than keeping the humans warm-hunting socks, hip
waders, an old olive-drab nylon flying jacket, and an old Viet-
narn-era camouflage floppy "boonie hat" with spinners and