The Formosa Resolution was a bill enacted by the U.S. Congress on January 29, 1955 that established an American commitment to defend Formosa, (now called Taiwan). As a matter of American foreign policy, President Eisenhower promised to protect Taiwan against communism. The legislation provided the President with the power to intervene if the island was attacked. The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Formosa is a placename which comes from the Portuguese word meaning beautiful. ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...

The legislation was prompted, in part, by attacks on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu in the Taiwan Straits by the forces of The People's Republic of China in 1954. Both islands had been strongholds of Chang Kai-shek's Nationalists, who also occupied the island of Formosa. Quemoy, Kinmen, or Chinmen (金門, pinyin: Jīnmén, POJ: Kim-mn̂g) (pop. ... Matsu can refer to: Matsu, a goddess of sea. ... In the technical terminology of political science the PRC was a communist state for much of the 20th century, and is still considered a communist state by many, though not all, political scientists. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following the enactment of the Formosa Resolution, the People's Republic of China and the United States successfully negotiated an agreement to stop the bombing of the islands in the Taiwan Straits. This peaceful result ended the First Taiwan Strait Crisis. Taiwan Strait The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also called the 1954-1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a short armed conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments. ...

Both the House and Senate approved this resolution: 85 to 3 in the Senate and 409 to 3 in the House.

External links

• Taiwan Crisis (from www.coldwar.org)
• Correspondence between President Eisenhower and Winston Churchill on the Formosa Resolution and Taiwan Crisis